Tan family of Cirebon

For over a century and five generations, the family dominated Cirebon's Chinese officership, a civil government institution consisting of the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen through which the Dutch governed the local Chinese community of the colony. Although Luitenant Tan Tiang Keng did not immediately accede to the Captaincy, he was given the honorary rank of Kapitein-titulair der Chinezen in 1873 after 26 years in office. In 1897, Kapitein Tan Tjin Kie's eldest son, Tan Gin Ho – a fifth-generation descendant of Kapitein Tan Kong Djan – was installed as Luitenant der Chinezen under his father. Also part of the fifth generation was Kwee Zwan Hong, who was appointed in 1908 as Luitenant of Losari, Sindanglaut and Ciledug, and further raised to the rank of Kapitein-titulair in 1924. Kapitein-titulair Kwee Zwan Hong was the son of Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem and, through his maternal grandmother Tan Sioe Nio, was a great-grandson of Kapitein Tan Kim Lin; in office until 1934, he was also the last serving Chinese officer in the Residency of Cirebon. ==Sugar barons==

The Tan family of Cirebon played a pioneering and significant role in Java's sugar industry until the Great Depression (1929–1939). They were allied with the closely related Kwee family of Ciledug, owners of the Djatipiring and Kalitandjoeng sugar mills. The aftermath of the Great War (1914–1918) proved catastrophic for the Tan family of Cirebon. In 1922, they were forced to sell their main sugar mill, Loeowenggadjah, due to mounting debts. In 1926, Majoor Tan Tjin Kie's daughter, Tan Ho Lie Nio, was declared bankrupt. In 1931, both of her brothers, Luitenant Tan Gin Ho and Tan Gin Han were also declared bankrupt. Their Kwee cousins, descended on the female line from Kapitein Tan Kim Lin, fared better financially. Although forced by circumstances to sell their Djatipiring sugar mill in 1931, they maintained their political, social and economic prominence well into the 1950s. Many of the current descendants of the family no longer live in Cirebon. Many members moved to the Netherlands, the majority of whom now live in The Hague. Within Indonesia, several members of the family also moved to the nearby city of Bandung, and the current head of the family is Tan Tjin Hok, living under the surname 'Hermanto'. ==See also==