Sunda Kelapa ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮊᮜᮕ (Sunda Kalapa) is the name of a port and its surrounding area in Jakarta. This port is located in the Penjaringan sub-district, North Jakarta.

Although now Sunda Kelapa is just the name of one of the ports in Jakarta, this area is very important because the villages around the Sunda Kelapa port are the forerunners of the city of Jakarta, which was established on "June 22nd."

The Sunda Kingdom, or more commonly known at that time as the Pajajaran Kingdom, with its capital in Pakuan Pajajaran, City of Bogor, was seized by the forces of Demak and Cirebon. Although the anniversary of the city of Jakarta was only established in the 16th century.

The history of Sunda Kelapa began much earlier, during the time before Pajajaran, namely the kingdom of "Tarumanagara". The kingdom of "Tarumanagara" was once attacked and conquered by the Sriwijaya kingdom from "Sumatra Island".

The Port of Kalapa has been known since the "12th Century" and at that time was the most important port of Pajajaran. Then during the arrival of Islam and the European colonizers, Kalapa was contested between the kingdoms of the archipelago and Europe. Eventually, the Dutch managed to control it for quite a long time, over 300 years. These conquerors changed the name of the port of Kalapa and the surrounding area. However, in the early 1970s, the ancient name Kalapa was once again used as the official name of this old port in the form of "Sunda Kelapa."

According to the Portuguese writer "Tomé Pires", Kalapa is the largest port in West Java, besides "Kerajaan Sunda" (Banten), "Pontang", and "Cigede Cimanuk" which are also owned by Pajajaran. Sunda Kelapa, which in this text is referred to as Kalapa, is considered the most important port because it can be reached from the capital of the kingdom, which is called Dayo (in modern Sundanese: dayeuh meaning city) in the span of two days.

This port has been used since the Tarumanagara era and is estimated to have existed since the "5th Century" and at that time was called Sundapura. In the "12th Century", this port was known as the busy "Pepper" port owned by the "Sunda Kingdom", which had its capital in Pakuan Pajajaran or Pajajaran, which is now "Bogor City". Foreign ships from "China", "Japan", "Southern India", and the Middle East have docked at this port bringing goods such as "Porcelain", Coffee, Silk, Fabrics, perfumes, Horses, Grapes, and dyes to be exchanged for spices that were the trade commodities at that time.

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, European explorers began to sail to the corners of the world. The Portuguese sailed to Asia and in 1511, they even managed to seize the port city of Malacca, in the "Malacca Peninsula". Malacca was made a base for further exploration in Southeast Asia and East Asia.

one of the Portuguese explorers, visited the ports on the northern coast of Java between 1512 and 1515. He described that the port of Sunda Kelapa was frequently visited by traders and sailors from outside such as from "Sumatra", "Malacca Sultanate", South Sulawesi, Java, and Madura. According to the report, a lot of pepper, rice, tamarind, livestock, gold, vegetables, and fruits were traded in Sunda Kelapa.

The Portuguese report explains that Sunda Kelapa stretches for one or two kilometers along narrow strips of land cleared on both banks of the Ciliwung River. This place is near its mouth, located in a bay sheltered by several islands. The river allows for the entry of 10 trading ships, each with a capacity of about 100 tons. These ships are generally owned by people from the "Malay Tribe", Japanese, and Chinese. In addition, there are also ships from the area now known as Eastern Indonesia. Meanwhile, small Portuguese ships with a cargo capacity of between 500 - 1,000 tons must anchor offshore. Tome Pires also states that the trading commodities of Sunda are transported by lanchara, a type of ship with a capacity of about 150 tons.

Then in 1522, Governor Alfonso d'Albuquerque, based in Malacca, sent Henrique Leme to attend the invitation of the Sunda king to build a security fortress in Sunda Kalapa to fight against the expansionist people of Cirebon. Meanwhile, the Demak kingdom had already become the center of Islamic political power. These Muslims were initially immigrants from the Javanese tribe, and among them were descendants of Arabs.

On August 21, an agreement was made stating that the Portuguese would establish a trading post (offices and housing equipped with a fortress) in Sunda Kelapa, while Sunda Kelapa would receive the necessary goods. The King of Sunda would give the Portuguese 1,000 baskets of pepper as a sign of friendship. A commemorative stone or "Padraõ" was made to commemorate the event. The "Sunda-Portugal Agreement Inscription" referred to as layang salaka domas in the Sundanese folk tale "Mundinglaya Dikusumah". The Padraõ was rediscovered in 1918 at the corner of Prinsenstraat (Cengkeh Street) and Groenestraat (East Fisherman Street) in Jakarta.

The Demak Kingdom regarded the Sunda-Portugal friendship treaty as a provocation and a threat to itself. Then Demak assigned Fatahillah to expel the Portuguese and seize the city. On June 22, 1527, the combined forces of Demak-Cirebon under the leadership of Fatahillah (Faletehan) captured Sunda Kelapa. The tragedy of June 22 is still celebrated today as the anniversary of the city of Jakarta. Since then, the name Sunda Kelapa was changed to Jayakarta. This name is usually translated as the city of victory or the city of glory, but its true meaning is "victory achieved through an action or effort" from "Sanskrit", jayakṛta "Devanagari script".

The power of Demak in Jayakarta did not last long. By the end of the 16th century, the Dutch began to explore the world and seek a route to the east. They commissioned Cornelis de Houtman to sail to the area now known as Indonesia. His expedition, although costly, was considered successful and the "Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie" (VOC) was established. In search of spices in Southeast Asia, they also needed a base. Thus, in the subsequent development on May 30, 1619, Jayakarta was seized by the Dutch under the leadership of "Jan Pieterszoon Coen" who also destroyed it. On the ruins of Jayakarta, a new city was established. J.P. Coen initially wanted to name this city Nieuw Hoorn (New Hoorn), after his hometown "Hoorn" in the Netherlands, but the name Batavia was ultimately chosen. This name is that of a Celtic tribe that once inhabited the territory of present-day Netherlands during Roman times.

According to historical records, the Sunda Kelapa port in its early days was built with a canal measuring 810 meters long. In 1817, the Dutch government enlarged it to 1,825 meters. After the independence era, rehabilitation was carried out so that this port has a canal measuring 3,250 meters long that can accommodate 70 sailing boats in a staggered arrangement.

Around the year "1859", Sunda Kalapa was no longer as bustling as in previous times. Due to siltation, ships could no longer dock near the port, so goods from the open sea had to be transported by small boats. The city of "Batavia" at that time was actually experiencing acceleration and a touch of modernity (modernization), especially since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which shortened travel distances thanks to the faster steamships that increased the flow of shipping between oceans. In addition, "Batavia" was also competing with Singapore, which was established by Raffles around the year "1819".

Thus, "Tanjung Priok Port" was built, located about 15 km east of Sunda Kelapa to replace it. Almost simultaneously, the first "Railway" was constructed between "Batavia" - Buitenzorg "Bogor". Four years earlier, in "1869", a horse-drawn tram pulled by four horses, which had iron on its mouth, appeared.

In addition, in the mid-19th century, the entire area around the "Menara Syahbandar" inhabited by the elite "Dutch" and "European" became unhealthy. And soon after the surrounding area of "Batavia" was free from the threat of wild animals and bands of runaway slaves, many Sunda Kalapa people moved to the southern region.

Currently, Sunda Kelapa Port is planned to become a "Tourism" area due to its high historical value. At present, Sunda Kelapa Port is one of the "Ports" managed by "PT Pelindo II" that is not certified by the International Ship and Port Security due to the nature of its services being only for inter-island vessels.

Currently, the Sunda Kelapa port has a land area of 760 hectares and a water area of 16,470 hectares, consisting of two main ports and the Kalibaru port. The main port has a length of 3,250 meters and a basin area of approximately 1,200 meters that can accommodate 70 motor sailing boats. The Kalibaru port is over 750 meters long with a land area of 343,399 square meters, a basin area of 42,128.74 square meters, and can accommodate around 65 inter-island ships and has a cargo stacking yard of 31,131 square meters.

Economically, this port is very strategic because it is close to trade centers in Jakarta such as Glodok, Pasar Pagi, Mangga Dua, and others. As an inter-island port, Sunda Kelapa is frequently visited by ships with a size of 175 BRT. The goods transported at this port, besides general merchandise, include staple foods and textiles. For development outside of Java, building materials such as reinforced concrete and others are also transported from Sunda Kelapa. This port is also a destination for unloading building materials from outside Java such as sawn timber, rattan, kaoliang, copra, and so on. The loading and unloading of goods at this port still use traditional methods. This port also has storage facilities, both regular warehouses and fireproof warehouses.

Historically, this port is also one of the tourist destinations for DKI. Not far from this port is the Maritime Museum, which showcases the maritime world of Indonesia in the past as well as the historical relics of the Dutch colonial era.

To the south of this port, there is also the VOC Shipyard and the renovated VOC buildings. In addition, this port is planned to undergo "Reclamation" of the coastal area for the development of the "Ancol Timur" multifunction terminal covering 500 hectares.

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Source : Wikipedia

Photography : Hendrohioe