Pre-colonial era
The area in and around modern Jakarta was part of the fourth century
Sundanese kingdom of
Tarumanagara, one of the oldest
Hindu kingdom in Indonesia.
Following the decline of Tarumanagara, its territories, including the Jakarta area, became part of the
Kingdom of Sunda. From 7th to early 13th century port of Sunda is within the sphere of influence of
Srivijaya maritime empire. According to the Chinese source,
Chu-fan-chi, written circa 1200,
Chou Ju-kua reported in the early 13th century Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (
Sunda). The source reports the port of Sunda as strategic and thriving,
pepper from Sunda being among the best in quality. The people worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden piles.
The harbour area became known as
Sunda Kelapa and by the fourteenth century, it was a major trading port for Sunda kingdom.
The first
European fleet, four
Portuguese ships from
Malacca, arrived in 1513 when the Portuguese were looking for a route for
spices.
The Kingdom of Sunda
made an alliance treaty with Portugal by allowing the Portuguese to build a port in 1522 in order to defend against the rising power of the
Sultanate of Demak from central Java.
In 1527,
Fatahillah, a Sumatran Malay warrior from Demak attacked and conquered Sunda Kelapa, driving out the Portuguese. Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta,
and became a fiefdom of the
Sultanate of Banten which became a major Southeast Asia trading center.
The Castle of Batavia, seen from West Kali Besar by
Andries Beeckman circa 1656-58
Through the relationship with Prince Jayawikarta from the
Sultanate of Banten, Dutch ships arrived in Jayakarta in 1596. In 1602, the
British East India Company's first voyage, commanded by
Sir James Lancaster, arrived in
Aceh and sailed on to Banten where they were allowed to build a trading post. This site became the center of British trade in Indonesia until 1682.
Jayawikarta is thought to have made trading connections with the English merchants, rivals of the Dutch, by allowing them to build houses directly across from the Dutch buildings in 1615.
Colonial era
When relations between Prince Jayawikarta and the Dutch deteriorated, Jayawikarta's soldiers attacked the Dutch fortress. Prince Jayakarta's army and the British were defeated by the Dutch, in part owing to the timely arrival of
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (J.P. Coen). The Dutch burned the English fort, and forced the English to retreat on their ships. The victory consolidated Dutch power and in 1619 they renamed the city "Batavia."
Commercial opportunities in the capital of the Dutch colony attracted Indonesian and especially Chinese immigrants, the increasing numbers creating burdens on the city. Tensions grew as the colonial government tried to restrict Chinese migration through deportations. On 9 October 1740, 5,000 Chinese were
massacred and the following year, Chinese inhabitants were moved to
Glodok outside the city walls.
The city began to move further south as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the port. The Koningsplein, now
Merdeka Square was completed in 1818, the housing park of
Menteng was started in 1913,
and
Kebayoran Baru was the last Dutch-built residential area.
By 1930 Batavia had more than 500,000 inhabitants,
including 37,067 Europeans.
The Japanese renamed the city "Jakarta" during
their World War II occupation of Indonesia.
Independence era
Following World War II, Indonesian Republicans withdrew from
Allied-occupied Jakarta during
their fight for Indonesian independence and established their capital in
Yogyakarta. In 1950, once independence was secured, Jakarta was once again made the national capital.
Indonesia's founding president,
Sukarno, envisaged Jakarta as a great international city, and instigated large government-funded projects with openly nationalistic and
modernist architecture.
Projects included a clover-leaf highway, a major boulevard (Jalan MH Thamrin-Sudirman), monuments such as
The National Monument,
Hotel Indonesia, a shopping centre, and a new parliament building. In October 1965, Jakarta was the site of
an abortive coup attempt in which 6 top generals were killed, precipitating
a violent anti-communist purge in which half-a million were killed, and
the beginning of Suharto's New Order. A monument stands
where the generals' bodies were dumped.
In 1966, Jakarta was declared a "special capital city district" (
daerah khusus ibukota), thus gaining a status approximately equivalent to that of a state or province.
Lieutenant General
Ali Sadikin served as Governor from the mid-60's commencement of the "
New Order" through to 1977; he rehabilitated roads and bridges, encouraged the arts, built several hospitals, and a large number of new schools. He also cleared out slum dwellers for new development projects—some for the benefit of the Suharto family
—and tried to eliminate rickshaws and ban street vendors. He began control of migration to the city in order to stem the overcrowding and poverty.
Foreign investment contributed to a real estate boom which changed the face of the city.
The boom ended with the
1997/98 East Asian Economic crisis putting Jakarta at the center of violence, protest, and political maneuvering. After 32 years in power support from
President Suharto began to wane. Tensions reached a peak in when four students were shot dead at
Trisakti University by security forces;
four days of riots and violence ensued that killed an estimated 1,200, and destroyed or damaged 6,000 buildings.
Much of the rioting targeted
Chinese Indonesians.
Suharto resigned as president, and Jakarta has remained the focal point of democratic change in Indonesia.
Jemaah Islamiah-connected bombings occurred almost annually in the city between 2000 and 2005,
with
another bombing in 2009.
