Selasa, 13 April 2010

sunda kelapa harbour




















Sunda Kelapa is the old port of Jakarta located on the estuarine of Ciliwung River. "Sunda Kalapa" (Sundanese: "Coconut of Sunda") is the original name, and it was the main port of Sunda Kingdom of Pajajaran. The port is situated in Penjaringan sub-district, of North Jakarta, Indonesia. Today the old port only accommodate pinisi, a traditional two masted wooden sailing ship serving inter-island freight service in the archipelago. Although it is now only a minor port, Jakarta had its origins in Sunda Kelapa and it played a significant role in the city's development.

According to the Chinese source, Chu-fan-chi, written circa 1200, Chou-Ju-Kua identified the two most powerful and richest kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago as Srivijaya and Java (Kediri). According to this source, in the early 13th Century, Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda). The source identifies the port 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 (rumah panggung). However, robbers and thieves plagued the country.[1]

From 13th to 16th century Sunda kelapa was the main port of Sunda Kingdom. The port served the capital, Pakuan Pajajaran, located about 60 km inland south, along Ciliwung river hinterland, now the site of modern Bogor. The port thrive on international spice trade especially pepper, the main spice produce of Sunda kingdom. Sunda Kelapa, together with Aceh and Makassar, were one of the few Indonesian ports that maintained ties with Europe.

In 1522, the Portuguese secured a politics and economic agreement with Sunda Kingdom, the authority of the port. In exchange for military assistance against the threat of 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.

However in 1527, Fatahillah, on behalf of Demak attacked Portuguese in Sunda Kelapa and succeeded in conquering the harbour on June 22, 1527, after which Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta.[2] Later the port become the part of Banten Sultanate.

In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, an official working for the Dutch East India Company, seized the port of Jayakarta from the Sultanate of Banten and razed the city. From the ashes of Jayakarta, the Dutch build a new city, Batavia. The old port served as the main port of Batavia until late 19th century, when Netherlands East Indies government decided to built a new Tanjung Priok port to accommodate the increasing traffic as the result from the opening of the Suez Canal.[3] The new port located 9 kilometers east from the old port. After the independence of Republic of Indonesia, the Batavia old port is renamed back to its original name, Sunda Kelapa, as a tribute to the long history of the port as the cradle of Jakarta

jakarta old town

Jakarta Old Town (Kota Tua Jakarta), also known as Old Jakarta, and Old Batavia (Oud Batavia), is a small area in Jakarta, Indonesia. This special region spans 1.3 square kilometres of both North Jakarta and West Jakarta (Kelurahan Pinangsia, Taman Sari and Kelurahan Roa Malaka, Tambora).

Dubbed "The Jewel of Asia" and "Queen of the East" in the 16th century by European sailors, Old Jakarta — or Batavia, as it was named by the Dutch — was once considered a center of commerce for the whole continent due to its strategic location and fertile resources.

In 1526, Fatahillah sent by Sultanate of Demak, invade Hindu Pajajaran's port of Sunda Kelapa, then he change the name of the port to Jayakarta. This town is only 15 hectare in size and rendered in traditional Javanese coastal city. In 1619 VOC destroyed Jayakarta under the command of Jan Pieterzoon Coen. A year later VOC build a new town named "Batavia" to honor Batavieren, the Dutch ancestors. This city centered around east bank of Ciliwung river, around present day Fatahillah Square.

The inhabitant of Batavia are called "Batavianen", later known as "Betawi" people, the creole ethnic, the descendants of mixed various ethnicities that has inhabited Batavia.

In 1635 the city expanded towards west banks of Ciliwung, on the ruins of former Jayakarta. The city was designed in European Dutch style completed with fortress (Casteel Batavia), city wall, and canals. The city was arranged in several blocks separated with canals [1]. The city of Batavia was completed in 1650. It become the center of VOC in East Indies. The canals was disbanded due to outbreak of tropical diseases within the city wall because of sanitation and hygiene problems. The city began to expand further south as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the port, to Weltevreden area (now the area surrounding Merdeka Square). The city later become the administrative center of colonial Dutch East Indies. In 1942 during the Japanese occupation, the name of the city changes to Jakarta, and now serves as the capital city of Indonesia.

In 1972, the Governor of Jakarta Ali Sadikin issued a decree that officially made the Jakarta Kota area into a heritage site. The governor's decision was necessary in order to preserve the city's architectural roots — or at least what was left of it.

Despite the Governor's Decree, the vicinity remains neglected, as though the majority was pleased just by the issuing of the decree. Not enough was being done to protect and conserve the legacy from the Dutch colonial era.



Kamis, 08 April 2010

hey, w're indonesia if you want to know something bout indonesia, check it out!