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Indonesia , officially Republic of Indonesia, republic (1993 est. pop. 188,216,000), c.735,000 sq mi (1,903,650 sq km), SE Asia, in the Malay Archipelago. The fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia comprises more than 13,000 islands extending c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) along the equator from the Malaysia mainland toward Australia; the archipelago forms a natural barrier between the Indian and Pacific oceans. The capital and largest city is Jakarta, on Java.

Ambon , island, c.300 sq mi (775 sq km), E Indonesia, one of the Moluccas, in the Banda Sea. It is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Corn and sago are produced, and hunting and fishing supplement the diet. Nutmeg and cloves, once grown in abundance, are produced in limited quantities, and copra is exported. The chief town and seaport, also called Ambon (1990 pop. 275,888), is capital of Maluku prov. It is the seat of the Univ. of Maluku and a private college, and it has an airport. The island was discovered (1512) by the Portuguese, who made it a religious and military headquarters. It was captured by the Dutch in 1605. An English settlement there was destroyed (1623) by the Dutch in what is called the Ambon massacre. Ambon was temporarily under British rule from 1796 to 1802 and again from 1810 to 1814. The town was the site of a major Dutch naval base captured (1942) by the Japanese in World War II, and it was the scene (1950) of a revolt against the Indonesian government during the short-lived South Moluccan Republic. After the end of Dutch rule, it was a source of major immigration to the Netherlands. As a result of continued violence between rebels and government troops, many Ambonese emigrated to the Netherlands. The island was the scene of Muslim-Christian violence in 1999. The island and town are also called Amboina.

Bandung or Bandoeng , city (1990 pop. 2,058,122), capital of Java Barat prov., W Java, Indonesia, near the Tangkuban Prahu volcano. Formerly the administrative and military headquarters of the Netherlands East Indiës, it is the third largest city in Indonesia, an industrial hub, a famous educational and cultural center, and a tourist resort known for its cool, healthful climate. Founded by the Dutch in 1810, Bandung became important with the arrival of the railroad in the late 19th cent. Bandung is a textile center and the site of the country's quinine industry, which uses the cinchona grown on nearby plantations. Other manufactures include ceramics, chemicals, rubber products, aircraft, and machinery. The city is the seat of a textile institute, the Pasteur Institute, a technological institute, several universities, and a nuclear research center. Nearby is the Malabar radio station, one of the most powerful in SE Asia. The Bandung Conference of African and Asian nations, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Nonaligned Movement, was held there in 1955.

Jakarta or Djakarta , city (1990 pop. 8,227,746), capital and largest city of Indonesia, NW Java, at the mouth of the canalized Ciliwung River, on Jakarta Bay, an inlet of the Java Sea. It is the country's administrative, commercial, industrial, and transportation center, with food-processing plants, ironworks, automobile-assembly plants, textile mills, chemical factories, tanneries, sawmills, electronics plants, and printing establishments. Its port, Tanjungpriok, is Indonesia's largest, handling most of the country's export-import trade. Exports consist mainly of agricultural, forest, and mining products. There is an international airport.

The city has three sections—the old town in the north, with Javanese, Chinese, and Arab quarters; central Jakarta, with high-rise buildings; and a modern residential garden suburb in the south. With its many canals and drawbridges, North Jakarta resembles a Dutch town. Landmarks include the architectural monuments built during President Sukarno's long rule—freedom statues, a huge sports complex (financed by the Soviet Union), and the Istiqlal Mosque. Jakarta is the seat of the Univ. of Indonesia. There are notable museums and several 17th-century houses and churches.

The Dutch founded (c.1619) the fort of Batavia near the Javanese settlement of Jakarta, repulsing English and native attempts to oust them. Batavia became the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company and was a major trade center in the 17th cent. It declined in the 18th cent., following rebellions against the Dutch, but prospered again with the introduction of plantation cultivation in the 19th cent. From 1811 to 1814, Jakarta was the center of British rule in Java. Batavia was renamed Jakarta in Dec., 1949, and was proclaimed the capital of newly independent Indonesia. batavia_1897.jpg -  jakarta_geschiedenis - http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/batavia.htm - http://www.vt.is.nl/java/eil-java/kota.htm 

Bogor , formerly Buitenzorg [Dutch,=free from care], city (1990 pop. 271,341), W Java, Indonesia. At the foot of two volcanoes, it is a highland resort and an agricultural research center, known chiefly for its magnificent botanical gardens (laid out 1817). Adjacent to the gardens is the presidential country palace, formerly used by the Dutch governors. Rainfall is heavy in the area; tea is grown on the surrounding highlands, and coffee, rice, and rubber are also important crops. Automobile tires are among the manufactures. The site was selected as the resort residence of the Dutch governor-general in 1745, and the town grew around the palace. Bogor is the seat of the Indonesian general agricultural research station, a state agricultural university, two private universities, an army intelligence school, and forestry and rubber research institutes.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/buitenzo.htm 

http://www.bogor.indo.net.id/kri/bhist.htm 

Cirebon , formerly Tjirebon,port city (1990 pop. 254,477), district (1990 pop. 1,649,428), and seaport, N Java, Indonesia, on the Java Sea. Crops grown in the fertile coastal plain include sugar and rice. The city has diversified manufactures and is the seat of a private university. It was formerly the capital of a sultanate that was abolished after 1815. SW of Cirebon is the resort village of Linggajati, where in 1946 the short-lived Dutch-Indonesian agreement for the establishment of the United States of Indonesia under the Dutch crown was drafted. The name was also spelled Cheribon.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/cheribon.htm 

Yogyakarta , Jogjakarta, or Djokjakarta, city (1990 pop. 412,059), S Java, Indonesia, at the foot of volcanic Mt. Merapi, capital of the autonomous district of Yogyakarta (1990 pop. 2,912,611), a former sultanate. It is the cultural center of Java, known for its artistic life, particularly its drama and dance festivals and handicraft industries. It is also the trade hub of a major rice-producing region, and there is some manufacturing. Tourism is important; the magnificent Borobudur temple is in the area. The vast walled palace (18th cent.) of the sultan of Yogyakarta was the provisional capital (1949–50) of the republic of Indonesia; part of it now houses Gadjah Mada Univ. Also in the city are the Islamic Univ. of Indonesia and several colleges. The town was founded (1749) by a sultan in an area which had been the center of previous cultures. It was the focus of the revolt against the Dutch (1825–30) and was the stronghold of the Indonesian independence movement from 1946 to 1950.

Jayapura or Djajapura , formerly Sukarnapura [sOOkär"nupoor'u] , town, capital of Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea), Indonesia. A regional trade center and seaport, it is on Humboldt Bay (an inlet of the Pacific) near the border of the Australian territory of New Guinea. Occupied by the Japanese in World War II, it was liberated by U.S. forces in Apr., 1944, and served as General MacArthur's headquarters. Another former name was Hollandia.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/magelang.htm 

Ujung Pandang , formerly Makasar [mukas'ur] , city (1990 pop. 944,685), SW Sulawesi, capital of Sulawesi Selatan prov., Indonesia. The largest city in Sulawesi, it is one of Indonesia's important seaports, a distribution and transshipment point for goods from Europe and Asia. Exports include coffee, teak, spices, copra, rubber, rattan, and gums and resins. The city is also a commercial center, with a large central market. Industries include the manufacture of cement and paper and the assembly of automobiles. Once a center of spice smuggling, Ujung Pandang was a thriving port when the Portuguese arrived (16th cent.). The Dutch supplanted the Portuguese, triumphing over the indigenous sultan in 1667. Ujung Pandang became a free port in 1848. It is the seat of several universities. In World War II, Makasar Strait (between Borneo and Sulawesi) was the scene of a Japanese naval defeat.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/makassar.htm 

city (1990 pop. 1,730,052), capital of North Sumatra prov., NE Sumatra, Indonesia, on the Deli River, c.15 mi (25 km) from its mouth, where the city's port (Belawan) is situated. The largest city in Sumatra and the fourth largest in Indonesia, Medan is the marketing, commercial, and transportation center of a rich agricultural area containing great tobacco, rubber, and palm oil estates. Coffee and tea are also grown in the vicinity. Industries include the production of machinery and tile, and automobile assembly. Medan, gateway to the beautiful Lake Toba region, is a tourist center, with an international airport; attractions include the Great Mosque (the largest in Sumatra) and the Palace of the Sultan of Deli. The city is the seat of the Univ. of North Sumatra and the Islamic Univ. of North Sumatra. In 1994 the city was the site of labor riots that were rooted in long-standing ethnically based tensions between Chinese business owners and Malay workers.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/medan.htm 

http://www.kb.nl 

Bangka or Banka , island (1990 pop. 626,955), c.4,600 sq mi (11,910 sq km), Indonesia, in the Java Sea, SE of Sumatra, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Bangka. Pangkalpinang is the largest town; Muntok is the principal port. Since c.1710, Bangka has been one of the world's principal tin-producing centers. Tin production is a government monopoly; there is a smelter at Muntok. Pepper is also produced on the island. The majority of the inhabitants are Chinese; they are mostly employed as mine laborers. Bangka was ceded to Britain by the sultan of Palembang in 1812, but in 1814 it was exchanged with the Dutch for Cochin in India. The island fell under Japanese control from 1942 to 1945. It became part of independent Indonesia in 1949.

Surabaya, Surabaja,or Soerabaja , city (1990 pop. 2,473,272), capital of East Java prov., NE Java, Indonesia, on the Mas River just above its mouth at the western end of Madura Strait. Chief rival of Jakarta in size and commercial and industrial importance, Surabaya is the country's second largest city and its major naval base, with a huge shipyard, a naval college, and numerous specialized naval schools. An industrial center, it has railroad shops, an automobile-assembly plant, and an oil refinery. Manufactures include textiles, glass, fertilizer, shoes, tobacco products, machinery, metal products, processed foods, tools, and cement. North of the city proper is its port, Tanjungperak, which ships sugar, rubber, coffee, tobacco, petroleum products, and spices. Early in World War II, Surabaya was occupied by the Japanese. Although damaged during the postwar struggle for Indonesian independence, it has been rebuilt. It is the seat of a superior court and of Airlangga Univ. and the Surabaya Institute of Technology.

http://www.ngw.nl/int/ind/soerabaj.htm 

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