History of Jakarta

Jakarta began as a small port on the estuary of the Ciliwung River around the early 16th century CE. Its history, however, started far earlier. The area in and around Jakarta was a location of human settlement for centuries. The first historical records discovered in Jakarta's vicinity date from the 4th century CE when it was a Hindu settlement and port. The city was subsequently claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, the Muslim Sultanate of Banten, the Dutch East Indies, the Empire of Japan and finally, Indonesia.

Jakarta has been known under several names. It was called Sunda Kelapa during the Kingdom of Sunda period and Jayakarta, Djajakarta or Jacatra during the short period of the Banten Sultanate. It was then known as Batavia under the Dutch colonial empire, and Djakarta or Jakarta, during the Japanese occupation and the modern period.

Early kingdoms (4th century AD)

The coastal area of northern West Java in and around Jakarta has been the location of human settlement since the 4th century BCE Buni culture. The earliest historical record discovered in Jakarta is also one of the oldest inscriptions in Indonesian history. The coastal area around Jakarta was recognised as a port and the area was founded as a Hindu settlement around the 4th century as part of the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanagara. The Tugu inscription, discovered in Tugu sub-district, North Jakarta, confirmed that the vicinity of modern Jakarta was an ancient settlement back in the 4th century.

In ADÂ 397, King Purnawarman established Sunda Pura, located on the northern coast of West Java, as the new capital city for the kingdom. The capital of Tarumanagara kingdom was most probably located somewhere between Tugu sub-district North Jakarta and Bekasi Regency West Java. Purnawarman left seven memorial stones across the area, including the present-day Banten and West Java provinces, consisting of inscriptions bearing his name.

Kingdom of Sunda (669â€"1527)

After the power of Tarumanagara declined, its territories became part of the Kingdom of Sunda. According to the Chinese source, Chu-fan-chi, written by Chou Ju-kua in the early 13th Century, the Sumatra-based kingdom of Srivijaya ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (known as Sunda). The port of Sunda was described as strategic and thriving, with pepper from Sunda renowned for its supreme quality. The people of the area worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden piles.

One of the ports at the mouth of a river was renamed Sunda Kelapa or Kalapa (Coconut of Sunda), as written in Hindu Bujangga Manik, manuscripts from a monk's lontar and one of the precious remnants of Old Sundanese literature. The port served Pakuan Pajajaran (present day Bogor), the capital of the Sunda Kingdom. By the fourteenth century, Sunda Kelapa became a major trading port for the kingdom.

Accounts of 16th century European explorers make mention of a city called Kalapa, which apparently served as the primary port of a Hindu kingdom of Sunda. In 1522, the Portuguese secured Luso Sundanese padrÃ£o, |a political and economic agreement with the Sunda Kingdom, the authority of the port. In exchange for military assistance against the threat of the rising Islamic Javan Sultanate of Demak, Prabu Surawisesa, king of Sunda at that time, granted them free access to the pepper trade. Portuguese who were in the service of the sovereign made their homes in Sunda Kelapa.

Banten Sultanate (1527â€"1619)

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.

By the late 16th century, Jayakarta was under the rule of the Sultanate of Banten. 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 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 PadrÃ£o 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 â€" 18th century)

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. Instead, 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.

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.

On August 27, 1628, Sultan Agung, king of the Mataram Sultanate (1613â€"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.

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.

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 as a trading company, whereby a city's inhabitants would take care of the production and supply of food. As a result, there was no migration of Dutch families and, instead, 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 travelled 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. The women's position 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 return to the Netherlands, and their children were often removed as well. These women were known as snaar (â€œstringâ€).

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.

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.

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 â€" 1942)

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 urbanisation and industrialisation, Batavia was involved in the inceptive stage of most of the colony's modernising developments.

In 1808, Daendels decided to quit the by-then dilapidated and unhealthy Old Townâ€"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.

By the end of the 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. 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 capitalâ€"the society of Batavia consequently became increasingly Dutch-like. 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.

During the Indonesian National Revival era, 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.

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. However, such development 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 and during this period, the Old Batavia, with its 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.

See also List of colonial buildings and structures in Jakarta

Technological advancement in 19th-century Batavia

On February 3, 1836, the first government steamboat, Willem I, arrived at the Batavia shipyard of Island Onrust. This was followed by the arrival of another steamer from the "Nederland" Royal Mail line in September 1871. On December 1, 1881, the first dock of the Netherlands Indian Dry Docks Company was opened on Pulau Amsterdam (Eiland Amsterdam) in the roadsteads of Batavia.

By the end of 1853, the first exhibition of agricultural products and native arts and crafts was held in Batavia. Commemoration of the first centenary of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences was held on June 1, 1878. In November 1884, an exhibition of Javanese crafts and arts was held in the Zoological Gardens in what is now Taman Ismail Marzuki. From August 12 to November 19, 1883, an exhibition of agricultural products and native arts and crafts was held at Batavia's Koningsplein.

In 1860, the Willem III school was opened. On July 16, 1895, the Pasteur Institute was established. On January 15, 1888, an anatomical and bacterial laboratory was established in Batavia.

In March 1864, a concession was granted to the Netherlands Indian Railway Company for the construction of a railway between Batavia and Buitenzorg; this line was completed on September 15, 1871. Gradually, the line would be connected to Cicurug in 1881, to Sukabumi in 1882, to Cianjur in 1883, then to Bandung in 1884â€"Batavia had become connected to Bandung. With the opening of the railway section, Tasikmalaya-Maos, on November 1, 1894, Batavia was also connected with Surabaya by railway.

In 1869, the Batavia Tramway Company started the horse-tram line, 'nr 1: Old Batavia' (now Jakarta Kota). The route started at the Amsterdam Gate in the northern end of Prinsenstraat (now Jalan Cengkeh) and then reached Molenvliet (Jalan Gajah Madah) and Harmonie. Following 1882, the horse-tram lines were reconstructed into steamtram lines. The electric train that commenced operating in 1899 was the first ever electric train in the Kingdom of Netherlands.

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. Jakarta Old Town's deteriorating structures were replaced with offices, typically along the Kali Besar. 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.

A boom occurred in the international trade activity with Europe and the increase of shipping led to the construction of a new harbor at Tanjung Priok between 1877 and 1883. In 1886, the Tanjung Priok Station connected the harbor with the city of Batavia.

In 1883, the Dutch Indies Telephone Company was established in Batavia.

Japanese Occupation

On March 5, 1942, Batavia fell to the Japanese. 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" and the official name was "Jakarta Tokubetsu Shi" ("Special Municipality of Jakarta"), in accordance with the "special" status that was assigned to the city. This was a period of decline in Bataviaâ€"during three-and-a-half years of occupation, both the economic situation and the physical condition of Indonesian cities deteriorated. 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.

To strengthen its position in Indonesia, the Japanese government issued Act No. 42 1942 as part of the "Restoration of the Regional Administration System". This act divided Java into several Syuu ("Resident Administration" or Karesidenan) that were each led by a Bupati (Regent). Each Syuu was divided into several Shi ("Municipality" or Stad Gemeente) that were led by Wedanas ("District Heads"). Below a Wedana was a Wedana Assistant ("Sub-district Head"), who, in turn, oversaw a Lurah ("Village Unit Head"), who, in turn, was responsible over a Kepala Kampung ("Kampung Chief").

A Schichoo ("Mayor") was superior to all of these officials, following the law created by the Guisenken ("Head of the Japanese Imperial Administration"). The effect of this system was a "one-man rule" structure with no councils or representative bodies. The first schichoo of Jakarta was Tsukamoto and the last was Hasegawa.

In 1943, the Japanese Imperial administration slightly revised the administration of Jakarta by adding a special counseling body. This agency was composed of twelve local Javanese leaders who were regarded as loyal to the Japanese; among them were Suwiryo and Dahlan Abdullah.

National revolution era (1945â€"1950)

Following the eventual surrender of the Japanese, Indonesia declared its independence on August 17, 1945. The proclamation was enacted at Jalan Pegangsaan Timur No. 56 (now Jalan Proklamasi), Jakarta, with Suwiryo acting as the committee chairman. Suwiryo was recognized as the first mayor of Jakarta Tokubetsu Shi and this name was soon altered to read, Pemerintah Nasional Kota Jakarta ("Jakarta City National Administration").

On September 29, 1945, Anglo-Dutch troops arrived in Jakarta for the purpose of disarming and repatriation of the Japanese garrison. They also planned on reasserting control over the colony. On November 21, 1945, Suwiryo and his assistants were arrested by members of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration.

Following World War II, Indonesian Republicans withdrew from Ally-occupied Jakarta during the fight for Indonesian independence and established the capital in Yogyakarta.

Urban development continued to stagnate while the Dutch tried to re-establish themselves. In 1947, the Dutch succeeded in implementing a set of planning regulations for urban developmentâ€"the SSO/SVV (Stadsvormings-ordonantie/Stadsvormings-verordening)â€"that had been devised prior to the war.

On December 27, 1949, the Dutch recognized Indonesia as an independent country and sovereign federal state under the name of "Republic of the United States of Indonesia". At this time, the Jakarta City Administration was led by Mayor Sastro Mulyono.

In 1949, construction occurred for the urban planning of Kebayoran Baru, designed by Moh. Soesilo was started on March 8, 1949, and was completed in 1955. Kebayoran Baru is considered the first urban planning design that was created by an Indonesian.

Early independence era (1950sâ€"1960s)

In 1950, the Dutch left and their residences and properties were taken over by the Indonesian government in 1957. Once independence was secured, Jakarta was once again made the national capital. The departure of the Dutch caused a massive migration of the rural population into Jakarta, in response to a perception that the city was the place for economic opportunities. The kampung areas in Jakarta swelled as a result.

Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, envisaged Jakarta as a great international city and instigated large government-funded projects that were undertaken with openly nationalistic architectureâ€"a newly independent nation's pride was on international display. To promote nationalist pride among Indonesian people, Sukarno infused his modernist ideas into the urban planning initiatives that he approved for the capital city (eventually Jakarta).

Some of the notable monumental projects of Sukarno are: the clover-leaf highway, a broad by-pass in Jakarta (Jalan Jenderal Sudirman); four high-rise hotels, including the Hotel Indonesia; a new parliament building; a stadium; the largest mosque in Southeast Asia; and numerous monuments and memorials, including The National Monument.

Kampung improvement program (1970s)

Since 1970, the national development policy has been focused primarily on economic growth and achievement. This situation encouraged the emergence of a large number of private housing projects, but government housing schemes have also been implemented to cope with the growth of urban populations. During this period, kampung improvement programs have been reintroduced to improve conditions in existing areas. The Kampung Improvement Programme of Jakarta, enacted by Ali Sadikin, the governor of Jakarta (1966â€"1977), was a success; the program won the Aga Khan Award for architecture in 1980. Sadikin was also responsible for rehabilitating public services, banning rickshaws, and clearing out "slum dwellers" and "street peddlers". Despite the perceived success of this policy, it was discontinued for its over-emphasis upon the improvement of only physical infrastructure.

Recent urban development (1980sâ€"present)

During the 1980s, smaller land sites were acquired for high-rise projects, while larger parcels of land were subdivided for low-key projects, such as the building of new shophouses. This period also saw the removal of kampongs from the inner-city areas and the destruction of many historical buildings. One infamous case was the demolition of the Society of Harmonie and the subsequent construction of a parking lot.

The period between the late-1980s and the mid-1990s saw a massive increase in foreign investment as Jakarta became the focus of a real estate boom. The investment of overseas capital into joint-venture property and construction projects with local developers brought many foreign architects into Indonesia. However, unlike the Dutch architects of the 1930s, many of these expatriate architects were unfamiliar with the tropics, while their local partners had received similarly Modernist architectural training. As a result, downtown areas in Jakarta gradually resembled those of the large Western cities; and often at a high environmental cost: high-rise buildings consume huge amounts of energy in terms of air-conditioning and other services.

The economic boom period of Jakarta ended abruptly in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and many projects were left abandoned. The city became a center of violence, protest, and political maneuvering, as long-time president, Suharto, began to lose his grip on power. Tensions reached a peak in May 1998, when four students were shot dead at Trisakti University by security forces; four days of riots ensued, resulting in damage to, or destruction of, an estimated 6,000 buildings, and the loss of 1,200 lives. The Chinese of the Glodok district were severely affected during the riot period and accounts of rape and murder later emerged. In the following years, including several terms of ineffective Presidents, Jakarta was a center of popular protest and national political instability, including a number of Jemaah Islamiyah-connected bombings.

Since the turn of the century, the people of Jakarta have witnessed a period of political stability and prosperity, along with another construction boom.

Notes and references

External links

Pictures and Map from 1733 (Homannische Erben, Nuernberg-Germany)

History of Jakarta

Monday, April 27, 2015