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The history of Jakarta dates
back to at least the 14th Century with the development of a small
port of the Hindu Pajajaran kingdom at the mouth of the Ciliwung
river. Searching for the fabled "spice islands", the
Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive and establish a
fortress on the site in the early 16th Century.
The old port was attacked by a neighbouring sultanate under the
leadership of Prince Fatahillah. After the assault, the Portuguese
navy fleet was destroyed. Fatahillah changed the name of the
Sunda Kelapa port to Jayakarta, meaning "Total Victory",
commemorating the defeat of the local Hindu kingdom and their
European allies.
According to some historians,
this event took place on June 22, 1527, a date which later was
officially recognized as the birth of the city of Jakarta. It
was to this town that Dutch spice merchants came in the late
16th century and began a trading association with Europe that
was to dictate the history of Jakarta, and Indonesia as a nation,
for nearly 350 years.
Under the aggressive leadership
of Jan Pieterzoon Coen, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) proceeded
forcibly to take possession of the town of Jayakarta, renaming
it Batavia in 1619; from here they ruled Indonesia for more than
three centuries. Following the Japanese invasion and rule of
the country from 1942-45, on August 17, 1945, Indonesia first
president Soekarno proclaimed Indonesia independence and Jakarta
became the accept nation's capital. |
