Banten (town)

Coordinates: 6°02′33″S 106°09′39″E / 6.0424495°S 106.1609316°E / -6.0424495; 106.1609316
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Bantam (city)
)
Not to be confused with the province of Banten in Java Island or the city of Batam in Riau Islands of Indonesia.

6°02′33″S 106°09′39″E / 6.0424495°S 106.1609316°E / -6.0424495; 106.1609316

Banten city from illustration c. 1724.

Banten, also written as Bantam, is a port town near the western end of

sultanate
in the area, was strategically important and a major centre for trade.

History

Main article: Old Banten

In the 5th century Banten was part of the

Chou Ju-kua, mentioned that in the early 13th century, Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda). The source identifies 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 poles (rumah panggung). However, robbers and thieves plagued the country.[1]
It is highly possible that the port of Sunda mentioned by Chou Ju-kua referred to the port of Banten.

According to Portuguese explorer Tomé Pires, in the early 16th century the port of Bantam (Banten) was one of the important ports of the Kingdom of Sunda along with the ports of Pontang, Cheguide (Cigede), Tangaram (Tangerang), Calapa (Sunda Kelapa), and Chimanuk (estuarine of Cimanuk river).[2]

As a trading city Bantam received an influx of Islamic influence in the early 16th century. Later in the 16th century, Bantam became the seat of the powerful Banten Sultanate.[3]

English Bantam

The

Fort St. George (estd. 1639), reported to Bantam.[4]

During the 17th century, the Portuguese and the Dutch fought for control of Bantam. Eventually, the fact that the Dutch found they could control their Batavia trading factory, established in 1611, more thoroughly than Bantam may have contributed to the decline of the English trading post.

The town today

Today, Banten is a small local seaport, in the economic shadow of the neighbouring port of

Merak to the west and Jakarta
to the east. There is a significant Chinese presence in the community.

In fiction

South-Bantam or Bantan-Kidoel or Lebak was the place where the eponymous character in Multatuli's novel Max Havelaar acted as the assistant-resident.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Drs. R. Soekmono (1973). Pengantar Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia 2 (2nd ed.). Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius. p. 60.
  2. ^ SJ, Adolf Heuken (1999). Sumber-sumber asli sejarah Jakarta, Jilid I: Dokumen-dokumen sejarah Jakarta sampai dengan akhir abad ke-16. Cipta Loka Caraka. p. 34.
  3. ISSN 2442-9031
    .
  4. ^ N. S. Ramaswami, Fort St. George, Madras, Pub. No. 49, Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology (T.N.S.D.A.), Madras, First Edition 1980

Works cited

  • Witton, Patrick (2003). Indonesia. Melbourne: LonelyPlanet. pp. 164–165.
    ISBN 1-74059-154-2
    .

External links

  • Banten travel guide from Wikivoyage
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