The oldest area in Jakarta is the northern part of the west coast of Java where the Ciliwung River flows into the bays in Jakarta. This port city was originally named Sunda Kelapa, but on June 22, 1527 Prince Fatahillah destroyed Sunda Kelapa and instead founded the city of Jayakarta in the area.
This date was later determined as the date of the establishment of the city of Jakarta. The city of Jayakarta developed as a busy port city, where traders from China, India, Arabia and Europe as well as from other countries exchanged goods / commodities.
In 1619, the Dutch Government (VOC) under the leadership of Jan PieterszoonCoen destroyed Jayakarta and immediately built a new city located on the western side of the Ciliwung river, which was called Batavia, a name taken from Batavieren, the ancestor of the Dutch nation.
Batavia was planned and built almost similar to the cities in the Netherlands, that was built in blocks, each still separated by canals and protected by walls as fortresses and moats. Batavia was completed in 1650. Old Batavia was the residence of Europeans, while the Chinese, Javanese and other natives were displaced elsewhere.
In its heyday Batavia, which was known as the ‘Gem of the East’, was occupied by the VOC and then finally occupied by the Dutch government which stretched across the East Indies archipelago. Then during the Japanese occupation in 1942, the name Batavia was changed to Jakarta.
