Maluku islanders staged various rebellions during the Dutch colonisation of the Indonesian archipelago in the 19th century following the collapse of the VOC. In a famous revolt on the south Maluku island Saparua, the Dutch fort was taken by the rebel leader Pattimura, a former sergeant in the army of Britain, who had ruled the islands for a short time before returning them to the Dutch in 1816. After reinforcements were sent from the colonial capital Batavia, the insurgents were captured and Pattimura was executed in 1817.