Jakarta is

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

's capital and largest city. Located on an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the Ciliwung River, on the northwestern part of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

, the area has long sustained human settlement. Historical evidence from

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

dates back to the 4th century CE, when it was a Hindu settlement and port. The city has been sequentially claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, the Hindu

Kingdom of Sunda The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of C ...

, the Muslim Sultanate of Banten, and by Dutch, Japanese and Indonesian administrations. The

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

built up the area before it was taken during World War II by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...

and finally became independent as part of

has been known by several names. It was called Sunda Kelapa during the Kingdom of Sunda period and Jayakarta, Djajakarta or Jacatra during the short period of the

Banten Sultanate The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is sai ...

. Thereafter, Jakarta evolved in three stages. The "

old city Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

", close to the sea in the north, developed between 1619 and 1799 during the era of the VOC. The "new city" to the south evolved between 1809 and 1942 after the Dutch government took over control of Batavia from the failed VOC whose charter expired in 1799. The third was the development of modern Jakarta since the proclamation of independence in 1945. Under the Dutch, it was known as Batavia (1619–1945), and was Djakarta (in Dutch) or Jakarta, during the Japanese occupation and the modern period. For a more detailed history of Jakarta before the

proclamation of Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...

, see

Batavia, Dutch East Indies Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the Ommelanden, which included the much-larger area of the Residen ...

Early kingdoms (4th century AD)

The coastal area and port of Jakarta in northern

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

has been the location of human settlement since the 4th century BCE Buni culture. The earliest historical record discovered in Jakarta is the

Tugu inscription The Tugu inscription is one of the early 5th century Tarumanagara inscriptions discovered in Batutumbuh hamlet, Tugu village, Koja, North Jakarta, in Indonesia. The inscription contains information about hydraulic projects; the irrigation and ...

, which was discovered in Tugu sub-district,

North Jakarta North Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Utara; bew, Jakarte Belilir) is one of the five administrative cities (''kota administrasi'') which form Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. North Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city counc ...

. It is among the oldest inscriptions in

Indonesian history The history of Indonesia has been shaped by geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars of conquest, the spread of Islam from the island of Sumatra in the 7th century AD and the establishment of ...

. The area was part of the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanagara. In AD 397, King Purnawarman established Sunda Pura, located on the northern coast of West Java, as the new capital city for the kingdom. The capital of Tarumanagara kingdom was most probably located somewhere between Tugu sub-district North Jakarta and

Bekasi Regency Bekasi Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Bekasi) is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of West Java Province, Indonesia. Its regency seat is in the district of Central Cikarang. It is bordered by Jakarta and by Bekasi City (which is a separate administration ...

West Java. Purnawarman left seven memorial stones across the area, including the present-day

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Ja ...

and

provinces, consisting of inscriptions bearing his name.

Kingdom of Sunda (669–1527)

After the power of Tarumanagara declined, its territories became part of the

. According to the Chinese source, ''

Chu-fan-chi ''Zhu Fan Zhi'' (), variously translated as '' A Description of Barbarian Nations'', ''Records of Foreign People'', or other similar titles, is a 13th-century Song Dynasty work by Zhao Rukuo. The work is a collection of descriptions of countri ...

'', written by

Chou Ju-kua Zhao Rukuo (; 1170–1231), also read as Zhao Rugua, or misread as Zhao Rushi, was a Chinese historian and politician during the Song dynasty. He wrote a two-volume book titled ''Zhu Fan Zhi''. The book deals with the world known to the Chinese in t ...

in the early 13th Century, the Sumatra-based kingdom of

Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th ...

ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (known as Sunda). The port of Sunda was described as strategic and thriving, with pepper from Sunda renowned for its supreme quality. The people of the area worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden piles. One of the ports at the mouth of a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

was renamed Sunda Kelapa or Kalapa (Coconut of Sunda), as written in

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Bujangga Manik, manuscripts from a monk's lontar and one of the precious remnants of Old Sundanese literature. The port served Pakuan Pajajaran (present day

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide. In 1522, the Portuguese secured Luso Sundanese padrão, a political and economic agreement with the Sunda Kingdom, the authority of the port. In exchange for military assistance against the threat of the rising Islamic Javan

Sultanate of Demak The Demak Sultanate (کسلطانن دمق) was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been found ...

, 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.

Banten Sultanate (1527–1619)

To prevent Portuguese gaining a foothold on Java, Fatahillah, on behalf of the Demak attacked the Portuguese in Sunda Kelapa in 1527 and succeeded in conquering the harbour on 22 June, after which Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta. Later, the port became a part of the

, located west from Jayakarta. By the late 16th century, Jayakarta was under the rule of the Sultanate of Banten. Prince Jayawikarta, a follower of the Sultan of Banten, established a settlement on the west banks of the Ciliwung River, erecting a military post to control the port at the mouth of the river.

Dutch Batavia (1610–1942)

Dutch East India Company (1610–1800)

Dutch mercantile activity to

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

commenced in 1595. Over the next 25 years there was contention between the Dutch and British on the one hand, and between the Sultanate of Banten and Prince Jayawikarta on the other. In 1602, the Dutch government granted a monopoly on Asian trade to the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

( nl, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC); literally ''United East Indian Company'').Drakeley S. ''The History of Indonesia''. Greenwood, 2005. de Vries J, van der Woude A. ''The First Modern Economy. Success, Failure, and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy, 1500–1815''. Cambridge University Press, 1997. In 1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia was established in Bantam,

. In 1610, Prince Jayawikarta granted permission to Dutch merchants to build a wooden godown and houses on the east bank of the Ciliwung River, opposite to Jayakarta. This outpost was established in 1611.Ricklefs MC. ''A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1200''. MacMillan, 2nd edition, 1991ISBN 0333576896 AMH-5642-KB View of the Nieuwe Poort at Batavia

AMH-5642-KB View of the Nieuwe Poort at Batavia

The rivalry was ultimately resolved in 1619, when the Dutch established a closer relationship with Banten and militarily intervened at Jayakarta, where they assumed control of the port after destroying the existing city. The new city built on the site was officially named as Batavia on January 18, 1621, from which the

eventually ruled the entire region. Batavia under VOC control was essentially a Company Town, under the authority of a governor-general in Batavia and a board of directors in Amsterdam that served the Dutch merchants in the region, predominantly the spice trade between Europe and the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

. The administrative center of this new town is the

Batavia Castle Batavia Castle ( nl, Kasteel Batavia, ) was a fort located at the mouth of Ciliwung River in Jakarta. Batavia Castle was the administrative center of Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Asia. Batavia Castle was also the residence of the Governor Ge ...

. During the era of the VOC, Batavia was centered on the so-called ''Benedenstad'' or "Lower City". It consisted of the walled Kota, the older harbor at Sunda Kelapa, and the Chinese quarter at Glodok. In the middle of 18th century, Batavia also included the outskirts area along the canal of the Molenvliet (now Jalan Gajah Mada and Jalan Hayam Wuruk), the Noordwijk (now Jalan Juanda), the Rijswijk (now Jalan Veteran), along Gunung Sahari, and Jacatraweg (Jalan Pangeran Jayakarta). Also included were the markets at Tanah Abang and Senen, Jakarta's oldest markets. Batavia was under VOC control until the Company went bankrupt and its charter expired in 1799.

Dutch East Indies (1800–1942)

After the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) went bankrupt and was dissolved in 1800, the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bon ...

nationalized its debts and possessions, expanding all of the VOC's territorial claims into a fully-fledged colony named the

. Batavia evolved from the site of the company's regional headquarters into the capital of the colony. The city gradually expanded to the south. During the period, administrative buildings were relocated to the area then known as Weltevreden, e.g. south of the

Koningsplein Koningsplein ('King's Square') is a square in Amsterdam. It is located between the Singel and Herengracht canals. It has become a meeting place for the local community References External links TERENA Webcam Koningsplein, Amsterdam via TER ...

, the Waterlooplein and Rijswijk (Jalan Veteran). The area, then known as Weltevreden, which include the Koningsplein, Rijswijk, Noordwijk, Tanah Abang, Kebon Sirih, and Prapatan became a popular residential, entertainment and commercial district for the European colonial elite. The name Weltevreden lingered until 1931 when it officially became known as Batavia Centrum (Central Batavia). The period also saw development of the Pasar Baru market in the 1820s, the completion of Tanjung Priok port in 1886, the development of Menteng and Gondangdia garden city in the 1910s, and the inclusion of Meester Cornelis (now Jatinegara) into Jakarta in 1935.

Japanese occupation (1942–1945)

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Schets van de Japanse intocht in Batavia zoals de Japanners het zich voorstelden TMnr 10001766

On 5 March 1942, Batavia fell to the Japanese. The Dutch formally surrendered to the Japanese occupation forces on 9 March 1942, and rule of the colony was transferred to Japan. The city was renamed Jakarta (officially ジャカルタ特別市 ''Jakaruta tokubetsu-shi'', Special Municipality of Jakarta, in accordance with the special status that was assigned to the city). To strengthen its position in Indonesia, the Japanese government issued Act No. 42 1942 as part of the "Restoration of the Regional Administration System". This act divided Java into several ''Syuu'' ("Resident Administration" or ''Karesidenan'') that were each led by a Bupati (Regent). Each ''Syuu'' was divided into several ''Shi'' ("Municipality" or ''Stad Gemeente'') that were led by ''Wedanas'' ("District Heads"). Below a ''Wedana'' was a ''Wedana'' Assistant ("Sub-district Head"), who, in turn, oversaw a ''Lurah'' ("Village Unit Head"), who, in turn, was responsible over a ''Kepala Kampung'' ("Kampung Chief"). A ''schichoo'' ("Mayor") was superior to all of these officials, following the law created by the ''Guisenken'' ("Head of the Japanese Imperial Administration"). The effect of this system was a "one-man rule" structure with no councils or representative bodies. The first ''schichoo'' of Jakarta was Tsukamoto and the last was Hasegawa. The economic situation and the physical condition of Indonesian cities deteriorated during the occupation, including Jakarta. Beautiful colonial buildings and hotels were converted into military barracks. Many buildings were vandalized, as metal was needed for the war, and many iron statues from the Dutch colonial period were taken away by the Japanese troops. Among the destroyed colonial landmarks during the Japanese occupation were the statue of

Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...

at Waterlooplein. In 1943, the Japanese Imperial administration slightly revised the administration of Jakarta by adding a special counseling body. This agency was composed of twelve local Javanese leaders who were regarded as loyal to the Japanese; among them were

Suwiryo Suwiryo (EVO: Soewirjo; 17 February 1903 – 27 August 1967) was an Indonesian politician. He served as the first Mayor of Jakarta following the proclamation of Indonesian independence from 1945 until 1947 and again from 1950 until 1951. Add ...

(who became the vice for Jakarta's schichoo) and Dahlan Abdullah.

National revolution era (1945–1949)

After the collapse of Japan in 1945, the area went through a period of transition and upheaval during the Indonesian national struggle for independence. During the Japanese occupation and from the perspective of the Indonesian nationalists who declared independence on 17 August 1945, the city was renamed Jakarta. After the war, the Dutch name Batavia was internationally recognized until full Indonesian independence was achieved on 27 December 1949 and Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital of Indonesia. Following the surrender of the Japanese, Indonesia declared its independence on 17 August 1945. The proclamation was enacted at Jalan Pegangsaan Timur No. 56 (now Jalan Proklamasi),

Central Jakarta Central Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Pusat) is one of the five administrative cities () which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,056,896 at the ...

, with

acting as the committee chairman. Suwiryo was recognised as the first mayor of Jakarta Tokubetsu Shi. The position was soon altered to ''Pemerintah Nasional Kota Jakarta'' ("Jakarta City National Administration"). On 19 September 1945,

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

held his Indonesian independence and anti-colonialism/imperialism speech, during ''Rapat Akbar'' or grand meeting at Lapangan Ikada, now the Merdeka Square. The grand meeting would start a period of national revolution in Indonesia.Lapangan Merdeka / Monas
History Of Merdeka Square. On 29 September 1945, Anglo-Dutch troops arrived in Jakarta to disarm and repatriate the Japanese garrison. They also planned on reasserting control over the colony. On November 21, 1945, Suwiryo and his assistants were arrested by members of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration. On 4 January 1946, Indonesian Republicans withdrew from Ally-occupied Jakarta and established the capital in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

. War was not apparent in Jakarta and urban development continued in the city as the Dutch tried to re-establish themselves. In 1947, the Dutch succeeded in implementing a set of planning regulations for urban development—the SSO/SVV (''Stadsvormings-ordonantie/Stadsvormings-verordening'')—that had been devised prior to the war. Batavia was planned to expand with an addition of a new satellite city 8 kilometers south of the

. This 730 ha area would become the Kebayoran satellite city, the first urban planning in Indonesia after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. On 27 December 1949, the Dutch recognised Indonesia as an independent country and sovereign federal state under the name of " Republic of the United States of Indonesia". At this time, the Jakarta City Administration was led by Mayor Sastro Mulyono.

Transition into a capital of an independent nation (1950s)

Expansion of city's boundary

After the recognition of Indonesian sovereignty on 27 December 1949, in March 1950, Jakarta was increased in size from 182 square kilometres to 530 square kilometres. Despite the dramatic increase in size, impact on the city's population was minimal: population of Jakarta was 1,340,625 in 1949 to 1,432,085 in 1950 to 1,661,125 in 1951. The new districts added to Jakarta at the time was sparsely populated and rural.

Kebayoran Baru Kebayoran Baru is a district ( id, kecamatan) of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the district was derived from an area which was developed in the post-war period as a new suburb town of Jakarta, Kebayoran Baru. Kebayoran Baru was the last r ...

was still a satellite city of Jakarta and located outside the boundaries of Jakarta. The construction of thoroughfares such as Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman had been underway since 1949 and would only be opened in 1953.

City development

Glodok, Jakarta, Indonesia Tanah Airku, p94

Jakarta in the 1950s was more or less similar with the colonial period: banking districts were still centered in Kota around Kali Besar and Jalan Pintu Besar Utara. Chinese business hub were centered at Glodok, especially Pintu Kecil. The colonial Pasar Baru,

Pasar Senen Pasar ( fa, پاسار, also Romanized as Pāsār and Pāssar) is a village in Cheshmeh Kabud Rural District, in the Central District of Harsin County Harsin County ( fa, شهرستان هرسین) is in Kermanshah province, Iran. The cap ...

and Glodok were still the busiest markets in Jakarta. The European shopping and leisure districts were still centered at Harmoni Junction. Most colonial hotels retained their Dutch names, e.g.

Hotel des Indes A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

or Hotel Duta Indonesia, Hotel der Nederlanden or Hotel Dharma Nirmala, and Hotel des Galeries. Kemayoran airport handled both domestic and international flights. Jakarta's urban area in 1950 were enclosed within the city's railway network. Areas beyond the railway lines remained empty, e.g. Tomang and Grogol to the west, Pluit and swampy Ancol to the north. Areas to the east and northeast, e.g. the area between Jalan Gunung Sahari and Tanjung Priok remained rural (with the exception of the

Kemayoran Airport Kemayoran Airport also spelled Kemajoran Airport, was the principal airport for Jakarta, Indonesia, from 8 July 1940 until 31 March 1985, when it was replaced by Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. During World War II it was used by the Ro ...

Kali Sunter The Sunter River or ''Kali Sunter'' is a river that flows in the eastern part of Jakarta, Indonesia. The river is about 37 km long and has 73,184,092 m2 of river basin. Neighborhoods along the Kali Sunter are very densely populated and prone ...

(

Sunter River The Sunter River or ''Kali Sunter'' is a river that flows in the eastern part of Jakarta, Indonesia. The river is about 37 km long and has 73,184,092 m2 of river basin. Neighborhoods along the Kali Sunter are very densely populated and prone ...

) was in the countryside and would not be developed as residential area until the 1970s. Among new suburbs developed during the 1950s were Grogol,

Tanah Tinggi ''Tanah'' is the Malay Language, Malay/Indonesian language, Indonesian word for soil, land or island. It can be found in topography. *Tanah Datar *Tanah Lot *Tanah Merah (disambiguation) {{disambiguation Indonesian words and phrases Malay words a ...

, Bendungan Hilir and Pejompongan; mostly to provide housing for civic workers. Despite the slow city development, the beginning of the 1950s saw construction of infrastructure that would lay a foundation for the explosive growth of Jakarta in the 1960s. Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman were built between 1949 and 1953 to connect Central Jakarta with

. These projects are usually collaboration between Dutch and Indonesia. The first buildings that were constructed along the Thamrin-Sudirman were Bank Indonesia headquarters (1958-1962),

Hotel Indonesia The Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta is one of the oldest and best known hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Located in Central Jakarta, it was one of the first 5-star hotels in South-East Asia and remains a major landmark of Jakarta. Its fame is often ...

(1959-1962), and the Welcome Monument. AT that time, Jalan Sudirman was largely rural and devoid of any buildings until the 1970s, with the exception of Gelora Bung Karno sports complex.

Taking over Dutch assets

After recognition of Indonesian sovereignty on 27 December 1949, transition from Dutch to Indonesian leadership occurred immediately as Dutch residences and properties were taken over by the Indonesian government. Among the notable buildings conversion were: *Governor-general's palace on Jalan Merdeka Utara became Istana Merdeka presidential palace. *The Concordia military social club building on Jalan Lapangan Banteng Timur became the national parliament until early 1965. *The

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...

(People's Council) at Jalan Pejambon, that had earlier been the military commander's residence, became the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. *The ''Binnenlands Bestuur'' administrative corps headquarters on Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara became the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. *The Ministry of Finance was moved to the grand ''Witte Huis'' on Jalan Lapangan Banteng Timur. *The Jakarta City Council chambers on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan remained the home of the Jakarta City Council, with the exception that the council was all Indonesian and under the leadership of an Indonesian mayor. The rank "mayor" would become governor in 1960. *The old

STOVIA The ("school for the training of native physicians") or STOVIA was a medicine school in Batavia, now Indonesia's capital Jakarta. The school was officially opened in March 1902 in a building that is now the Museum of National Awakening in We ...

medical school became the faculty of medicine at the newly created University of Indonesia. *Colonial ANETA news agency on Jalan Antara was taken over by Indonesian owners and management between 1951 and 1955 as a forerunner of present government owned news agency,

ANTARA Antara is an Indonesian news agency organized as a statutory corporation. It is the country's national news agency, supplying news reports to many domestic media organizations. It is the only organization authorized to distribute news materials ...

. Despite the numerous departments converted into Indonesian control, from the economic perspective, the transition was much slower. The Dutch still owned key sectors of Indonesian economy during most of the 1950s, including banking, oil and shipping. Only in late 1957, the nationalization of Dutch assets would begin, partly triggered by the anger over the refusal of the Netherlands to transfer sovereignty of Irian Jaya to Indonesia. By 1960, almost all Dutch assets in Indonesia had been taken over and Dutch citizens were expelled from Indonesia.

Expulsion of the Dutch and population boom

Expulsion of the Dutch caused tremendous social change in Jakarta. In the middle of 1952, 48,280 foreigners (excluding Chinese) were living in Jakarta, of which 90.2% were Dutch. By the end of 1950s, only a few hundred of the Dutch stayed in Jakarta. The 1960s was regarded as a decade when foreigners were no longer a common sight on the streets of Jakarta. The departure of the Dutch also caused a massive migration of the rural population into Jakarta, in response to a perception that the city was the place for economic opportunities. The kampung areas in Jakarta swelled as a result. There were house shortages, as well the lack of schools, medical services, water and electricity. In 1951 and 1952, 25 hectares of land was opened for housing at Grogol, 25 hectares at Tanah Tinggi (just south of

) and 25 hectares at

Pejompongan Pejompongan is a residential area located north of Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, and in the east area of Slipi in Jakarta, Indonesia. This area was built as residential area for upper middle-class government employees and employees of other sta ...

. Another 15 hectares at Pejompongan were set for a water purification plant. The 730 hectare satellite city of Kebayoran Baru, which was conceived by the Dutch in the 1930s, remained the most important housing development in Jakarta in the 1950s.

Infrastructure

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Becaks bij de Britse ambassade TMnr 20018038

Jakarta's tram system, which began in 1869 as horse-drawn trams, and would be developed up until the electric trams from 1899, would face competition with buses and faces financial issues. President

didn't believe trams was an effective system for Jakarta, and so gradually he began to stop the operation of the trams. By April 1960, tramlines only operated from Senen and Kramat to Jatinegara. By 1962, the tramway disappeared from Jakarta. The 1950s was known as the decade where the informal ''

becak The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, ...

'' can be found extensively in Jakarta. Introduced to Jakarta in the 1930s, the number of ''becak'' soared in late 1940s, which occurred at the same time with the wave of immigration into Jakarta to find employment. 31,000 ''becaks'' were registered in 1953.

Proposal to relocate the capital

In the mid-1950s, driven by a sense of corruption and disproportionate government expenditure in Jakarta, there were proposals to relocate the capital. Those in support included Takdir Alisjahbana, who was unflattering in his depiction of the city. However, by 1957, these proposals were abandoned. Instead, the city's boundaries were expanded, and it became the Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI, Special Capital Territory), one of the

provinces of Indonesia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Sukarno's nationalistic projects (1960–1965)

Monumental projects

Dramatic changes in Jakarta's skyline occurred during the period between 1960 and 1965, when President Sukarno, also an architect and an urban planner, personally drove the city into a modern capital that would not only be the pride of the Indonesian nation, but would also be a "beacon" of a powerful new nation. The short period would give Jakarta many of its most famous modernist landmarks and monuments. Sukarno had already transitioned the country to "

Guided Democracy Guided democracy, also called managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections that ...

" between 1957 and 1959, which greatly increased his own political power. Sukarno's great power allowed him to award the

1962 Asian Games ) , Host city = Jakarta, Indonesia , Nations participating = 17 , Athletes participating = 1,460 , Events = 120 in 13 sports , Opening ceremony = 24 August 1962 , Closing ceremony = 4 September 1962 , ...

to Indonesia, with Jakarta as the host city. The event was used as a trigger to complete new landmarks in Jakarta, and so the first half of the 1960s saw large government-funded projects that were undertaken with openly nationalistic architecture. By working on the optimistic monumental projects, Sukarno hoped to put the newly independent nation's pride on international display. Sukarno filled Jakarta with numbers of monuments. Numbers of monumental projects were conceived, planned and initiated during his administration. Some of the notable monumental projects of Sukarno during the first half of the 1960s were: Semanggi "clover-leaf" highway interchange, a broad avenue in Central Jakarta (

Jalan M.H. Thamrin Jalan M.H. Thamrin or Jalan Thamrin (M.H. Thamrin Road or Thamrin Road) is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. The road is located at the center of Jakarta, running from the north end of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman at West Flood Canal at the ...

and

Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Jalan Jenderal Sudirman or Jalan Sudirman (Sudirman Road) is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. Named after Indonesian national hero Sudirman, the road runs from Patung Pemuda Membangun at the south end to the bridge of the West Flood Ca ...

), and Jalan Gatot Subroto; a broad by-pass connecting Tanjung Priok harbour with

Halim Airport Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Halim Perdanakusuma) is an international airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. The airport is located in East Jakarta and the airfield is conjoined with the Halim Perdanakusum ...

( Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani); four high-rise hotels, including

; a new parliament building; a stadium; Sarinah Department Store; the development of Ancol on the north coast of Jakarta to become Jakarta's main recreation complex; the largest mosque in Southeast Asia; and the widening of Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman ahead of the

. Most of Jakarta's monuments were initiated during the first half of the 1960s e.g. the

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

Selamat Datang Monument Selamat Datang Monument (''Selamat Datang'' is Indonesian for "Welcome"), also known as the ''Monumen Bundaran HI'' or ''Monumen Bunderan HI'' ( for 'Hotel Indonesia roundabout'), is a monument located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Completed in 1 ...

, Pemuda Monument at Senayan, Irian Jaya Liberation Monument at Lapangan Banteng, and the

Dirgantara Monument Dirgantara Monument ( id, Monumen Patung Dirgantara), also known as Gatot Kaca Monument after the Javanese ''wayang'' figure, is a monument located in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is also known as Tugu Pancoran, after ''tugu'' a word for statue and pe ...

at Pancoran. During the first half of the 1960s, government projects in Jakarta was so intense to the extent that Jakarta's citizens struggled to find cement and building materials for their own use.

New suburbs

In early 1960s, increasing use of cars allow city development outside the constrain of railway network. Several suburbs began to be developed very far from the city center. Few of such developments were Grogol to the west, which was developed as a flood-proof residential area in the 1950s but was immediately flooded in February 1960; several housings to the west of

; and new housing developments on the west of Jalan Gajah Mada (Tanah Sereal, Krukut, Krendang and Duri) and on the east of Jalan Hayam Wuruk (Mangga Besar and Sawah Besar). Several residential projects that were developed in the 1950s began to took shape in the 1960s, among them are

(land opened in 1952), Bendungan Hilir,

Setiabudi Setiabudi is a district in South Jakarta, one of the five administrative cities which forms the Jakarta Capital Region, Indonesia. It is in the Golden Triangle of Jakarta ( id, Segitiga Emas Jakarta) of business and commercial establishments in J ...

to the east of Jalan Sudirman,

(designated in 1951) and Rawa Sari (now Cempaka Putih Timur, designated in 1952).

Fall of Sukarno

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De Istiqlal moskee in aanbouw en de kathedraal TMnr 20025717

The period of monumental projects came to an immediate halt after the

September 30 Movement The Thirtieth of September Movement ( id, Gerakan 30 September, abbreviated as G30S, also known by the acronym Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement) was a self-proclaimed organization of Indonesian N ...

in 1965. The incident would begin Sukarno's downfall from power. As a result, Jakarta's skyline was scarred with unfinished steel and concrete structures. A book ''Djakarta Through the Ages'' published in 1969 by the Jakarta City Government claimed: ''"Djakarta is dotted with steel skeletons and the concrete shells of unfinished buildings. There is no money to finish them. Who is able to finish and utilize these buildings?"'' Among the delayed projects of Sukarno in Jakarta were

Wisma Nusantara Wisma Nusantara is an office highrise building located in Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Jakarta, Indonesia. Constructed from 1964 to 1969, Wisma Nusantara was amongst the first highrise buildings in Indonesia. The building complex included the Pullman Hote ...

, a 30-storey office tower meant to be the tallest in Southeast Asia but was abandoned as an unfinished steel structure from 1966 to 1971; the Istiqlal Mosque, started in 1961 but not completed until 1978; the National Parliament building, started in 1965 and completed in stages up until 1983; the Hotel Borobudur which started in 1963 but to be opened in 1974; and the

Balai Sarbini Balai Sarbini (Indonesian "Sarbini Hall") is a dome-roofed auditorium and concert hall located in central Jakarta. The building was enveloped by the comprehensive shopping mall, The Plaza Semanggi. History Balai Sarbini and the adjacent Gedung ...

and Veteran's Building complex approved in 1965 but was opened in 1973.

Rise of Ali Sadikin (1966 – late 1970s)

Improvement in infrastructure

In 1966,

Ali Sadikin Ali Sadikin (7 July 1926 – 20 May 2008), better known as Bang Ali, was an Indonesian politician who served as the fourth governor of Jakarta from 1966 until 1977. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Minister of Transportation from 1963 u ...

was elected as governor of Jakarta. He would serve as the governor of Jakarta from 1966 to 1977, Jakarta's longest-serving governor. Instead of focusing on monumental projects, Ali Sadikin focused his policy towards providing the basic needs of Jakarta's rapidly expanding population. Kampung improvement programs were one of his best-known projects. He repaired and build roads, provided public transport, better sanitation, health services and educational opportunities for the poor. Among the roads that were constructed during the 1970s were Jalan Tomang Raya, which was built as a continuation of Jalan Kyai Caringin and which crossed over

Jalan Letnan Jenderal S. Parman Jalan Letnan Jenderal S. Parman or ''Jalan S. Parman'' is an avenue in Jakarta, Indonesia. The road is named after National Hero of Indonesia Siswondo Parman, Lieutenant General S. Parman. This 4.2 KM road stretches from Grogol Petamburan, Grogol ...

into Tanjung Duren and the new housing estate of Kebon Jeruk. At that time, the continuation of Jalan Tomang Raya was known as Jalan Arjuna, a relatively modest road which by the 1990s would be developed into the Jakarta-Tangerang-Merak toll road. Another road built in the 1970s was Jalan H R Rasuna Said. When completed, Rasuna Said, Sudirman, and Gatot Subroto formed the Golden Triangle of Jakarta, the business, financial, and diplomatic heart of Jakarta. During this period, the first buildings appeared on Jalan Sudirman north of the

Semanggi Semanggi is a common name in Indonesia for two closely related species of aquatic ferns: *In Javanese it can refer to '' Marsilea crenata'' *In Indonesian it can refer to '' Marsilea minuta'' Semanggi may also refer to: * Semanggi shootings, tw ...

. Despite the success of the program, which won the Aga Khan Award for architecture in 1980, it was discontinued for its over-emphasis upon the improvement of only physical infrastructure. Sadikin was also responsible for rehabilitating public services, banning rickshaws, and clearing out "slum dwellers" and "street peddlers".

Completion of delayed projects

The 1970s saw the completion of projects that were begun in the 1960s by

. The early 1970s saw Jalan Thamrin become a major thoroughfare with buildings higher than 5 storeys. Jalan Sudirman was still relatively empty, except for the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex and some housing at Bendungan Hilir and

. Monuments such as the Irian Jaya Liberation Monument, the Prince Diponegoro Monument, the

Heroes Monument The Heroes Monument (Indonesian: ''Tugu Pahlawan'') is a monument in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. It is the main symbol of the city, dedicated to the people who died during the Battle of Surabaya on 10 November 1945. The 10 November Museum is lo ...

, and the

were completed in the early 1970s. During the late 1970s, Ancol, another project proposed by Sukarno in the early 1960s, was already well-established as the Ancol Dreamland recreational area with its Bina Ria beach, a golf course, swimming pools, an oceanarium, Putri Duyung Cottage, Hotel Horison and its casinos, a drive-in theater, and new housing developments on both sides.

Jakarta Fairs and other entertainments

In 1968, the Jakarta Fairs were initiated at

Medan Merdeka Merdeka Square ( Indonesian: ''Medan Merdeka'' or ''Lapangan Merdeka'', formerly nl, Koningsplein, lit. "King's Square") is a large square located in the center of Jakarta, Indonesia. ''Merdeka'' is the Indonesian word for freedom or independenc ...

, and the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center at Cikini was opened. Taman Ria Remaja (Youth Recreation Park) was opened in the 1970s next to the Gelora Bung Karno.

Decline of Kemayoran Airport

By 1974, a redeveloped Halim Perdanakusuma Airport became the international airport, with Kemayoran becoming a domestic-only airport. During the late 1970s, some housing west of Kemayoran Airport, such as the grid-like housing development of Pademangan, started to grow closer to the western edge of Kemayoran Airport.

Economic growth (late 1970s – 1980s)

Early on during Ali Sadikin's years as governor, Suharto was elected president of Indonesia in 1967. He decided to promote foreign investment in Indonesia. Ali Sadikin ensured that Jakarta's infrastructure was able to support business opportunities and boost economic growth with the construction of the

Jakarta Convention Center Jakarta Convention Center or JCC ( id, Balai Sidang Jakarta) is a convention center located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of earliest as well as popular convention center in Jakarta. Since its inauguration in ...

(1974) and several hotel projects. The 1970s saw a hotel building boom with the opening of nine major hotels: Hotel Kartika Plaza (1972), President Hotel (1973), Hotel Borobudur (1974), Hotel Ambassador/Aryaduta (1974), Hotel Sahid Jaya (1974), Hotel Kartika Chandra (1974), the Hilton Hotel (1976), Hotel Sari Pan Pacific (1976) and Mandarin Hotel (1978), as well as the extension of

in 1974. The 1970s also witnessed the redevelopment of Jakarta's two oldest markets:

and Pasar Tanah Abang. The Aldiron Plaza shopping center (now Blok M Square), considered to be the precursor of Jakarta's shopping malls, was opened in the mid-1970s. The situation in the 1970s encouraged the emergence of a large number of private housing projects, but government housing schemes were also implemented to cope with the growth of the urban population.

1980s–present

Aksi_Super_Damai_212_(Aksi_Bela_Islam_IIII)_2016

During the 1980s, smaller land sites were acquired for high-rise projects, while larger parcels of land were subdivided for low-key projects, such as the building of new shophouses. This period also saw the removal of kampongs from the inner-city areas and the destruction of many historical buildings. One infamous case was the demolition of the Society of Harmonie and the subsequent construction of a parking lot. The period between the late-1980s and the mid-1990s saw a massive increase in foreign investment as Jakarta became the focus of a real estate boom. The investment of overseas capital into joint-venture property and construction projects with local developers brought many foreign architects into Indonesia. However, unlike the Dutch architects of the 1930s, many of these expatriate architects were unfamiliar with the tropics, while their local partners had received similarly Modernist architectural training. As a result, downtown areas in Jakarta gradually resembled those of the large Western cities; and often at a high environmental cost: high-rise buildings consume huge amounts of energy in terms of air-conditioning and other services. The economic boom period of Jakarta ended abruptly in the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

and many projects were left abandoned. The city became a center of violence, protest, and political maneuvering, as long-time president,

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto l ...

, began to lose his grip on power. Tensions reached a peak in May 1998, when four students were shot dead at

Trisakti University Trisakti University (Usakti) is Indonesia's largest private university located in Jakarta, Indonesia. Trisakti University, is the only private university in Indonesia which was established by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. Founde ...

by security forces; four days of riots ensued, resulting in damage to, or destruction of, an estimated 6,000 buildings, and the loss of 1,200 lives. The Chinese of the Glodok district were severely affected during the riot period and accounts of rape and murder later emerged. In the following years, including several terms of ineffective presidents, Jakarta was a center of popular protest and national political instability.

Jemaah Islamiah Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...

-connected bombings occurred almost annually in the city between 2000 and 2005, with another in 2009. In August 2007, Jakarta held its first-ever election to choose a governor as part of a nationwide decentralisation program that allows direct local elections in several areas, in which

Fauzi Bowo Fauzi Bowo (born 10 April 1949) is an Indonesian politician and diplomat who was the Indonesian Ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2018. He was the governor of Jakarta between 2007 and 2012 and previously served as deputy governor from 2002 to 2 ...

got elected as governor. Previously, governors were elected by the city's legislative body. Since the turn of the century, the people of Jakarta have witnessed a period of political stability and prosperity, along with another construction boom. On 24 March 2019, the first phase of the

Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit The Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit ( id, Moda Raya Terpadu ''Jakarta'') or Jakarta MRT (, stylized as ''mrt jakarta'') is a rapid transit system in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. The system is operated by PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (Per ...

(MRT) opened.

Notes and references

External links

Pictures and Map from 1733
(Homannische Erben, Nuernberg-Germany) {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Jakarta