IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141381 accession number: CM.1287-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: French successes in the Napoleonic Wars left the French Empire at its greatest extent ever in 1810, and due to repeated military failures on the European mainland Britain was forced to look for other fronts on which to engage France and its allies. One such campaign was waged by the British East India Company against French and Dutch possessions in the East Indies. The cornerstone of this campaign was the war in which the Indonesian island of Java was taken, a campaign which began with the landing at and capture of Fort Cornelis. The conquest of the whole island rapidly followed, but it was returned to the Netherlands in the 1816 treaty negotiations that ended the Napoleonic Wars. For participation in this assault by Indian troops the East India Company had this medal struck at its Calcutta mint. The Persian inscription means: "This medal was conferred in commemoration of the bravery and courage exhibited by the Sepoys of the English company in the capture of the Kingdom of Java, in the year of the Hijra 1228". The medal was awarded, as this suggests, to Company Sepoys (Indian troops); European combatants had to wait until corresponding bars were awarded to the Military and Naval General Service Medals some thirty-five years later. The East India Company medals were issued unnamed, so the identity of the Bengali or Madras soldier who earnt it is unknown. Lester Watson purchased the medal at some point before 1928. title: Java Medal NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928 LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Coins and Medals collection: Lester Watson Collection creditline: Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141381 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1811 - 1811 creation date earliest: 1811 creation date latest: 1811 CREATORS -------- maker: Calcutta maker: East India Company maker: George III (1760-1820) DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 51.3 dimension: Weight units: g value: 45.4 EXHIBITIONS HISTORY ------------------- title: Images of Empire: The British Empire on 19th century medals title: Imagery of War CITATIONS -------- British Battles and Medals 1st edn British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959) --- IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 128 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 128 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 128 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 128 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 138 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 138 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 138 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0170_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 138 pixels