A controversial Dutch Consul General in Bangkok

Ferdinand Jacobus Domela Nieuwenhuis

A century ago, the bloody conflict known as World War I ended. In a previous contribution I briefly considered the - almost - forgotten story of the Siam Expeditionary Force and I referred very briefly to Ferdinand Jacobus Domela Nieuwenhuis, who was the not entirely uncontroversial Consul-General of the Netherlands in Bangkok during the First World War.

Ferdinand Jacobus Domela Nieuwenhuis was born on July 16, 1864 in Amsterdam as the first child in the family of the lawyer and Groningen professor Jacob Domela Nieuwenhuis and Elisabeth Rolandus Hagedoorn. The Domela Nieuwenhuis family owed its existence in the Low Countries to one Jacob Severin Nyehuis (1746-1818). This Danish merchant fleet captain had been shipwrecked off the coast of Kennemerland and decided to settle in Alkmaar as a trader in 'Hunting Equipment and Fireworks'.

He married the German Maria Gertruda Scholl and their son, the professor of Arts and Philosophy Jacob, would marry the Frisian Carolina Wilhelmina Domela, which explains the double surname… The most famous descendant of their descendants was undoubtedly Ferdinands Jacbus' first cousin and namesake Ferdinand (1846-1919). This preacher was not only a notorious member of the Blue Knot, but developed from an anti-militarist to a radical social anarchist and freethinker. He was one of the founders and first figureheads of the socialist movement in the Netherlands

The scant information that could be found about our childhood Ferdinand Jacobs shows that he grew up carefree in a warm nest. In a family where academics, theologians and army officers ruled the roost, he was imbued with a sense of duty and, after completing his studies, he decided to serve the country by fully pursuing a career in diplomacy. As it was the custom with young members of the Diplomatic Corps Domela Nieuwenhuis served at various legations in various countries, both in Europe and overseas, to gain experience in this way. He came to Asia for the first time when he was appointed secretary at the Consulate General in Singapore on May 4, 1889. However, he barely stayed here for a year because he requested and obtained his transfer to the Consulate General in Bangkok.

Not so long ago, 400 years of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Thailand were commemorated, but these had in fact ceased to exist after the bankruptcy of the VOC in 1799. Siam, which saw no point in isolationism, had closed itself in 1855 by closing the so-called Bowring Treaty with England, opened up to extensive contacts with Europe. For example, in 1860 the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Siam created the Dutch consulate in the Siamese capital. In July 1881 it was elevated to the status of Consulate General in order to be better regarded by the heavily protocol-oriented Siamese court.

It is an important detail that since its foundation in 1860, the Dutch Consulate also represented the interests of Norway and the German Hanseatic cities. On July 3, 1890, Domela Nieuwehuis arrived in Bangkok together with his heavily pregnant Swiss-German wife Clara von Rordorf. A month later, on August 5 to be exact, their first child Jacob was born here. On July 29, 1892, Domela Nieuwenhuis' post in Bangkok came to an end and the family returned to The Hague, where their firstborn died on October 19, 1893. It is not clear exactly when Domela Nieuwenhuis ended up in South Africa, but it is certain that shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War (1899-1902) he was posted as head of department and later chargé d'affaires in Pretoria. Like most of the public opinion in the Netherlands and Flanders, he felt solidarity with the 'relative' Afrikaner Boeren and he developed a heartfelt hatred for the British.

In 1903 the family, now extended with three children, returned to Siam, this time with Ferdinand Jacobus as newly appointed chargé d'affaires. Apparently he performed his task to the satisfaction of The Hague, because four years later he was appointed Consul-General of the Netherlands seconded to the Consulate General in Bangkok. This was the highest possible diplomatic job because at that time the system of embassies and ambassadors did not yet exist. Economic and political interests were promoted and regulated through the legations, consulates and the so-called.plenipotentiary ministers'. The surviving documents relating to Domela Nieuwenhuis' tenure in Bangkok show that he was an attentive, meticulous and hard worker. Qualities with which there is nothing wrong, were it not for the fact that, according to contemporaries, the man's social skills lacked a great deal. Despite the fact that his long stay in Siam has made him a member of the old of the Western diplomatic corps, he had failed in all those years to develop any understanding, let alone empathy, for his Siamese hosts. He had a reputation among both the Siamese authorities and other diplomats for being crude and even rude. An attitude that only intensified during the war.

As a result of a pre-war diplomatic agreement, the Dutch Consul General in Bangkok represented the interests of the German and Austro-Hungarian communities in the country should they ever come into conflict with the Siamese government. From the moment Siam declared war on the Central Powers on July 22, 1917, all expatriates from the aforementioned communities, including women and children, were rounded up and interned. Domela Nieuwenhuis went out of her way to come to their aid, and despite the official neutrality of the nation he represented, he could not help but criticize the British at the right time and often loudly, whom he still hated as intensely as during his stay in South Africa… Moreover, this Dutch diplomat who had had contact with the Greater Germanic oriented All German Association absolutely no secret of his pro-German orientation. The Netherlands may have stayed out of the war and pursued strict neutrality, but the Dutch Consul-General in Bangkok apparently did not care.

It was therefore not really surprising that the German envoy Remy was about the only diplomat to have words of praise for this 'formidable old man'. Leiden-graduated historian Stefan Hell, an absolute authority on the history of Siam in the first half of the twentieth century, described in his standard work published in 2017  Siam and World War I – An International Histor Domela's performance as follows: 'This dinosaur of colonial diplomacy was an ardent protector of German interests and tormentor of prince Devawongse'.

King Vajiravudh – ksl / Shutterstock.com

Prince Devawongse was the influential Siamese foreign minister and great-uncle of King Vajiravudh. Domela Nieuwenhuis could not resist bombarding the prince with letters and petitions for months on end. The Siamese foreign minister, known for his tactful demeanor, was so fed up with Domela's maneuvers that he spat his bile in a letter to the British envoy Sir Herbert. Domela Nieuwenhuis actions were dismissed as silly while the Dutch Consul General of the label of 'old fool' was provided. Towards the end of 1917, even the Siamese king began to get annoyed by the incessant interference of Domela and his wife, who apparently did not leave anything to chance in looking after German interests. In December 1918, Domela's actions even received international publicity when the Reuters news agency spread the message that the Siamese government had lodged a complaint against the Consul General in The Hague… The Siamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs vehemently denied this, but it was clear that Domela Nieuwenhuis was the had crossed the limits of Siamese patience…

Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis was not really concerned by the Dutch government and as far as I could tell no sanctions were taken against him. However, his position in Bangkok had become untenable and shortly after the war he was silently transferred to the Consulate General in Singapore. It was also his last post because he retired in 1924 and settled with his family in The Hague, where he died on February 15, 1935.

To end with this: Ferdinand Jacobus was even surpassed in German orientation by his younger brother Jan Derk (1870-1955) who was a reformed minister in Ghent at the start of the First World War. He was the driving force behind a small group of Flemish people who, before the end of 1914, consciously opted for collaboration with the German Empire in the hope of destroying the Belgian state structure and institutions and achieving Flemish independence. A commitment that not only repeatedly brought him into contact with the highest German circles, but also earned him the death penalty in absentia after the war…

Submitted by Lung Jan