In the hostage-taking in 1977, four South Moluccan youth invaded the public primary school on the Schoolstraat in Bovensmilde. They held 105 students and five teachers held hostage.
With their action, the Moluccan hostages wanted to force the Dutch government to commit themselves to an independent Republic of the South Moluccas, which she was promised after KNIL soldiers had come to the Netherlands with their families on a service order. In this way they also strengthen their requirement to release Moluccan perpetrators of earlier hostage actions.
After four days, all children and one teacher were released after some children had fallen ill. On June 11, 1977, after twenty days, Mariniers with armored cars put an end to the hostage and the four other teachers were liberated.
It was the first time that such a situation occurred in the Netherlands.