Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies Louis Bonaparte appointed Daendels as
colonel-general in 1806 and
governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in 1807. Daendels arrived in
Batavia (now
Jakarta) on 5 January 1808 after a lengthy voyage, assuming the role previously held by
Albertus Henricus Wiese. His primary objective was to defend the
Dutch East Indies from British attacks. During his tenure, Daendels undertook various infrastructure projects. He established new hospitals and military barracks, constructed arms factories in
Surabaya and
Semarang, and founded a military college in Batavia. The
Castle in Batavia was dismantled and replaced by a
new fort in Meester Cornelis (
Jatinegara). At the same time,
Fort Lodewijk (Fort Louis) was built in
Surabaya. Additionally, he relocated the central government from
Old Batavia to
Weltevreden and commissioned the construction of a palace in
Paradeplaats. His most renowned achievement was the
Great Post Road () that spanned northern
Java from
Anyer to
Panarukan. Today, this road serves as the main thoroughfare on the island, known as
Jalur Pantura (Pantai Utara) (Translated: Northern Coast Road). Notably, the construction of this thousand-kilometer road in a single year resulted in the deaths of numerous Javanese forced laborers. Daendels adopted a stern stance towards Javanese rulers, causing them to align themselves with the British against the Dutch. He also imposed forced labor (
Rodi) on the population of Java, which sparked rebellious incidents like the ones in Cadas Pangeran,
West Java. Opinions differ regarding the extent to which Daendels improved the efficiency of the local
bureaucracy and curbed corruption, although he accumulated personal wealth during his time in office. Despite his efforts to bolster defenses, Daendels was unsuccessful in halting the British
invasion of the Spice Islands in 1810.
General in Napoleon's During the incorporation of the
Kingdom of Holland into
France in 1810, Daendels returned to Holland and resided in Paris by November 1811. He was appointed as a
divisional general (
major general) and assumed command of the 26th Division of the . This division consisted of troops from Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Berg. In mid-March 1812, Daendels was appointed as the commander of the 26th Division, serving under
Marshal Victor as part of
IX Corps, which acted as a reserve. In August, Victor received orders to march eastward, joining the Badeners in the Russian campaign 1812. Daendels arrived in Vilnius on 8 and 15 September, subsequently reaching Minsk. On 11 October, his division moved to
Babinovichi, and on 20 October, they received orders to proceed to
Vitebsk. By 27 October, they had occupied the nearby town of
Beshenkovichi. The following day, temperatures dropped below zero. The supplies in Vitebsk were lost when the Russian army captured the city, and it began to snow on 29 October. On 11 November, Daendels and the rearguard arrived in
Chashniki, approximately 90 km southwest of their previous location. On 14 November, during the
battle of Smoliani, the French suffered the loss of 3,000 men against General
Peter Wittgenstein, and heavy snowfall of about 1.5 meters occurred that day. Four days later, the supplies in Minsk were also lost when
Pavel Chichagov captured the city. On 24 November, Daendels skirmished with some Russians but reunited with the rest of the French army near Bobr. Subsequently, all the French soldiers proceeded to
Borisov, where the Russian army destroyed a crucial bridge crossing the Berezina River. Daendels' division, consisting of 4,000 men, played a decisive role in the
Battle of Berezina. From February 1813 until December 1813, General Daendels commanded Polish forces defending the
Modlin Fortress, located northwest of Warsaw. It was the final French stronghold along the Vistula to surrender.
Governor-general of the Dutch Gold Coast Following the downfall of
Napoleon, concerns arose within the Dutch government, including
King William I, regarding the potential influence and oppositional leadership of Daendels. To prevent this, he was appointed as the governor-general of the
Dutch Gold Coast (now part of
Ghana) and effectively prohibited from returning to the Netherlands. After the abolition of the
Atlantic slave trade, Daendels aimed to revitalize the neglected Dutch territories into an African
plantation colony focused on legitimate business. Leveraging his experience from the East Indies, he devised ambitious infrastructure projects, such as a comprehensive road network with a primary route connecting Elmina and
Kumasi in
Ashanti. The Dutch government granted him considerable autonomy and a substantial budget to execute his plans. Simultaneously, Daendels viewed his governorship as an opportunity to establish a personal monopoly on business in the
Dutch Gold Coast. In 1817, the British accused Daendels of supporting and facilitating the
Atlantic slave trade, despite its prohibition by both the British and Dutch authorities, from his position at the Elmina fort, which was then under Dutch control. On 5 March 1817, the British governor of Cape Coast, John Smith, wrote to the African Committee in Parliament in London, stating, "We deem it our duty to inform you of the conduct of General Daendels, who is acting independent of his Government. Portuguese vessels were furnished with canoes, and Spaniards were supplied with water. At the beginning of last month, a large Spanish ship was four days at anchor in Elmina roads, receiving water and bartering dollars for goods suited for the purchase of slaves." None of Daendels' infrastructure plans came to fruition, as he succumbed to
malaria on 2 May 1818 while in the castle of
St. George d'Elmina, which served as the Dutch seat of government. His body was interred in the central tomb at the
Dutch cemetery in Elmina. He had been in the country less than two years. ==References==