Batavia, Dutch East Indies

City of Batavia, Dutch East Indies circa 1780

Batavia was the name of the capital city of the Dutch East Indies from 1619 to 1942. Batavia was developed around a fort and as a citadel (Kasteel Batavia) by the Dutch after they destroyed Jayakarta. The city grew with many immigrants brought in as workers. In 1800 control shifted from the Dutch East Indies Company to Dutch East Indies colonial rule. During Dutch rule many government buildings were constructed and the city continued to develop through the 19th and into the 20 century. Batavia came under Japanese imperial rule during World War II. In the years after war the struggle for independence resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia with Jakarta.

The area was known as Sunda Kelapa and Jayakarta prior to Dutch control, settlement and colonial rule. Under the Dutch, Batavia developed as a fortified trading hub and then a colonial capital. Old Batavia is the original downtown area of Jakarta and contains many of its historic buildings. Weltevreden (now Sawah Besar) was another important section of the city during Dutch rule.

The Dutch built fortifications, government buildings, social clubs ("societeits"), rail infrastructure, canals, schools, post offices, factories and office buildings in the city. They imposed social divisions on the city's inhabitants, a mix of Dutch, Javanese, people for other Indies islands, and Chinese. They maintained their control and elite status with rules restricting the activities of other social groups. Areas with buildings from Dutch Batavia include Old Batavia, Waterloo Square (now Lapangan Banteng) and the plaza area around the Stadhuisplein (statehouse square). The long period of Dutch control and development was a major part of the history of Jakarta and left a lasting legacy on Jakarta.

History

Before the Dutch

Main article: History of Jakarta

Jayakarta around 1605–8, before its complete eradication by the Dutch, showing earlier pre-colonial structures before Batavia was founded.

In the 15th century AD there was, at the mouth of the Ciliwung River in the western part of Java Island, a harbour called Kalapa. It was one of the sea ports of the Sundanese kingdom of Pajajaran whose capital, Pakuan, was situated on the location of the modern city of Bogor, some 60 km upstream on the river.

The Portuguese, who had conquered Malacca in 1511 and wanted to set foot in the Moluccas, the famed "Spices Islands", were looking for a relay harbour on Java. Kalapa was attractive to them, all the more so since Pajajaran, which was still a Hindu polity, could make an allied against Muslims who dominated the regional trade at that time. In 1522, the Portuguese signed with Pajajaran a treaty.

In 1527 Fatahillah attacked the Portuguese garrison. Banten had just freed itself from the overlordship of Pajajaran. On the ruins of the Portuguese fort, he founded the town of Jayakarta ("victorious act" in Sanskrit).

Port town of Jayakarta

Main article: History of Jakarta

Jayakarta in 1605 prior the establishment of Batavia.

To prevent Portuguese gaining a foothold on Java, Fatahillah, on behalf of the Demak attacked the Portuguese in Sunda Kelapa in 1527 and succeeded in conquering the harbour on June 22, after which Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta. Later, the port became a part of the Banten Sultanate, located west from Jayakarta. Prince Jayawikarta, a follower of the Sultan of Banten, established a settlement on the west banks of the Ciliwung River, erecting a military post to control the port at the mouth of the river.

In 1595, merchants from Amsterdam embarked upon an expedition to the East Indies archipelago. Under the command of Cornelis de Houtman, the expedition arrived in Bantam and Jayakarta in 1596 with the intention of trading spices, similar to the intentions of the Portuguese.

Later, in 1602, the English East India Company's first voyage, commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Bantam, the capital of the Sultanate of Banten. There he was allowed to build a trading post that became the center of English trade in Indonesia until 1682.

In 1610, Dutch merchants were granted permission to build a wooden godown and houses opposite to Prince Jayawikarta's settlement on the east bank of the Ciliwung River. As the Dutch grew increasingly powerful, Jayawikarta allowed the British to erect houses on the West Bank of the Ciliwung River, as well as a fort close to his customs office post, to keep his strength equal to that of the Dutch. Jayawikarta supported the British because his palace was at threat from the Dutch cannons.

In December 1618, the tense relationship between Prince Jayawikarta and the Dutch escalated, and Jayawikarta's soldiers besieged the Dutch fortress that covered two strong godowns, namely Nassau and Mauritius. A British fleet of 15 ships arrived under the leadership of Sir Thomas Dale, an English naval commander and former governor of the Colony of Virginia (present State of Virginia).

After the sea battle, the newly appointed Dutch governor, Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1618), escaped to the Moluccas to seek support. (The Dutch had already overtaken the first of the Portuguese forts there in 1605.) Meanwhile, the commander of the Dutch army, Pieter van den Broecke, along with five other men, was arrested during the negotiations, as Jayawikarta believed that he had been deceived by the Dutch. Later, Jayawikarta and the British entered into a friendship agreement.

The Dutch army was on the verge of surrendering to the British when, in 1619, a sultan from Banten sent a group of soldiers to summon Prince Jayawikarta. A request was made for the establishment of a closed, exclusive relationship with the British, without prior approval from Banten authorities. The conflict between Banten and Prince Jayawikarta, as well as the tense relationship between Banten and the British, presented a new opportunity for the Dutch.

On May 30, 1619, relieved by the change in the situation and facing no opposition, Coen led the Dutch army to attack and burn the city of Jayakarta and its palace, and to expel its population. Jayakarta was completely destroyed and only the remnants of the Padrão of Sunda Kelapa remained. These were later discovered in 1918 during an excavation in the Kota area, on the corner of Cengkeh street and Nelayan Timur Street, and are stored at the National Museum in Jakarta. The location of Jayakarta could have been in Pulau Gadung. Prince Jayawikarta retired to Tanara, the eventual place of his death, in the interior of Banten. The Dutch established a closer relationship with Banten and assumed control of the port, thus allowing the Dutch East Indies to rule the entire region.

Dutch East India Company (17th – 18th century)

View of the inner courtyard of Batavia Castle, where the VOC buildings and Residence of the governor general were located within the walls of the castle at Batavia

The Dutch fortress garrison, along with hired soldiers from Japan, Germany, Scotia, Denmark and Belgium, celebrated its triumph, while the godowns of Nassau and Mauritius were expanded with the erection of a new fort extension to the east on March 12, 1619, overseen by Commander Van Raay. Coen wished to name the new settlement "Nieuw-Hoorn" (after his birthplace, Hoorn), but was prevented from doing so by the board of the East India Company, the Heeren XVII. Batavia became the new name for the fort and settlement. The name was derived from the Germanic tribe of the Batavi, as it was believed at the time that the tribe's members were the ancestors of the Dutch people. Jayakarta was then called "Batavia" for more than 300 years.

On 2 July 1619, Coen decided to expand the original fort into a larger fortress. Coen sent the draft of the Kasteel van Batavia to the Netherlands on 7 October 1619. This new castle was much larger than the previous castle, and two of the northern bastions would lie over the sea.

The Javanese people were made to feel unwelcome in Batavia from the time of its foundation in 1619, as the Dutch feared an insurrection. Coen asked Willem Ysbrandtszoon Bontekoe, a skipper for the Dutch East India Company, to bring 1000 Chinese people to Batavia from Macao, but only a small segment of the 1000 survived the trip. In 1621, another attempt was initiated and 15,000 people were deported from the Banda Islands to Batavia, but only 600 survived the trip.

Print of Dutch trading vessels and other ships off the coast of Batavia, c. 1665

On August 27, 1628, Sultan Agung, king of the Mataram Sultanate (1613–1645), launched his first offensive on Batavia. He suffered heavy losses, retreated, and launched a second offensive in 1629. The Dutch fleet destroyed both his supplies and ships, located in the harbors of Cirebon and Tegal. Mataram troops, starving and decimated by illness, retreated again. Later, Sultan Agung pursued his conquering ambitions in an eastward direction and attacked Blitar, Panarukan and the Blambangan principality in Eastern Java, a vassal of the Balinese kingdom of Gelgel.

Following the siege, it was decided that Batavia would need a stronger defense system. Based on the military defensive engineering ideas by Simon Stevin, a Flemish mathematician and military engineer, governor-general Jacques Specx designed a moat and city wall that surrounded the city; extensions of the city walls appeared to the west of Batavia and the city became completely enclosed. The city section within the defense lines was structured according to a grid layout, criss-crossed with canals that straightened the flow of the Ciliwung river.

In 1656, due to a conflict with Banten, the Javanese were not allowed to reside within the city walls and consequently settled outside Batavia. Only the Chinese people and the Mardijkers were allowed to settle within the walled city of Batavia. In 1659, a temporary peace with Banten enabled the city to grow and, during this period, more bamboo shacks appeared in Batavia. From 1667, bamboo houses, as well as the keeping of livestock, were banned within the city. Meanwhile, the city progressively became an attraction for many people and suburbs began to develop outside the city walls.

Batavia in the 17th century

The area outside the walls was considered unsafe for the non-native inhabitants of Batavia. The marsh area around Batavia could only be fully cultivated when a new peace treaty was signed with Banten in 1684 and country houses were subsequently established outside the city walls. The Chinese people began with the cultivation of sugarcane and tuak, with coffee a later addition.

The large-scale cultivation caused destruction to the environment, in addition to coastal erosion in the northern area of Batavia. Maintenance of the canal was extensive due to frequent closures and the continuous dredging that was required. In the 18th century, Batavia became increasingly affected by malaria epidemics, as the marsh areas were breeding grounds for mosquitos. The disease killed many Europeans, resulting in Batavia receiving the nickname, "Het kerkhof der Europeanen" ("the cemetery of the Europeans"). Wealthier European settlers, who could afford relocation, moved to southern areas of higher elevation. Eventually, the old city was dismantled in 1810.

Society of 17th – 18th-century Batavia

Batavia was founded as a trade and administrative center of the Dutch East India Company; it was never intended to be a settlement for the Dutch people. Coen founded Batavia for trade, with city's inhabitants taking care of the production and supply of food. There was no migration of Dutch families and a mixed society was formed. There were few Dutch women in Batavia. Relationships between Dutch men and Asian women did not usually result in marriage, as the women could not return to the Dutch Republic. This societal pattern created a mixed group of mestizo descendants in Batavia. The sons of this mixed group often traveled to Europe to study, while the daughters were forced to remain in Batavia, with the latter often marrying VOC (acronym in Dutch for Dutch East India Company) officials at a very young age.

Copperplate print of the Spinning House jail, c. 1682 from the Atlas of Mutual Heritage. Laundry is being washed on the quay

The women in Batavia developed into an important feature of the social network of Batavia; they were accustomed to dealing with slaves and spoke the same language, mostly Portuguese and Malay. Eventually, many of these women effectively became widows, as their husbands left Batavia to returned to the Netherlands, and their children were often removed as well. These women were known as snaar (“string”).

As the VOC preferred to maintain complete control over its business, a large number of slaves was employed. Batavia became an unattractive location for people who wanted to establish their own businesses.

Depiction of a Balinese slave in Batavia from Bali Chronicles by Willard Hanna, Cornelis de Bruyn artist. To avoid a revolt of the people of Java, many coolies and slaves were employed from places outside Java, such as Bali, the Moluccas, India, and China

Most of Batavia's residents were of Asian descent. Thousands of slaves were brought from India and Arakan and, later, slaves were brought from Bali and Sulawesi. To avoid an uprising, a decision was made to free the Javanese people from slavery. Chinese people made up the largest group in Batavia, with most of them merchants and labourers. The Chinese people were the most decisive group in the development of Batavia. There was also a large group of freed slaves, usually Portuguese-speaking Asian Christians, that was formerly under the rule of the Portuguese. The group's members were made prisoners by the VOC during numerous conflicts with the Portuguese. Portuguese was the dominant language in Batavia until the late 18th century, when the language was slowly replaced with Dutch and Malay. Additionally, there were also Malays, as well as Muslim and Hindu merchants from India.

Initially, these different ethnic groups lived alongside each other; however, in 1688, complete segregation was enacted upon the indigenous population. Each ethnic group was forced to live in its own established village outside the city wall. There were Javanese villages for Javanese people, Moluccan villages for the Moluccans, and so on. Each person was tagged with a tag to identify them with their own ethnic group; later, this identity tag was replaced with a parchment. Reporting was compulsory for intermarriage that involved different ethnic groups.

Engraving of the massacre of Chinese people in Batavia on October 9, 1740

Within Batavia's walls, the wealthy Dutch built tall houses and canals. Commercial opportunities attracted Indonesian and especially Chinese immigrants, with the increasing population numbers creating a burden upon the city. Tensions grew as the colonial government attempted to restrict Chinese migration through deportations. On October 9, 1740, 10,000 Chinese were massacred and, during the following year, Chinese inhabitants were moved to Glodok, outside the city walls.

In the 18th century, more than 60% of Batavia's population consisted of slaves working for the VOC. The slaves were mostly engaged to undertake housework, while working and living conditions were generally reasonable. Laws were enacted that protected slaves against overly cruel actions from their masters; for example, Christian slaves were given freedom after the death of their masters, while some slaves were allowed to own a store and make money to buy their freedom. Sometimes, slaves fled and established gangs that would roam throughout the area.

From the beginning of the VOC establishment in Batavia, until the colony became a fully-fledged town, the population of Batavia grew tremendously. At the beginning, Batavia consisted of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and, by the second half of the 19th century, Batavia consisted of 800,000 inhabitants. By the end of the VOC rule of Batavia, the population of Batavia had reached one million.

Modern colonialism (19th century – 1942)

Batavia in 1840, showing the growth of the city to the south of the old Batavia.

After the VOC was formally liquidated in 1800, the Batavian Republic expanded all of the VOC's territorial claims into a fully-fledged colony named the Dutch East Indies. From the company's regional headquarters, Batavia evolved into the capital of the colony. During this era of concurrent urbanization and industrialization, Batavia was involved in the inceptive stage of most of the colony's modernizing developments.

In 1808, Daendels decided to quit the by-then dilapidated and unhealthy Old Town—a new town center was subsequently built further to the south, near the estate of Weltevreden. Batavia thereby became a city with two centers: Kota as the hub of business, where the offices and warehouses of shipping and trading companies were located; while Weltevreden became the new home for the government, military, and shops. These two centers were connected by the Molenvliet Canal and a road (now Gajah Mada Road) that ran alongside the waterway. This period in the 19th century consisted of numerous technological advancements and city beautification initiatives in Batavia, earning Batavia the nickname, "De Koningin van het Oosten", or "Queen of the East".

The city began to move further south, as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the port.

Map of Batavia in 1897

The Supreme Court and the Palace of Daendels the 'Big House' at the Waterlooplein, Batavia in around 1930

Abolition of Cultuurstelsel (1870)

The abolition of the Cultuurstelsel in 1870 led to the rapid development of private enterprise in the Dutch Indies. Numerous trading companies and financial institutions established themselves in Java, with most settling in Batavia. These private companies owned or managed plantations, oil fields, or mines. Railway stations were also designed during this period, in a style that was characteristic of the period. Many schools, hospitals, factories, offices, trading companies, and post offices were established throughout the city, while improvements in transportation, health, and technology in Batavia caused more and more Dutch people to migrate to the capital—the society of Batavia consequently became increasingly Dutch-like. International trade activity occurred with Europe and the increase of shipping led to the construction of a new harbor at Tanjung Priok between 1877 and 1883. The Dutch people who had never set foot on Batavia were known locally as Totoks. The term was also used to identify new Chinese arrivals, to differentiate them from the Peranakan. Many totoks developed a great love for the Indies culture of Indonesia and adopted this culture; they could be observed wearing kebayas, sarongs, as well as summer dresses.

By the end of the 19th-century, the population of the capital Batavian regency numbered 115,887 people, of which 8,893 were Europeans, 26,817 were Chinese and 77,700 were indigenous islanders. A significant consequence of these expanding commercial activities was the immigration of large numbers of Dutch employees, as well as rural Javanese, into Batavia. In 1905, the population of Batavia and the surrounding area reached 2.1 million, including 93,000 Chinese people, 14,000 Europeans, and 2,800 Arabs (in addition to the local population). This growth resulted in an increased demand for housing and land prices consequently soared. New houses were often built in dense arrangements and kampung settlements filled the spaces left in between the new structures. This settlements proceeded with little regard for the tropical conditions and resulted in overly dense living conditions, poor sanitation, and an absence of public amenities. In 1913, the plague broke out in Java. Also during the period, Old Batavia abandoned moats and ramparts experienced a new boom, as the commercial companies were re-established along the Kali Besar. In a very short period of time, the area of Old Batavia re-established itself as a new commercial center, with 20th-century and 17th-century buildings adjacent to each other.

The Dutch Ethical Policy was introduced in 1901, expanding educational opportunities for indigenous population of the Dutch East Indies. In 1924 a law school was founded in Batavia. The University of Batavia was established in 1941 and later became the University of Indonesia. In 1946, the Dutch colonial government established the Nood Universiteit (Emergency University) in Jakarta. In 1947, the name was changed to Universiteit van Indonesië (UVI) (Indonesia University). Following the Indonesian National Revolution, the government established a state university in Jakarta in February 1950 named Universiteit Indonesia, comprising the BPTRI units and the former UVI. The name was later changed into Universitas Indonesia (UI).

National revival

Mohammad Husni Thamrin, a member of Volksraad, criticized the Colonial Government for ignoring the development of kampung ("inlander's area") while catering for the rich people in Menteng. Thamrin also talked about the issue of Farming Tax and the other taxes that were burdensome for the poorer members of the community.

Independence movement

In 1909, Tirtoadisurjo, a graduate of OSVIA (Training School for Native Officials), founded the Islamic Commercial Union (Sarekat Dagang Islamiyah) in Batavia to support Indonesian merchants. Branches in other areas followed. In 1920, Tjokroaminoto and Agus Salim set up a committee in Batavia to support the Ottoman caliphate.

The militant newspaper Independent Indonesia (Indonesia Merdeka) began publishing in 1924. Randen Sutomo withdrew from Budi Utomo in 1925 and founded the Indonesian Study Club.

In 1926, espionage warned the Dutch of a planned revolt and PKI leaders were arrested. Andries C. D. de Graeff replaced Fock as governor-general and uprisings in Batavia, Banten, and Priangan were quickly crushed. Armed Communists occupied the Batavia telephone exchange for one night before being captured. The Dutch sent prisoners to Banden and to a penal colony at Boven Digul in West Irian (West New Guinea) where many died of malaria. On July 4, 1927 Sukarno and the Study Club founded the Indonesian Nationalist Association which became the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) and later joined with the Partai Sarekat Islam, Budi Utomo, and the Surabaya Study Club to form the Union of Indonesian Political Associations (PPPKI). A youth congress was held in Batavia on October 1928 and the groups began referring to the city as Jakarta. They demanded Indonesian independence, displayed the red-and-white flag, and sang the Indonesian national anthem written by W. R. Supratman. The Dutch banned the flag, the national anthem, and the terms Indonesia and Indonesian.

Japanese occupation and National revolution era

Main article: History of Jakarta

Sketch of the Japanese entry into Batavia

On March 5, 1942, Batavia fell to the Japanese, ending the colonial Batavia. The Dutch formally surrendered to the Japanese occupation forces on March 9, 1942, and rule of the colony was transferred to Japan. The city was renamed Jakarta. The economic situation and the physical condition of Indonesian cities deteriorated during the occupation. Many buildings were vandalized, as metal was needed for the war, and many iron statues from the Dutch colonial period were taken away by the Japanese troops. Civil buildings were converted into internment camps where Dutch people were imprisoned.

After the war the city was briefly occupied by the Allies and then was returned to the Dutch. The Dutch name Batavia remained the internationally recognized name until full Indonesian independence was achieved and Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital (and its present name recognized) on December 27, 1949.Willem Johan Waworoentoe (September 17, 2013). "Jakarta". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

See also

• History of Jakarta
• List of colonial buildings and structures in Jakarta
• Timeline of Jakarta

Works cited

• de Haan, Fonger (1922). Oud Batavia (in Dutch). Vol. 1. Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. Batavia: G. Kolff & Company. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

Additional sources

• Lombard, Denys, Le carrefour javanais

Further reading

• Batavia: Queen City of the East G. Kolff & Company, 1925
• The Social World of Batavia: European and Eurasian in Dutch Asia by Jean Gelman Taylor, University of Wisconsin Press, January 1, 1983
• The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia, edited by Lâeonard Blussâe, Menghong Chen, Brill, January 1, 2003 - accounts of the Chinese Indonesian experience in Batavia
• Jakarta-Batavia: socio-cultural essays C. D. Grijns, P. Nas