Large Javanese Sailing Ship

Timeline

1. 1371–1380North Java shipyards · East JavaJongs were built of ironwood, teak and other hardwoods using mortise-and-tenon joinery with wooden pegs; hulls were broad, thick and deep-drafted. Large jongs had multiple decks and four or more masts, with balanced rudders and anchoring gear. In the 1370s Majapahit-controlled yards could build ocean-going vessels of several hundred tons, a craft inherited from the Srivijaya–Majapahit maritime tradition.
2. 1371–1380Java Sea–Makassar Strait · NanyangJongs carried pepper, cloves, sandalwood, rice and cotton cloth between Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, the Moluccas and ports of the Malay Peninsula. In the 1310s Majapahit used jong fleets to maintain tributary embassies and chartered trade, forming a Java-centered multi-port trading network.
3. 1371–1380South China Sea route · South China SeaLarge jongs could cross the South China Sea on the northeast and southwest monsoons, carrying archipelago products to Chinese ports and returning with silk, porcelain and copper coins. Despite the early Ming maritime prohibition, in the 1370s vassal-state envoys and smuggler ships still used jongs; records by Wang Dayuan and earlier writers provide an important reference for later understanding of this ship type.
4. 1377Waters off Palembang · SumatraWhen Majapahit attacked Palembang in 1377, jongs were deployed as main warships and troop transports. War jongs could carry hundreds of soldiers and siege engines, playing a decisive role in estuarine and coastal combat, showing that in the 1370s jongs served both trade and military functions.