626 



JAVA. 



Wcltervrcc 

 den. 



Java. three miles from Batavia, was selected by the Dutcli 

 government as a military station, being greatly prefer- 

 able in point of healthiness and local advantages to any 

 other spot in the vicinity of the capital, and is now the 

 head-quarters of the British troops. To this place Ge- 

 neral Daendels had intended to remove the seat of go. 

 vernment, and all the public offices both civil and mili- 

 tary ; and, for this purpose, a large commodious build- 

 ing had been nearly completed before the capture of 

 the island by the British. Cornell's, a few miles from 

 Weltervreeden, was the field of action in the recent in- 

 vasion of the island ; but few traces of its fortified lines 

 now remain, as the works have been razed, and the fer- 

 tility of the soil has already spread a wide jungle over 

 the spot where British valour decided the fate of Java. 

 About sixty-one miles west from Batavia are situated the 

 Bantam. ruins of the once flourishing city of Bantam, in a low 

 situation, surrounded by jungle and stagnant waters, 

 and remarkable for the insalubrity of its climate. Sa- 

 Simaratig. marang, about 343 miles from Batavia, is the chief cen- 

 tral station on the island, and has a considerable Euro- 

 pean population. It is a large town, defended by a 

 stone parapet and rampart, with bastions, and a wet 

 ditch. The town has a neat appearance, and a number 

 of good houses ; a large church, a new town-house, 

 and a variety of public buildings, both elegant and com- 

 modious, are within and without the city. The climate 

 is greatly preferable to that of Batavia, and has a cor- 

 responding effect on the European inhabitants. The 

 environs are ornamented with numerous villas ; and 

 beautifully variegated hills and dales enhance the scene- 

 Solo, ry. Solo, or Soura Carta, the capital of the Soesoehoe- 

 nan, or emperor, is a large populous town, 61 miles 

 from Samarang. The crattan, or residence of the em- 

 peror, is very spacious, and contains several palaces in 

 its area. The European town and fort are very neat ; 

 and the latter, about 800 yards from the Crattan, con- 

 tains a British garrison. The Dutch had acquired such 

 ascendancy over the native princes, that they were 

 allowed to erect forts close to their respective capitals, 

 by means of which they forcibly secured the influence 

 Djoejocartr. which they had artfully obtained. Djoejocarta, about 

 87 miles from Samarang, is the residence of the sultan 

 of that name. The population within the Crattan is 

 very considerable. At the entrance on the north side 

 is an extensive square for the exhibition of fights of wild 

 beasts, and various tournaments. The interior of the 

 Crattan is filled with palaces, the most remarkable of 

 which is an ancient edifice in the midst of a large lake. 

 The only entrance is by a covered way under water, to 

 which light is communicated by windows, in turrets 

 Sourabliayr. which appear above the surface. Sourabhaya, a large 

 town with a numerous population, European, Chinese, 

 Javanese and Malayan, 540 miles from Batavia, is si- 

 tuated on a fine river, which vessels of some burden na- 

 ' vigate up to the town. The mouth of the river is de- 

 fended by Fort-Calamaas, a circular battery, mounting 

 40 guns. General Daendels expended large sums in 

 the construction of works for the defence of the har- 

 bour, and designed to render the place a principal port 

 for the trade to the eastward. Guns were cast, and a 

 fine arsenal formed ; and vessels were built from the 

 timber which the neighbouring forests supplied, and 

 which was floated down the river. The British resi- 

 dent lives at Simpang, in a large building close to the 

 river ; and in the same quarter is the general hospital, 

 almost unrivalled for extent and commodiousness. The 



country in the vicinity is accounted healthier than most Java. 

 other parts of the sea-coast, and the district is exceed- "* V* 

 ingly populous and productive. 



The early history of Java is entirely lost in the fables History. 

 of antiquity. Its annals give accounts of political re- 

 lations having subsisted in more modern times between- 

 the island and various states in Sumatra and Borneo ; 

 and this is partly confirmed by the circumstance of the 

 written language and the language of the court in these 

 districts being Javanese, while the indigenous dialect 

 is entirely different. History and tradition relate that 

 the inhabitants of Java were once united under one Govern, 

 sovereign, which is corroborated by the similarity of their ment. 

 language and institutions; but when the Dutch first 

 established themselves in the island, about the year 

 1619. it was divided into three great states, namely, 

 Bantam, Jacatra, and the empire of the Soesoehoenan, 

 or emperor; which last was the most extensive, and 

 comprehended more than two-thirds of the whole . 

 island. It is at present divided into five principal states 

 or governments, namely, Bantam, Jacatra, Cheribon, 

 the empire of the Soesoehoenan, and that of the Sultan. 

 Bantam, which lies towards the south-west, is separa- 

 ted from Jacatra by a narrow slip of land called Gren- 

 ding, and by a chain of mountains called Goenong Tje- 

 berum, terminating to the south in the bay of Wyn 

 koopsbergen. In 1751, it became subject to the Dutch 

 East India Company, who had been invited to inter- 

 fere in its intestine commotions : (See BANTAM.) Ja- 

 catra, rather larger but less populous than Bantam, was 

 conquered by the Dutch in 161Q, and taken entirely 

 under their government, who built Batavia near its an- 

 cient capital Jacatra: (See BATAVIA.) Cheribon, about 

 half the size of Jacatra, and situated to the east of it, 

 is divided between two princes, who are feudatories of 

 the Company. The empire of the Soesoehoenan, before 

 the war of 1740, comprehended all the rest of the island 

 to the east of Cheribon ; but, after that period, thirty 

 of its fifty-six provinces were ceded to the Company, 

 and seven to the Sultan Manko Boeni. Of these seven 

 provinces the most extensive and important is that of 

 Mantaram, which is washed by the southern ocean. 

 All these princes were vassals of the Company, to 

 whom they were bound to deliver all the produce of 

 their respective countries at fixed prices, and to act 

 with them offensively and defensively against every ene- 

 my. The whole of these countries were divided by 

 the Dutch into 123 districts, in each of which they 

 established a resident to secure the fulfilment of their 

 commercial privileges, and also a native chief or go 

 vernor, called Tomogong, to collect the produce pay- 

 able by the peasants for the use of the sovereign, the 

 Dutch and themselves. The Dutch, especially in later 

 times, held the supremacy in the island by a very pre- 

 carious tenure ; and were obliged to adopt the policy 

 of fomenting disunion among the more powerful native 

 princes, who governed as their tributaries and allies, as 

 well as of bringing large reinforcements of troops from 

 Europe to keep them in due subordination. In the year 

 1811, a British armament sailed from India against the 

 settlements in Java, and speedily succeeded in reducing 

 the whole island under the dominion of the East India 

 Company.* Its new masters immediately instituted 

 numerous schemes for its improvement ; and, in a short 

 time, rendered the greatest benefit to the whole com- 

 munity, by clearing and cultivating the waste and un- 

 healthy grounds around the capital, by abrogating the 



* See an account of the capture at the conclusion of this article. 



3 



