Batavia (Jakarta)

Timeline

1. 1619Old Batavia district (former old port of Jakarta) · JavaVOC Governor Jan Pieterszoon Coen led troops to destroy the port of Jakarta under the Banten Sultanate, and built Batavia on the site according to Dutch urban planning models, enclosed by standard bastioned walls and laid out on a grid of canal streets. The new city had a governor's palace, warehouses, and armed fortresses, and quickly became the VOC's administrative and commercial core in Asia.
2. 1628–1629Batavia's defensive works and surroundings · JavaSultan Agung of Mataram twice sent forces to besiege Batavia: in 1628 about 10,000 troops were repelled by VOC fortress cannon fire; in 1629 about 20,000 were forced to withdraw due to overextended supply lines and rampant epidemic disease. The two failed sieges thoroughly consolidated Batavia's strategic security, demonstrated the military superiority of European fortress works in Southeast Asia, and made the city's status unshakable.
3. 1640–1700Port city of Batavia · JavaCanals, warehouses, churches, and the town hall were completed in succession within the city, while plantations and Chinese settlements guarded the outskirts. Batavia became an Asian trade hub linking Japan's Dejima, India's Coromandel Coast, the Persian Gulf, and the Netherlands itself; the VOC thereby governed colonies such as the Spice Islands and Ceylon, achieving a near-monopoly over the trade in cloves, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. 1942–1949Batavia / Jakarta · JavaIn March 1942 Japanese forces occupied Batavia and renamed it "Jakarta," interrupting the Dutch colonial era. In August 1945 Indonesia declared independence; the Netherlands at first attempted to restore rule, but finally recognized Indonesian independence in 1949. The name "Batavia" became entirely historical, and Jakarta has continued as the capital of Indonesia to this day.