HistoryDutch Traders first settled into Jakarta in the 1600s. At that time Jakarta was called Batavia. It wasn't until the second world War that the Indonesia people changed the name back to Jakarta.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the English and Dutch fought for power over the city of Jakarta. In late 1618, the jayakartans surrounded the VOS fortress with the help of the British. The Ditch were able to keep them away, until May 1619, when troops reduced the town to ashes. A stronger fortress was built, and the town was named Batvia, which soon became the capital of the Dutch East Indies. Inside the walls of the fortress were tall houses, and by the early 18th century the population was increasing. Many people from Indonesia and China came to live in Batvia. In 1740, ethnic unrest became a major problem, and around 5000 Chinese people were massacred in the streets. A year after this, the Chinese were moved to Glodok, which is outside the city walls. Other Batvians that were worried, moved outside between 1735 and 1780. The city began to spread to the South. Ruling of the Dutch came to an end when the Japanese came in 1942, and babe the name Jakarta back to the city and it wasn't until 1950 that Jakarta became the capital of the new republic. Over the next few decades the city struggled with the increasing population of poor migrants. By the 1990s the economic situation had turned around, but this all changed in 1997 with the start of an economic collapse. The capital quickly became became full of protests, after huge amounts of people were demanding the longtime leader Soeharto to resign. |
After many months of this, the army fired at a group of students at the Trisakti University and four were killed. Many residents of Jakarta were raging because of this event, and thousands went to the streets to riot. The Chinese were the hardest hit, with tales of rape and murder taking place after the riots.
Over the last few years the city has been experienced with many unnatural and natural disasters. In August 203 the US owned Marriott hotel was bombed, in September 2004 Australia and Jakarta were targeted by Afghanistan and Iraq occupation. Flooding ruined many homes and public services in 2002,2003 and 2006, and made the poor even worse off. But, one of the biggest problems is still for the city to handle protestors. Protesters have hit the streets violently before in 2003 when fuel prices were increased, and will do so again if they are raised once more. |