Jakarta (also Djakarta or DKI Jakarta), formerly known as Sunda Kelapa, Jayakarta and Batavia is the capital and largest city of Indonesia.

Located on the northwest coast of the island of Java, it has an area of 661.52 km² and a population of 8,792,000 (2004). Jakarta has been developed for more than 490 years and currently is the eleventh largest city and metropolitan area and ninth most densely populated city in the world with 44,283 people per sq mile.

Its metropolitan area is called Jabotabek (the cities Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi are meant) and contains more than 23 million people, and it is part of an even larger Jakarta-Bandung megalopolis.

Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Since 2004, Jakarta, under the governance of Sutiyoso, has developed its new transportation system, which is known as "TransJakarta" or "Busway" and in 2007, Jakarta will establish its newest transportation system, the Jakarta Monorail.

Jakarta also is the location of the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the National Monument.

Tourist Attractions

The center of Jakarta, Central Jakarta, offers some of the more convenient places for tourists to stay whilst visiting Jakarta. With an abundance of hotels in the area to suit all budgets, it also has a wide selection of restaurants, bars and brothels and shopping malls.

Public transport is reasonably well-catered for with the main Gambir railway station and north to south busway running along Sudirman-Thamrin Road, for journeys not covered by the busway taxis are cheap and plentiful.

Sunda Kelapa is the biggest harbor for sailing ships in the world, which is still in use.

The area is also home to Jalan Jaksa, the main backpacker street in Jakarta.

History

The earliest recorded mention of Jakarta is as a port of origin that can be traced to a Hindu settlement as early as the 4th century. By the 14th century, it was a major port for the Hindu kingdom of Sunda.

The first European fleet, four Portuguese ships from Malacca, arrived in 1513. Batzaush had been conquered by Alfonso d'Albuquerque in 1511 when the Portuguese were looking for spices and especially pepper. The relationship between the Kingdom of Sunda and Portugal intensified when another Portuguese named Enrique Leme visited Sunda in 1522 with the intention of giving a present. He was well-recieved and as a result, the Portuguese gained rights to build a warehouse and expand their fort in Sunda Kelapa (the name of the location at the time). The Sundanese regarded this as a consolidation of their position against the raging Muslim troops from the rising power of the Sultanate of Demak in Central Java. In 1527, Muslim troops coming from Cirebon and Demak attacked the Kingdom of Sunda under the leadership of Fatahillah. The king was expecting the Portuguese to come and help them hold Fatahillah's army because of an agreement that had been in place between Sunda and the Portuguese. However, Fatahillah's army succeeded in conquering the city on June 22, 1557, and Fatahillah changed the name of "Sunda Kelapa" to "Jayakarta" ("Great Deed" or "Complete Victory").

The followers of the Sultan of Banten (the location of Jayakarta), Prince Jayawikarta, was also very involved in the history of Jakarta. In 1596, many Dutch ships arrived in Jayakarta with the intention of trading spices, more or less the same as that of the Portuguese.

In 1602, the British East India Company's first voyage, commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Bantam where he was allowed to build trading post which becomes the centre of British trade in Indonesia until 1682. In this case, the Prince took the Dutch arrival seriously as the Dutch had constructed many military buildings. Prince Jayawikarta apparently also had a connection with the English and allowed them to build houses directly across from the Dutch buildings in 1615. When relations between Prince Jayawikarta and the Dutch later deteriorated, his soldiers attacked the Dutch fortress which covered two main buildings, Nassau and Mauritus. But even with the help of 15 ships from the English, Prince Jayakarta's army wasn't able to defeat the Dutch, for Jan Pieterszoon Coen (J.P. Coen) came to Jayakarta just in time, drove away the English ships and burned the English trading post.

Things then changed for the Prince, when the Sultan of Banten sent his soldiers and summoned Prince Jayawikarta to establish a close relationship with the English without an approval of the Banten authorities. The relationships between both Prince Jayawikarta and the English with the Banten government then became worse and resulted in the Prince's decision to move to Tanara, a small place in Banten, until his death. This assisted the Dutch in their efforts to establish a closer relationship with Banten. The Dutch had by then changed the name to "Batavia", which remained until 1942.