In 1526, Fatahillah, sent by Sultanate of Demak, invaded the Hindu Pajajaran’s port of Sunda Kelapa, after which he renamed it into Jayakarta. This town was only 15 hectare in size and had a typical Javanese harbor layout.
Located at the mouth of the Ciliwung River in Java , the Old Town of Jakarta was established by the VOC in 1619 after the VOC destroyed Jayakarta under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen. A year later the VOC built a new town named “Batavia” after the Batavieren, the Dutch ancestors from antiquity. This city was centered around the east bank of the Ciliwung river, around present day Fatahillah Square. Inhabitants of Batavia are called “Batavianen”, later known as “Betawi” people. The creole citizens are descendants of mixed various ethnicities that had inhabited Batavia.
Its 17th century town plan was completed in 1650. In 17th and 18th century VOC had largest volume of trade in the world, governed from Batavia. No colonial town built by VOC matched the grandeur and completeness (military, civil engineering, and urban elements) of Dutch town planning & architecture of Batavia.
The Travel Creek 