Banten

Banten is a province of the Republic of Indonesia located on the island of Java. It is bordered in the west by the strait of the Probe, in north by the sea of Java, in the east by the special territory of Jakarta and the province of Western Java and in the south by the Indian Ocean. Its territory corresponds to old the residentie (province) of Banten of the time of the the Indies Dutchwomen, itself created starting from the old sultanate of the same name.

Its capital is Serang.

administrative Divisions

The province of Banten is divided into 4 Kabupaten (departments):

Lebak (Rangkasbitung chief town),
Pandeglang (Pandeglang),
Serang (Serang) and
Tangerang (Tigaraksa)

and 2 Kota (municipalities):

Cilegon and
Tangerang.

History

Banten was formerly known in Europe under the name of " Bantam ".

Archeology revealed the existence of a first State with Banten, perhaps founded into 932 after J.C. Located in a bay, Banten was one of the outlets maritime of the kingdom hindouist of Pajajaran. It had a port protected giving on the Détroit from the Probe to through which an important traffic with the Indian Ocean passed. Also located at the outlet of the Cibantam river, it offered an inland waterway to the light boats towards the interior of Java.

According to the tradition, the sultanate of Banten was founded by Sunan Gunung Jati, one of the nine " saints" or Wali Songo which, according to the legend, would have propagated the Moslem faith in Java. Gunung Jati would have been born with Pasai, an old sultanate in the north of Sumatra that Marco Polo had visited in 1292, noting that the sovereign of this port was Moslem. When the Portuguese, installed with Malacca whom they conquered in 1511, occupy Pasai from 1521 to 1524, Gunung Jati goes to Mecque.

To its return, it goes to Demak, principality of the northern coast of Java (which one calls Pesisir ) founded at the end of the 15th century by a Moslem Chinese named Cek KB-Po. Gunung Jati marries a sister of Trenggana, the sovereign of Demak.

In 1526, with the head of an army, Gunung Jati attacks and conquers Banten, which had been freed from Pajajaran. Maulana Yusuf, the 3rd sovereign of Banten, subjects Pajajaran in 1579, putting fine at the last kingdom Sunda are born.

At the 17th century, Banten is a prosperous State, thanks to the culture of pepper, one of these spices if appraisals which were worth the arrival of Europeans in the archipelago indonésien. The English establish there a station of permanent trade in 1603. Two ambassadors of Banten are received at the court of England in 1682. In addition to part of Western Java, the sultanate controls what constitutes the current province of Lampung in the south of Sumatra. The Dutchmen end up imposing their suzerainty on the sultanate. In 1813, Banten is integrated into the territory of the the Indies Dutchwomen. Its last sultan is sent in exile to Surabaya by the Dutchmen in 1832.

The Dutchmen support developing it of Batavia, which contributes to the decline of Banten. Today, the old capital of Banten is nothing any more but one large borough of fishermen, economically supplanted by the port close to Merak.

An important Chinese community lives in Banten.

The history of Max Havelaar , a novel published in 1860 under the name of feather of Multatuli by the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker to denounce the abuses the Dutch colonial system, proceeds in the province of Banten.

Language and culture

The language of Banten is a dialect Javanese.

However, the majority of the inhabitants of the province speak the sundanais, which in is distinct.

Economy

The economic pole of the province is the industrial town of Cilegon, which developed around the steel-works of company Pt Krakatau Steel, at the origin subsidiary of Pertamina, the oil company of State indonésienne. Krakatau Steel belongs now to Indian group SPAT.

The International airport of Jakarta Soekarno - Hatta is in the province.

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