When relations between Prince Jayawikarta and the Dutch deteriorated, Jayawikarta's soldiers attacked the Dutch fortress. Prince Jayawikarta's army and the English 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 cityBatavia.
Commercial opportunities in the capital of the Dutch colony attracted Indonesian and especially Chinese and Arab immigrants. This sudden population increase created burdens on the city. Tensions grew as the colonial government tried to restrict Chinese migration through deportations. Following a revolt, 5,000 Chinese were massacred by the Dutch and natives on 9 October 1740 and the following year, Chinese inhabitants were moved to Glodok outside the city walls.[21] At the beginning of the nineteenth century, around 400 Arabs and Moors lived in Batavia, a number which changed little during the following decades. Among the commodities traded, fabrics, especially imported cotton, batik and clothing occupied by Arab communities.[22]
The city began to expand further south as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 caused more people to move away from the port. The Koningsplein, now Merdeka Square was completed in 1818, the housing park of Menteng was started in 1913,[23] and Kebayoran Baru was the last Dutch-built residential area.[21] By 1930 Batavia had more than 500,000 inhabitants,[24] including 37,067 Europeans.[25]
After World War II, the city of Batavia was renamed "Jakarta" (short form of Jayakarta) by the Indonesian nationalists after achieving independence from the Dutch in 1946.[26]
Independence era[edit]
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.[21] Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, envisaged Jakarta as a great international city, and instigated large government-funded projects with openly nationalistic and modernist architecture.[27][28] 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 coupattempt in which 6 top generals were killed, precipitating a violent anti-communist purge in which half-a million people were killed, including many ethnic Chinese,[29] 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 region" (daerah khusus ibukota), thus gaining a status approximately equivalent to that of a province.[30] Lieutenant General Ali Sadikin served as Governor from the mid-1960s 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[31][32]—and tried to eliminate rickshaws and ban street vendors. He began control of migration to the city to stem overcrowding and poverty.[33] Foreign investment contributed to a real estate boom which changed the face of the city.[34]
The boom ended with the 1997/98 East Asian Economic crisis putting Jakarta at the centre of violence, protest, and political maneuvering. After 32 years in power, support for 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.[35]Much of the rioting targeted Chinese Indonesians.[36] Suharto resigned as president, and Jakarta has remained the focal point of democratic change in Indonesia.[37] Jemaah Islamiah-connected bombings occurred almost annually in the city between 2000 and 2005,[21] with another bombing in 2009.[38]
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