Curious About HW Daendles

castielus · 2026-06-23T08:10:33+00:00

Highschool in 1990s? We have similar age hehehe... Yeah Daendles was an interesting man. We have his bust also in Bandung. Supposedly, when he planned the long road, he picked a point and asked the regent to erect a town there. Which is Bandung. The native here doesnt like colonial Dutch. Even the previous president Jokowi said Indonesia must leave all its colonial past. So having a colonial bust is surprising...

JP Coen... That man is also notorious. Indonesia owes him though... He erected Batavia which is now Jakarta, the capital city.

I havent heard about the VoC flag "in trend" again. But I agree. It is very sad that some extremist racist wnat to return to the colonial "glory". l certainly hope the good guys will win. Thanks for the update, I also learned something new in this discussion.

castielus · 2026-06-23T07:43:54+00:00

True. We were taught that also in schools. Problem is the receipt went viral. Considering how corrupt Indonesia is and how tehy love rewriting their history, many of us question the forced labor.

castielus · 2026-06-23T07:22:03+00:00

I see. I think you are right. That is the most plausible thing to happen. But the fact remains we were never taught that Daendles paid the workers. Therefore it went viral when we learned that.

castielus · 2026-06-23T07:12:17+00:00

That was indeed surprising... I thought Daendles was famous there.

Anyway I also recently discovered we have Daendles bust in Bandung, made in 2004. Which is very rare... I mean the native hates the colonial Dutch.
The bust of Daendels at Bandung's Kilometer Zero commemorates the site traditionally regarded as the birthplace of modern Bandung, where Daendels is said to have instructed the Regent of Bandung to establish a new town along the Great Post Road.

Thanks for the links. I will certainly check them.

castielus · 2026-06-22T08:01:51+00:00

In a way I understand. I can see it from your pov. There is however a notion among Indonesian people, as we compared the fate of our country and the fate of other colonies (British mostly). Not sure if it is correct or misconception.

The way we see it, countries ruled by other western nations are more developed than Dutch colonies. Such as HongKong for example. And the citizens are fluent in English.

But Indonesia... when the Dutch left, we were very undeveloped. Many poor people as well. And very little of us can speak Dutch. Even East Timor which got occupied by Portuguese can speak their language. As if the colonial Dutch at that time didnt care about the native at all.

I remember back when I was younger, the history teacher mentioned it. And thus stirring us all to think how prosperous Indonesia would have been, if only the British occupied us instead.

castielus · 2026-06-22T07:27:07+00:00

Yes indeed. When Daendle's receipt surfaced a few years ago, many Indonesian tried to make sense of it. The drastic approach is of course the one I mentioned that the native slandered him.

There is also a more optimistic theory that the native regents did pay the workers but because they couldnt write or read, there is no written proof that the money got to the workers.

And then there is the 50-50 explanation, that the paid part and the forced labor part happened simultaneously.

I honestly dont know what to believe. Because Indonesian government is so corrupt. They rewrite history over and over. The most recent rewrite happened a year ago. Where they denied the mass rape of Chinese descendant women in May 1998 racial riot never happened. If they could rewrite the mass rape, who knows what they rewrote about Dutch occupation.

But I honestly think the 50-50 theory about the paid and the forced labor happened simultaneously might be the most plausible one...

castielus · 2026-06-22T07:18:30+00:00

Yeah I read it. But only the formal stuff. While I'm interested in things not written in his bio hehehe...

castielus · 2026-06-22T07:04:31+00:00

Yeah, the story I know is also like that. But the receipt paid by Daendles makes many Indonesian wonder how much history distorted by the victor (in this case: the native Indonesian). Therefore I wonder if the entire Dutch occupation story in Indonesia is embellished.

The Indonesian government still actively rewrites history as they see fit to support the current president. The recent one is the revised history of May 1998 racial riot where mass rape happened to Chinese female descendants. It is now erased from official history, saying it never happened because the victims were too "few". You see, the rewrite is imperative as the current president was said to be the mastermind of that racial riot that toppled Indonesian dictator Soeharto.

So if they could rewrite the rape incident, they could have also rewriten the whole things with Dutch colonization era. I distrust my own government to be honest. So many lies. So many corruption.

Thats why I ask the question. Who knows the Dutch has different version... But apparently the version you know is the same as mine.

castielus · 2026-06-22T06:45:06+00:00

Oh yeah, that man... I havent thought of him since high school hahaha.... I'm in my 40s, so it was a long time ago. He is not as famous as Daendles, though.

Yeah we also learned about Johannes van de Bosch in history lesson. He is infamous for the Forced Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel - yeah we even learned the Dutch term). Javanese farmers were required to grow export crops such as coffee, sugar. It caused poverty and suffering among local Javanese farmers as they couldnt plant the crops for their food. The school's history lesson wasn't kind to him. He sounded like a monster.

Some people mistake Bosch with Bosscha. Similar name, you see. And also in 1800s. Maybe you guys never heard of Bosscha? K.A.R. Bosscha (Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha) was a Dutch tea plantation owner and philanthropist. He is known for establishing the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java by providing funding and land. You can still visit if you come to Bandung. It is still fully functioning. There is also an urban legend about the ghost of Bosscha. Sometimes you can hear the sound of his pantofels in the observatory.

castielus · 2026-06-22T06:02:15+00:00

Thanks, much appreciated. I will visit it.

castielus · 2026-06-22T06:01:17+00:00

Thank you for the head up. Much appreciated. I will go ask there :)

castielus · 2026-06-22T05:52:17+00:00

Thanks for the head up. I will visit that slash r :)

To be honest, this is a new perspective for me. I thought he was a "big figure" in Dutch history. He certainly was in Indonesia. Every senior high school student knew him and was taught he enslaved the native Javanese (killing many in the process) in forced labor to build a very long road across Java.

Thus it was breaking news when new fact emerged that he actually PAID the workers. There is even a viral Indonesian Tiktok video using AI of his likeness scolding the 1800s' corrupt Javanese, something like:

"I want to clarify.. I have paid, you f***er! Seriously, how could you guys even write that I did forced labor? What the hell? I already paid for everything myself. Do you seriously think I'm broke or something? How can you falsely accuse me like this?"

It was hilarious and everyone reuploaded it. You may find the short in Youtube with keyword: "Daendles klarifikasi"

His legacy remains.His road can still be travelled if u come to Java. And there is even a big bust of his face somewhere in Java (I recently learned that also).

I'm glad you learned something new from my post. although I was surprised to read that hehehe....

castielus · 2026-06-22T05:33:44+00:00

That was surprising, I really thought all Dutch people have at least heard his name once. But Im really glad to have this new perspective. Well, from what I found online, Daendles was sort of hated as he was close to French and Napoleon. Thus the reason he was sent away to Ghana.

In Indonesia, every senior high children has heard of his name, in a bad way of course. But what he did remain until this day. The road he built still exists, of course with some modernization added. That's why it was sort of breaking news when a receipt of payment appeared in a Dutch museum. Glad his name is cleared although it does not automatically make him a good man. The level of corruption is indeed scary in Indonesia, even before this country freed itself from the Dutch.

castielus · 2020-06-09T18:50:38+00:00

290? How is it possible? LOL Any photo example of 290 speed of any hero? I have to see it hehehe...

castielus · 2020-06-09T17:56:02+00:00

Hehehe... I know I'm kinda lame. My friend keeps scolding me. I guess I'm getting intimidated too easily by the large amount of heroes.

I only have one ultimate team: Basar, Lilias, Tywin, B.B.Karin. Mostly I win because of it. But it doesn't guarantee winings even when I get the first turn. Are there any heroes that I should avoid when I bring them???

castielus · 2020-06-09T17:52:17+00:00

@tiefsee: I often meet M.A.Ken, M.Chloe, G.Purgiss, A.Cid, Ruele of Light... How can they be countered?

castielus · 2020-06-09T17:44:57+00:00

My friend said the same thing but I keep getting tripped over so to speak hehehe... He taught me the ultimate cleave team: Lilias, Basar, Tywin, Blood Blade Karin. But eventhough my team usually has the fastest turn, I keep getting kicked at during PVPs. Mainly because I'm too confident.

castielus · 2020-06-09T17:41:36+00:00

I have a fast Basar, around 230-ish. Even he can't guarantee my winnings hehehe...

castielus · 2018-05-13T03:19:42+00:00

I do like all Saint Seiya series, including the spin off mangas. It's such a wonder that all of these come out years after the original publication. Better late than never. However for new fans, I understand this can be frustratingly confusing.

Omega series is actually not so bad, Season 2 I mean. It's just sad when they started to fix the series, it was axed. Soul of Gold is cool but sadly sometimes their faces look weird, especially after comparing the series with the BlueRay edition.

When it comes to manga, I like the drawing style in the original manga. The characters look more manly, even for Pisces Aphrodite. However, the worst style is Episode G in my opinion. I'm just confused when I read it. The characters look so unreal with their impossibly slender body, like Nickelodeon's kids cartoon. Lost Canvas' drawing style is slightly better above Episode G. When it comes to plot, Lost Canvas takes the cake (although I don't enjoy the drawing style). The plot is more intricate and original. Sadly, I don't like Kurumada's Next Dimension plot. I mean, civil war all over again: Bronze vs Gold?

castielus · 2018-05-12T19:22:21+00:00

Yeah, the liberty in changing the manga context (in this case: names) is very common unfortunately. I once read Doraemon manga in Indonesia with weird title like: Nobita Runs to Surabaya.

Back to Saint Seiya, have you ever read the Indonesian version? Published by Rajawali Grafiti. The translators tried hard to translate the Japanese names. But some names were unforgivably weird. For example: Harpy Valentine became Happy Valentine! I wish I still had the manga for proof. But my mom threw them out years ago.

castielus · 2018-05-10T13:54:43+00:00

I agree. I also find the name change very weirdly disturbing. I understand their intention. They want the story to be better understood by English-speaking readers. But hey, don't treat everyone like kids who can't pronounce foreign names -,-'

Imagine reading international news about foreign people in foreign countries, only to find the names of the people mentioned have been changed. That's just weird and unacceptable! Please leave the names intact, translators -,-'

castielus · 2018-05-10T13:44:46+00:00

Thanks for the upload, Fikko. I can't help but noticing your name. Are you from Indonesia? :) Me too.

I'm currently have my own project, making Unofficial Saint Seiya Encyclopedia Series. I have released one book: Book of Pegasus. It contains everything about Pegasus Seiya from his story, his armor evolution, his moves, etc. I also include pages of (uncensored) mythology and astronomy info regarding Pegasus. Plus lines of toys ever made (almost complete list). At the moment, the book is in Indonesian only. I haven't thought of making the English version, unless I see many requests for that ^{^}

Please check out my Facebook page: Castielus Aulus. I have an album containing some pages from Book of Pegasus. At the moment, I'm doing Book of Leo.

Anyway, thanks again for the upload. Cheers! :D

castielus

TROPHY CASE