indahnesia.com - Java island - Banten - The old pepper-harbor of Java

The coastal city of Banten, eighty kilometers west of nowadays Jakarta, at the northern coast of the island Java, was the biggest center of transport of spices in the 16th and 17th century. At its peek, it was almost as important as Amsterdam. Nowadays Banten is only a small fishing village, which can't be found on most maps indicating economical importance. There are still old buildings left and found over the years which are worth while a visit.

Banten, the old pepper-harbor of Java

Ever since the year 1300 a harbor was located on the spot that we now know as Banten, in those times it belonged to the kingdom of Sunda. The capital of Pajajaran was located deep in the hinterlands, near the current city of Bogor. When the Portuguese arrived here in the 16th century, the Sunda kingdom still was Buddhist. The Portuguese made a deal with the ruler of Pajajaran, against the advancing Islamic armies and got permission to built a fortress in Sunda Kelapa. To honor the agreement a stone pillar with Portuguese inscription was erected, it was rediscovered in 1918, and can now be found in the Museum Fatahillah in the old part of Jakarta.

The Portuguese effort was not enough though. An Islamic army from Demak entered Sunda in 1525 and took possession of the harbors. However the Sunda capital fell only in 1578, Banten (in Portuguese Bantam) became the capital of a new Islamic kingdom, in which it grew rapidly into the most distinguished spice-trading harbors of Java.

The place of Banten along the strategic Selat Sunda ('Sunda Strait') was an important factor for the development of the city. After Malakka became Portuguese in 1511, Islamic traders avoided the Malacca Strait and took the Sunda Strait to Java instead. On Java, they traded with Chinese traders in porcelain and cloth, and with Indonesians with spices like pepper, nutmeg and clove.

At the end of the 16th century Banten was the biggest city in Southeast Asia and one of the most famous harbors in the world. The city was the first stop of English and Dutch fleets which arrived in the Far East for the first time during that period. The Dutch thought Banten had about the same population as Amsterdam.

Fortified city

The city was surrounded by an heavy defensive wall. All foreigners lived outside the wall special quarters: the Muslems in the East, the non-Muslems in the West. The city was also surrounded by rivers, while a third stream crossed the city through the center and provided the most important form of traffic.

A big open field was located in the center of the city, the alun-alun. The most important activities like meetings of the royal council, public convictions and other public meetings were held on the square. The king spoke to the people at a roofed platform at the south of the alun-alun, in front of the royal palace. At the northern side the royal boats were stored in a special warehouse, which was located at the bank of a canal.

Picture: A cannon in Banten

The English and Dutch were authorized to built trading offices and to open warehouses in the city. The monopolistic Dutch got into an argument fairly quick and decided to move to Jayakarta soon after.

For thirty years the Dutch blocked the harbor of Banten, with had devastating results for trade from and to the city. The city revived during the reign of sultan Agung, from 1651 to 1582. Agung used the English and other foreigners to man his trading fleet. He also ordered the construction of irrigation canals to improve the production of rice. In 1682 Agung and his son Haji got into an argument over how to act with the Dutch.

Haji offered concessions against military support. After fierce fights Agung was imprisoned and the Dutch became rulers over Banten and his Sumatran areas. Under the Dutch Banten stayed capital and the center of trade until 1810. In 1815 the last sultan stepped down by himself. The fall of Banten was as quick as it flourished in the early times, and after a while it was nothing more but a few villages with fishermen and farmers.

Arctifacts from Banten

Arriving from Serang, the visitor first arrives at the Kaibon Palace. The partly restored complex was used by the mother of one of the sultans of Banten. It used to be connected with the coast with canals, which are dried up and neglected almost entirely. The center of the village is located around the old alun-alun and is now called Banten Lama, 'Old Banten'.

At the west the Mesjid Agung, or 'Big Mosque' with a roof which consists of five layers van be found. The high, eight-cornered minaret dates back to the 16th century. The entrance shows motives which are taken from the pre-Islamic architecture. Inside, a spiral staircase brings you to two separate balconies, which give you a nice view over the area. In the mosque and on the mosque's site are old royal graves. The guard appreciates a small gift very well.

The building that looks like an old Dutch house from the south, was built in 1670 by the renegade constructor of Lucaszoon Cardeel, which made friends with sultan Haji. The building was named Tiyamah and was used for religious meetings. At the southeastern corner of the square a big bronze cannon named Ki Amuk can still be found. The cannon is decorated with Islamic inscriptions and around the mouth a sun is drawn, which reminds of the pre-Islamic kingdom of Majapahit.

At the east of the square two thrones can be found. Of one of them people say it was taken from Pajajaran in 1578, when the kingdom was conquered; the other is related to the rulers of Banten. Directly east of the square a museum with historical objects is located, under them artifacts which were found on the place of the former palace. On the inner yard remains of an iron workshop can be seen, these were found during the construction of the museum.

The palace (Surosowan) is surrounded by a high stone wall, of which parts a have been excavated. The remains include foundations and pavilions. One of them stood above a small lake and was called Rara Denok. The story goes that this was the royal treasury. A bathing room at the southern side was restored partially. The water was diverted to the baths artificially by an aqueduct which ran from a mountain located two kilometers away. Tasik Ardi, an artificial reservoir for the mountain water, was built by sultan Agung, which had a house on an island in the reservoir. Besides the route of the aqueduct remains of stone buildings are found, which were probably used as cleaning tanks for the water.

Fort Speelwijk is located at the former river mouth. The coastal area has moved several hundred meters since the fortress was built, on the new land fish ponds are build. The big Chinese temple at the other side of the river is being visited by many Indonesian people from Chinese origin, especially on the birthday of the very important goddess Kuan Yin, the goddess of Mercy. Directly south the restored minaret of a mosque which was used by Chinese Muslems.

In the Northeast, at the mouth of the Serang River, the small fishing village of Karanghantu is located. Here people can hire boats for a journey to nearby islands. One of these islands is Pulau Dua, a main spot for birds. During the breeding season over 50.000 birds are counted on this island. Pulau Dua is just one kilometer east of Banten and is reachable on foot at low tide.