VIVAnews - 59 years ago today, on 30 December 1949, Arnold Mononutu, then Indonesia’s Minister of Information, changed the name Batavia into Jakarta.
Throughout the course of its history, Jakarta had several times changed its name. Up until the 16th century, Jakarta was known to the world as Kalapa, a major trading port belonging to a Sundanese kingdom, Pajajaran.
On 22 June 1527, the city was conquered by Fatahillah, a naval commander from Demak, and to commemorate his achievement, he renamed the city Jayakarta (the Victorious City).
In 1619, Prince Jayawikarta, a descendant of Fatahillah who ruled Jayakarta, was caught in war with the Dutch and was forced to surrender the city to them. With this victory, the Dutch was able to occupy all of Jayakarta and renamed the city Batavia, the Latin name for the Netherlands.
The new name survived more than three centuries until the Japanese took possession of the city in 1942 and renamed it Jakarta, to gain local support.
During the short-lived Dutch reoccupation from 1946 to 1949, the old name Batavia reappeared for a while. However, on 30 December 1949, after the Dutch delivered the city to the republic, the Indonesian government decided to rename the city. Arnold Mononutu, then Indonesia’s Minister of Information, changed the name Batavia into Jakarta.
• VIVAnews
