Thousand Island Java

Thousand Island, Java (Kepulauan Seribu)

About

The Thousand Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Seribu) are a chain of islands to the north of Jakarta's coast. It forms the onlyregency of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. It consists of a string of 110 islands^[1] stretching 45 km north into the Java Sea.

A decree states that 36 islands may be used for recreation. Of these 36 islands, only 13 islands are fully developed: 11 islands are homes to resorts and two islands are historic parks. Twenty-three islands are privately owned and are not open to the public. The rest of the islands are either uninhabited or support a fishing village.

History

The modern history of the Thousand Islands begins with its role in the defenses of the city of Batavia for the VOC and the Dutch colonial empire. Since the establishment of Batavia in 1610, Onrust island has been a naval base.

After the VOC failed to obtain control of trade at Banten in 1610, the Dutch obtained permission from Prince Jayakarta to build a dock at one of the islands in Jakarta Bay as a place to repair and equip ships sailing to Asia, particularly South East Asia. The island Prince Jayakarta assigned to the VOC was Onrust Island, a 12 hectare island 14 km from Jakarta.

In 1615 the VOC built a shipyard and a small storage house on the island, which Jan Pieterszoon Coen hoped would eventually develop into a trade and defence base against threats from Banten and England (1618). The VOC constructed a small rectangular fort with two bastions in 1656; the bastions protruded from the fort and were used as look-out posts. The Dutch enlarged the fort in 1671 and gave it an asymmetrical pentagonal shape with a bastion in each corner. The whole structure was made of red bricks and coral. In 1674 additional storage buildings were built.

In 1795, the position of the Dutch in Batavia became quite uncertain due to the war in Europe, and the situation became worse with the appearance in 1800 of a British naval squadron under the command of Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball of HMS Daedalus. Daedalus, HMSSybille, HMS Centurion and HMS Braave entered the area, which they referred to as Batavia Roads. They seized five Dutch armed vessels and destroyed 22 other vessels. Onrust island was under siege by the British and eventually destroyed.

After the British departed, the Dutch rebuilt the buildings and facilities, completing the work in 1806. However, a second British attack, led by Admiral Edward Pellew, again destroyed the fort. When the British occupied Batavia in 1810, they repaired the buildings in Onrust island until prior to their leaving Indonesia in 1816.

Onrust island again received attention in 1827 during the period of Governor General G.A.Baron Van Der Capellen and activities in the island were normal again in 1848. In 1856 a floating shipyard was built. However, the construction of Tanjung Priok harbour in 1883 resulted in a decline in the role and significance of Onrust island.

In 1911-1933, Onrust island became a quarantine station for pilgrims returning from the Hajj. A barrack was built in 1911 that contained 35 units for about 100 pilgrims. From 1933 until 1940, the Dutch used Onrust to hold the mutineers involved in the Incident of the Seven Ships (Zeven Provincien). In 1940, the Dutch used it to hold Germans, such as Steinfurt, who was the Chief Administrator of Onrust Island. After the Japanese invaded Indonesia in 1942, the role of Onrust island declined again and it became a prison for serious criminals.

After Indonesia proclaimed her independence, the island became a leprosarium under the control of the Indonesia Ministry of Health, until 1960. The leprosarium then relocated to Post VII at Tanjung Priok harbour.

After a coup by General Suharto, Chris Soumokil, who had proclaimed a Republic of South Moluccas with himself as president, was arrested and held at Onrust. Later he was executed there on 21 April 1966, by order of President Suharto.

In 1972 Ali Sadikin, then governor of Jakarta, declared Onrust Island a protected historical site. In 2002 the administration made Onrust and its three neighbors - the islands of Cipir, Kelor and Bidadari - an archaeological park to protect the artifacts and ruins on the islands that date back to the time of the Dutch East India Company.

The islands of the Thousand Islands is a regency which belongs to the city of Jakarta. This makes Jakarta the only capital city in the world which contains more than 100 islands within its capital boundary (Stockholm contains 14 islands within its capital boundary). In the official list, the Thousand Islands Regency contains 110 islands and is divided into two subdistricts or kecamatan: the Kecamatan of Kepulauan Seribu Selatan, or South Thousand Islands, and the Kecamatan of Kepulauan Seribu Utara, or North Thousand Islands. Each kecamatan in turn is divided into three kelurahan.

(source:wikipedia free encyclopedia)