Puputan Badung Park

The history commemorated by the Puputan Badung Monument is a narrative woven with strands of political intrigue, colonial expansion, and the unyielding commitment of the Balinese royalty and populace to their ancestral honor, known as dharma. The events leading to the catastrophic Puputan Badung began years before the final confrontation, rooted in the aggressive expansionist policies of the Dutch colonial government, the Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (KNIL), throughout the Indonesian archipelago in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While North Bali (Buleleng) had been subjugated in the mid-19th century, the southern kingdoms, including Badung, maintained a fragile sovereignty.

The direct catalyst for the Dutch intervention in Badung, and subsequently the infamous Puputan, was a seemingly minor maritime incident that the colonial power magnified into a casus belli. In May 1904, a Chinese-owned schooner flying the Dutch flag, the Sri Kumala, ran aground near Sanur beach, which was under the jurisdiction of the King of Badung, I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung. According to Balinese customary law (Tawan Karang), any shipwrecks and their cargo found on the reef or shore became the property of the local ruler. Consequently, the local villagers salvaged the cargo. The Dutch colonial government, however, viewed this as looting and demanded an exorbitant indemnity payment from the King of Badung, amounting to 3,000 ringgit. King I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung resolutely refused to pay this sum, citing established tradition and viewing the Dutch demand as a blatant violation of his kingdom’s sovereignty and a deliberate provocation. This steadfast refusal hardened the Dutch resolve to finally conquer the southern Balinese kingdoms and consolidate their control over the entire island.

The impasse quickly escalated. The Dutch issued a final ultimatum, which the King defiantly ignored. On September 14, 1906, the Dutch Sixth Military Expedition, a substantial force of the KNIL commanded by Major General M.B. Rost van Tonningen, landed unopposed at Sanur beach. The King of Badung, realizing the overwhelming nature of the Dutch modern military might and the impossibility of a conventional military victory, made a monumental decision: to choose puputan, the ‘fight to the finish’, a collective spiritual and physical act of ultimate sacrifice to preserve honor and prevent the disgrace of surrender and subsequent rule by the kafir (infidels). This act was deeply rooted in Balinese Hindu beliefs, particularly the notion of dying on the battlefield as a path to spiritual honor, moksa, and ensuring the king and his followers would be revered as heroes and martyrs. This philosophy, a core element of the local culture understood by experts from SEMAT TRAVEL INDONESIA, dictated that a life without honor was a fate worse than death itself.

On September 20, 1906, the Dutch troops marched upon Denpasar, meeting little resistance until they approached the Puri Denpasar (Royal Palace of Badung), which was located on the site of the current monument. What the Dutch encountered was not a military defense but a silent, chilling procession. From the palace gates emerged a mass of Balinese—the King, his royal family, priests, officials, guards, and thousands of common people—all dressed in immaculate traditional white burial garments, symbolizing their readiness for death. They marched in a solemn, fearless formation, armed only with their ceremonial kris (daggers) and spears, and adorned with their most magnificent jewelry.

The procession was led by King I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung himself, carried on a palanquin. As the vanguard approached the Dutch lines, the King signaled, and a priest plunged a kris into the King’s breast. This act unleashed the puputan. Members of the procession began stabbing themselves or each other, with women and children participating, preferring to die instantly and honorably rather than be captured. Accounts from Dutch eyewitnesses, such as H.M. van Weede, are harrowing. They describe the Balinese women, in a gesture of defiance, mockingly throwing gold coins and jewelry at the Dutch soldiers, effectively paying the soldiers for their own deaths. When a ‘stray gunshot’ or a sudden charge was perceived, the Dutch troops opened fire with their modern rifles and artillery on the self-sacrificing crowd. The carnage was swift and brutal; hundreds, possibly over a thousand Balinese perished within an hour. The entire Denpasar Palace was subsequently looted and then razed to the ground by the Dutch.

The monument today stands directly on the sacred, blood-soaked ground where the Puri Denpasar once stood and where the climax of the Puputan unfolded. It depicts the heroic moment of the royal family’s procession, their traditional weapons raised, moving forward toward their chosen, honorable end. The monument is dedicated to King I Gusti Ngurah Made Agung and his followers. This selfless act of puputan profoundly shocked the Netherlands and the wider international community when news of the massacre finally emerged, causing a significant backlash against the perceived barbarity of the colonial military actions. This ‘bad press’ led to a change in Dutch policy, moving towards a more benevolent but still controlling administration known as the ‘Ethical Policy’, to better manage the narrative of their occupation. For travelers on an Amazing Bali honeymoon tour or those transported by SESARI TRANSPORT, visiting this site offers a moment of reflection on the immense cost of freedom and the powerful cultural tenets that guided this heroic sacrifice. The history of Puputan Badung is not merely a tale of a battle lost, but a testament to the Balinese spirit that refused to be conquered in soul, a history that SEMAT TRAVEL INDONESIA ensures visitors appreciate.