Daendels, Herman Willem (1762-1818), was governor general of the Dutch East Indies or Netherlands Indies (now Indonesia) from 1808 to 1811. His main achievement was the construction of an important road from west to east Java.
Daendels was born near Zwolle in the Netherlands on Oct. 21, 1762. He studied law and later served in the French revolutionist forces. In 1808, he arrived in Batavia (now Jakarta). His first task was to defend Java against the British. One of his measures was the building of a 620-mile (1,000-kilometer) road from Anyer to Panarukan, which helped the defense of Java against invasion by the British.
During his term of office, Daendels took measures to discourage corruption. But his dictatorial way with the local princes made them dislike the Dutch. Daendels was accused of gaining personal wealth from his position. He was recalled in 1811. In 1815, he was appointed governor of the Netherlands colonies on the west coast of Africa. He died there on May 2, 1818.
