Unverified native rumors directly drove colonial military expansion in Sumatra

Evidence

Demmemi clearly does not know when he questions whether the assaults should be seen as part of a larger conspiratorial effort or as the work of “common thieves as occurs elsewhere.” Though unsure, based on rumors of possible insurgence, he requests 128 reinforcements be sent to Deli to strengthen the troop of 90 armed soldiers already stationed there to protect the planters. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1187

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Supports the epistemic-anxieties thread: baseless rumor translating directly into coercive state response — a pattern the colonial archive chapter could foreground.