Indonesia About Year 1601
Senopati succeeded by Krapyak in Mataram.
Portuguese send a fleet from Goa, India, to drive the Dutch from the Indies.
English set up fort at Banda.
Aceh sends two ambassadors to Europe to observe and report on the situation to the Sultan.
December 25-27 Five Dutch ships defeat the Portuguese fleet of 30 ships in battle in Banten harbor.
Indonesia About Year 1602
March 20 Dutch companies combine to form Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC); led by Heeren XVII representing different regions of the Netherlands; States-General gives VOC power to raise armies, build forts, negotiate treaties and wage war in Asia.
VOC begins sending large, well-armed ships to the Indies (38 in the first three years).
VOC establishes post at Gresik.
Sir James Lancaster leads an (English) East India Company expedition, reaches Aceh, and builds a trading post at Banten.
The Dutch East India Company was given most of the powers of a sovereign state, partly because communication between the Netherlands and Asia was so slow that colonial activities simply could not be directed from Amsterdam.
(Until 1800 in this time-line, Dutch activities are marked with a VOC for East India Company.)
Indonesia About Year 1603
Official VOC trading post founded at Banten.
Indonesia About Year 1604
English East India Company expedition under Sir Henry Middleton visits Ternate, Tidore, Ambon, and Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1605
Portuguese at Ambon surrender to ships under VOC.
King of Gowa converts to Islam, but other kings of the area refuse invitation to convert. Gowa attacks its neighbors and converts them to Islam.
VOC sends expeditions to Banda, Irian Jaya, northern Australia.
The chief minister to the King of Gowa in these days was named Matoaya. Besides presiding over the conversion of Gowa and Makassar to Islam, he encouraged the establishment of Makassar as a free port opposed to Portuguese or Dutch control, and started a local industry to manufacture firearms, to maintain Gowa's strength against outside forces.
Indonesia About Year 1606
Spanish take Ternate and Tidore.
VOC makes unsuccessful attack on Portuguese Melaka.
VOC begins trading at Banjarmasin.
Indonesia About Year 1607
Iskandar Muda is Sultan of Aceh.
May Sultan of Ternate appeals to the VOC for help against the Spanish.
Aceh under Iskandar Muda and his successor, Iskandar Thani, was a center of Islamic scholarship and debate.
Indonesia About Year 1608
Gowa begins three years of war against the neighboring Kingdom of Bone.
Indonesia About Year 1609
Portuguese fortress on Bacan falls to VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1610
Krapyak of Mataram starts period of heavy attacks on Surabaya.
Post of Governor-General is created for VOC in Asia, advised by Raad van Indie (Council of the Indies).
Indonesia About Year 1611
English begin setting up many posts in the Indies, including at Makassar, Jepara, Aceh and Jambi.
Dutch set up post at Jayakerta.
Gowa conquers Bone, converts it to Islam.
Indonesia About Year 1613
April 18 Dutch take Solor from Portuguese. Portuguese Dominicans move headquarters to Larantuka, Flores.
Iskandar Muda of Aceh defeats Johore, burns down the city, carries away the Sultan of Johore and VOC representatives.
Mataram forces burn down Gresik; Krapyak asks VOC in Maluku for help against Surabaya.
VOC sets up post at Jepara.
VOC sets up first post on Timor.
Krapyak succeeded by Sultan Agung.
Indonesia About Year 1614
Johore throws out Aceh forces, creates alliance Palembang, Jambi, and other Sultanates against Aceh
Aceh wins naval battle against Portuguese at Bintan, continues on to attack Melaka.
Agung attacks Surabayan territories.
VOC sends ambassador to Agung.
Bandung founded.
VOC closes post at Gowa, hostilities drag on for years.
First Dutch Reformed church in the east founded at Ambon.
English build warehouse at Jayakerta.
Dutch abandon Solor after just two years.
VOC military expedition against Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1617
Aceh takes Pahang.
Agung defeats Surabaya at Pasuruan, defeats Surabayan expedition to his rear; Pajang rebels, Agung destroys Pajang and moves inhabitants to Mataram.
Gowa extends control over Sumbawa.
"Monopolies" and "smuggling" in these days were sometimes defined by contracts and treaties, but at other times a "monopoly" was simply declared unilaterally. Some of the "smuggling" that occurred would just be called "competition" today.
In 1615-1616, the Schouten expedition became the first to sail around Cape Horn at the the southern tip of South America, then made the first visit by Europeans to many south Pacific islands. By the time they arrived in Batavia (Jakarta), Coen had them jailed for violating the V.O.C.'s monopoly, and confiscated their ships.
(Years later, in 1722, the Dutch explorer Roggeveen would run into the same trouble after discovering Easter Island.)
Indonesia About Year 1618
Jan Pieterzoon Coen becomes Governor-General of VOC.
English merchants attack Chinese ships in Banten in a dispute over the price of pepper. Coen begins secretly fortifying the VOC warehouses at Jayakerta to the east.
December Sultan of Banten encourages English to drive Dutch out of Jayakerta. Coen leaves for Maluku to muster ships and soldiers.
Agung bans the sale of rice to the VOC. Agung's governor of Jepara attacks the VOC post there; Dutch burn down much of Jepara in retaliation.
Dutch reoccupy Solor.
Indonesia About Year 1619
January English force Dutch surrender at Jayakerta, but Banten forces take over from the English in a surprise move. The English and the Pangeran of Jayakerta retreat.
March 12 Dutch rename post at Jayakerta to Batavia (today's Jakarta).
May Coen passes through Jepara, and burns down the city again, including the English trading post.
May 28 Coen arrives at Jayakerta, and burns down the original town of Jayakerta, leaving only the Dutch post of Batavia remaining to become VOC headquarters.
Agung takes Tuban from Surabaya, destroying the city.
August VOC begins building city at Batavia.
Agung was not pleased with the Dutch taking Jayakerta, since he had intended to take it himself. Likewise, the Sultan of Banten did not want the English to take it, for the same reason.
Indonesia About Year 1620
VOC under Coen almost exterminates population of Banda to prevent "smuggling". Survivors settle on small islands near Seram.
Aceh takes Kedah.
Gowa extends influence over Sumbawa.
Rahmatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
The most aggressive Governor-General of the V.O.C.
Indonesia About Year 1621
British found trading post at Ambon.
Indonesia About Year 1622
Mataram navy defeats Sukadana (an ally of Surabaya in West Kalimantan), and destroy the city.
Agung and VOC make overtures to each other.
Indonesia About Year 1623
VOC agents in Ambon arrest, torture and execute English agents on charges of conspiracy.
Aceh sacks Johore.
Carstenz expedition for VOC explores southern coast of Irian Jaya.
Coen returns to the Netherlands. Carpentier is new Governor-General of the VOC.
VOC takes nominal claim to Aru Islands.
Indonesia About Year 1624
Aceh takes Nias.
Sultan Agung conquers Madura, and takes 40,000 prisoners. Raden Praseno, a grandson of Pratanu, is named Pangeran Cakraningrat I of Madura by Agung.
Indonesia About Year 1625
Agung dams Brantas River to cut off water supply from Surabaya, which finally surrenders.
Cirebon is an ally of Agung.
Epidemics and ruin of war spread through Java.
Abul Fath becomes Sultan of Banten.
In 1625 the first "hongi" raids took place in Maluku. These were attacks, usually by local allies of the VOC, against anyone who was growing cloves without authorization of the VOC.
By this time, the VOC was probably the largest business enterprise anywhere in the world, with tens of thousands of employees. The territories controlled by the VOC were not only in Indonesia: in the mid-1600s, they also included Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and the Cape area in what is now South Africa. The VOC also had "factories", warehouses and offices in Thailand, Japan, Iran, Yemen, and Canton in China.
Indonesia About Year 1627
Coen returns from the Netherlands to serve as Governor-General of the V.O.C. again.
December 25 Soldiers from Banten infiltrate the fortress of Batavia, kill some guards, and escape, but do little damage.
Around this time, Sultan Agung forced the removal of the entire population of many villages in the Priangan (around today's Bandung) for disobedience. Around 1200 men were sent back to Mataram from these villages, and executed.
Indonesia About Year 1628
Agung sends army against VOC in Batavia; dams Ciliwung River in attempt to deny fresh water to the VOC. He fails to oust the Dutch, who prevent his army from receiving supplies by sea. Commanders of the Mataram army are executed for failure.
Last of the English leave Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1629
Agung attacks Batavia again. He is defeated, although Coen dies during the siege.
Banten, fearing Agung now more than the VOC, pleads for peace with the VOC.
Iskandar Muda sends navy of Aceh against Portuguese Melaka, but the Aceh navy is destroyed.
September 20 Coen passes away.
Introduction of sugar cultivation in Banten.
Indonesia About Year 1630
Dutch abandon Solor, which is retaken by the Portuguese.
Indonesia About Year 1631
Agung suppresses rebellion at Sumedang.
Indonesia About Year 1633
Agung raids east Java; the Hindu kingdom of Balambangan asks for VOC help and is refused. Balambangan then asks the King of Gelgel in Bali for help.
War between VOC and Banten.
Aceh takes the Indrapura area of Minangkabau.
Indonesia About Year 1634
Dutch arrest Kakiali, leader of Hitu in Maluku, on charges of smuggling.
This was the "mercantilist" age of trade empires. There were many powers that wanted to create trade empires: the Dutch through the VOC, the English, Banten, and Gowa were among them. There was no such thing as "free trade" under these empires. The VOC especially wanted total control of trade, and any selling to anyone outside the VOC was considered "smuggling".
Indonesia About Year 1635
Agung tries to take Balambangan, but is defeated by Balinese forces.
VOC signs treaty with Kutai on Kalimantan.
Indonesia About Year 1636
Iskandar Thani becomes Sultan of Aceh; supports Islamic learning.
Agung begins conquest of easternmost Java.
Agung suppresses a revolt in Giri.
Agung, realizing that he cannot defeat Dutch, makes overtures towards VOC.
Van Diemen becomes Governor-General of VOC.
Portuguese abandon posts on Solor after six years.
VOC bans all private correspondence (until 1701).
Indonesia About Year 1637
VOC attacks Ternate.
VOC releases Kakiali, who pledges friendship to VOC but makes anti-Dutch alliance between Hitu, Ternate, and Gowa.
Local Muslims overcome Portuguese fortress at Ende on Flores.
Agung gives permission for Portuguese and Catholic refugees from Batavia to settle around Jepara.
Agung finally takes Balambangan in easternmost Java. The area is devastated by warfare.
Palembang and Banjarmasin send ambassadors to make homage to Agung.
Ar-Raniri arrives in Aceh from Gujarat in India.
Around this time the VOC started pushing the Portuguese out of many of their posts in Nusa Tenggara.
Ar-Raniri was a great writer and scholar in Aceh's golden age. Among other things, he wrote "Garden of Kings", a book about Islam and the scientific knowledge of the day. However, he was also a controversial figure in Aceh, and he returned to India in 1644.
Indonesia About Year 1639
Chief minister Matoaya of Gowa is succeeded by his son Pattingalloang.
Unlike his father, Pattingalloang did not maintain good relations with the Bugis. The bad feeling would eventually lead some Bugis to side with the VOC against Gowa and Makassar.
Indonesia About Year 1640
Bima on Sumbawa converts to Islam and becomes a Sultanate.
Portugal regains independent crown from Spain.
Portuguese abandon trading post at Jepara.
Cirebon becomes a dependency of Mataram
Indonesia About Year 1641
Taj ul-Alam becomes Sultana of Aceh, starts period of female rulers; Johore and Aceh settle differences.
January 14 VOC takes Melaka from Portuguese, with help from the Sultan of Johore.
Sultan of Johore opens ports in Riau to all traders.
Kakiali and Hitu attack VOC on Ambon.
The VOC takeover of Melaka was the real end of Portuguese importance in the region. But after losing Melaka, some Portuguese started trading with Gowa on Sulawesi.
After Taj ul-Alam became ruler of Aceh, the centralized power in Aceh lessened, regional ruler gained more power, and Aceh's tributaries began to show their independence.
With the English and Portuguese almost gone, and Batavia and Ambon relatively secure from neighboring rulers, this was the most profitable time for the VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1642
VOC gets monopoly on trade with Palembang by treaty.
Hidayatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Tasman explores coasts of Irian Jaya for VOC on voyage back from New Zealand.
"Statutes of Batavia", based on Roman law, are introduced as a legal code for VOC territories.
Indonesia About Year 1643
VOC has Kakiali murdered, continue drive to take Hitu.
Indonesia About Year 1645
Agung begins building royal tombs at Imogiri, (near today's Yogya).
Mandarsyah becomes Sultan of Ternate with VOC help.
VOC established outpost at Perak.
Indonesia About Year 1646
Sultan Agung dies, and is succeeded by Susuhunan Amangkurat I. Mataram controls all Java, more or less, except Banten and Batavia. Relations between Amangkurat I and the VOC are good in the beginning.
VOC finally takes Hitu.
Dutch arrive again on Solor, abandoned by the Portuguese ten years earlier.
September 24 Cooperation treaty between VOC and Mataram, involving promises of mutual assistance against enemies and extradition of runaway debtors, among other things. Ships of Mataram may trade at any VOC port except Ambon, Ternate or Banda, but must apply for a pass at Batavia if they are sailing for Melaka or points beyond.
Portuguese begin building a settlement at the present site of Kupang on western Timor.
VOC builds a trading post in the Tanimbar Islands.
Indonesia About Year 1647
Amangkurat I moves court to Plered near Karta.
Mataram kingdom loses Balambangan in easternmost Java to Balinese forces.
Indonesia About Year 1648
Cakraningrat II takes power in Madura, under Mataram.
Indonesia About Year 1650
VOC intervenes in uprising against Sultan Mandarsyah of Ternate, sparking civil war.
Amangkurat I orders Cirebon to attack Banten.
Musta'in Billah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Indonesia About Year 1651
VOC reopens post at Jepara; Amangkurat I begins interfering in coastal trade.
Sultan Ageng begins rule at Banten (not to be confused with Sultan Agung of Mataram).
VOC takes Kupang on western Timor; Portuguese move to Lifau, in what is now East Timor.
VOC outpost at Perak is destroyed.
Indonesia About Year 1652
VOC takes Sultan Mandarsyah of Ternate to Batavia, makes him sign agreement not to grow cloves, starts military moves against opposing faction in Ternate.
Amangkurat I bans the export of rice or timber.
Hongi raids destroy clove cultivation on Buru.
Tensions grow between the VOC and Gowa.
Indonesia About Year 1655
Amangkurat I orders that no boats of any kind shall set sail from his ports.
Indonesia About Year 1656
VOC deports population of Hoamoal near Ternate to Ambon.
Indonesia About Year 1657
Amangkurat I attacks Banten again.
VOC forces population of Buru to relocate to Kaleji Bay.
Indonesia About Year 1658
VOC sets up post at Manado.
War between VOC and Palembang.
Indonesia About Year 1659
VOC forces burn down Palembang, and reestablish the VOC post.
Amangkurat I has several family members murdered, including the mother of the future Amangkurat II.
July 10 Treaty between VOC and Banten: prisoners and runaway slaves are to be exchanged; VOC receives a presence at Banten free from rent or taxes; boundary between Banten and VOC territory is set.
VOC builds fort in the Aru Islands, but soon abandons it.
Bugis fighters from a 1650s engraving.
VOC attacks Gowa, destroys Portuguese ships in harbor, and forces peace treaty on Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa.
Arung Palakka of Bone rebels against Gowa; retreats with supporters to Butung.
Buleleng begins drive to become power on Bali; King of Klungkung remains as "Dewa Agung" or chief king.
Amangkurat I closes ports again; VOC leaves Jepara.
Formerly Bali had answered to the King at Gelgel. Around this time, the kingdom split into nine states:
Badung
Bangli
Buleleng
Gianyar
Jembrana
Karangasem
Klungkung
Mengwi
Tabanan
Indonesia About Year 1661
Court rebellion against Amangkurat I.
Banten takes diamond-bearing area of Landak on Kalimantan.
Amangkurat I had a reputation for being cruel and unpredictable. Besides his disastrous interference in the economy, at one time he had many of the Islamic scholars in Mataram killed, then took their former judicial powers for himself, turning himself into an absolute ruler.
Indonesia About Year 1662
Portuguese headquarters in the east is moved from Larantuka, Flores to Lifau (today Oecussi or Pantemakassar) in what is now East Timor.
VOC signs treaty with chiefs on Roti.
Indonesia About Year 1663
Spanish abandon post at Tidore.
VOC allows Arung Palakka and followers to settle at Batavia.
Banten begins direct trade with Manila.
July 6 Treaty of Painan: coastal areas of Minangkabau, including Padang, become a protectorate of the VOC, which guarantees them security against raids from Aceh.
By the end of the 1660s, Banten was trading directly with China, Japan, Thailand, India and Arabia, using its own ships to compete with English, French, Danish and VOC traders. Sultan Ageng of Banten was a strong opponent of the VOC monopoly who insisted on promoting trade with other European, Arab and Asian traders as he pleased.
Indonesia About Year 1666
VOC sends out a fleet under Admiral Cornelis Speelman, with Bugis soldiers under Arung Palakka and Ambonese soldiers under "Captain Jonker", to settle issues in Gowa and Maluku.
Cornelis Speelman, Admiral and later Governor-General. Speelman left the Netherlands as a teenager and spent the rest of his life in the Indies, never returning.
VOC expedition under Speelman lands at Butung, and clears the island of Gowa forces.
Speelman expedition forces the Sultan of Tidore (now free of Spanish presence) to submit to the VOC. A peace treaty is signed between Ternate and Tidore, now both under VOC control.
The future Amangkurat II begins seeking VOC help against his father.
English give up claims to Banda in exchange for Manhattan Island in America.
Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa is remembered for fighting bravely against the VOC, but he eventually had to sign a treaty giving up almost all his territories to the Dutch.
Arung Palakka returns to Bone, sparking a popular revolt against the Sultan of Gowa.
Speelman expedition finally defeats Gowa.
November 18 Treaty of Bungaya: Gowa submits to VOC control, and Sultan Hasanuddin has no influence outside the general area of the city of Makassar.
VOC extends claims to Sumbawa and Flores after the defeat of Gowa.
Bugis leaving the confusion on Sulawesi found Samarinda on Kalimantan.
VOC builds a fort at Menggala in Lampung.
By this time, the Portuguese in Makassar and Gowa had fled to Flores, or even to Macao or Thailand.
Indonesia About Year 1669
Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa passes away; continuing troubles against the VOC in Gowa finally end.
VOC traders at Banjarmasin are massacred.
Indonesia About Year 1670
VOC establishes outposts at Bengkalis (across the straits from Melaka) and Perak, both for controlling the trade in tin.
Balambangan in easternmost Java becomes independent of Balinese rule.
Indonesia About Year 1671
Trunojoyo unites Madura under his control, drives out Mataram forces.
(Note: throughout this page, VOC stands for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or the Dutch East India Company. The VOC had been granted many of the powers of a sovereign state by the government of the Netherlands.)
Indonesia About Year 1672
Gunung Merapi erupts in Mataram.
VOC recognizes Arung Palakka as King of Bone.
In 1672, Louis XIV of France invaded the Netherlands with 100,000 soldiers. The Dutch had to open the dikes and flood the fields to prevent Amsterdam from falling to the French. However, since travel and communication were so slow in the 1600s and 1700s, these events had little effect on the activities of the VOC, which had the power to govern itself in any case.
Indonesia About Year 1674
Famine in Mataram.
Bugis under Arung Palakka attack Toraja.
Makassarese unhappy with Arung Palakka settle in East Java.
Indonesia About Year 1675
Rebellion in Mataram, with help from Trunojoyo. Makassarese exiles attack ports on north coast of Java. Trunojoyo of Madura takes Surabaya. Rebels appeal to Islamic sentiments among the common people against both the court of Mataram and the VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1676
Trunojoyo defeats Mataram army at Gogodog.
Amangkurat I sends his son, Pangeran Puger, to the VOC to ask for help.
VOC sends Admiral Speelman to fight the rebels against Mataram in North Java and Madura. Speelman quiets the rebellion along the coast between Cirebon and Jepara.
Indonesia About Year 1677
February 25 VOC makes a treaty with Amangkurat I: VOC will help Mataram, VOC territory around Batavia will be extended eastward, VOC may establish a factory anywhere they like without any restrictions on exports or imports, Mataram will restrict Malays, Arabs and other outsiders from settling in Mataram, and Mataram will repay the VOC for the cost of putting down the rebellion. Speelman receives the right to make treaties on behalf of Amangkurat I.
May VOC pushes Trunojoyo out of Surabaya. Trunojoyo leaves behind over 100 cannon.
May Trunojoyo moves on to loot the court of Mataram at Plered. Both loyal and rebellious members of the family of Amangkurat I flee. Trunojoyo takes the royal treasury and retreats to Kediri.
Banten forces occupy Cirebon and the Priangan.
July Amangkurat I dies. Amangkurat II seeks VOC help against the rebels.
Balinese from Karangasem drive Makassarese off of Lombok.
VOC occupies Sangir islands.
Indonesia About Year 1678
January 15 Amangkurat II gives the VOC a monopoly on the sugar trade in Jepara.
Amangkurat II, without money to pay his debts to the VOC, promises to give up Semarang, his claims to the Priangan, and fees from coastal ports until debts are paid.
VOC and Amangkurat II march on Kediri and destroy Trunojoyo's headquarters after a fifty-day siege. Arung Palakka and his supporters fight for the VOC as mercenaries, and conspire to win away Makassarese mercenaries fighting for Trunojoyo. Captured gold and treasure is distributed among the victorious troops. Amangkurat II receives back the gold crown of Majapahit, an heirloom of the house of Mataram, but its central diamond is missing (possibly stolen by a Dutch soldier). Trunojoyo himself escapes.
Inayatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
December 9 Nine Makassarese chiefs who had been fighting for Trunojoyo as mercenaries surrender to the VOC, and are allowed to return to Sulawesi.
Throughout this period, the rulers of Mataram borrowed money from the VOC, which turned out to be a bad deal for both. The rulers of Mataram lost power and sovereignty, but the debts to the VOC were never fully repaid, and the VOC lost money year after year.
Indonesia About Year 1679
VOC and Arung Palakka drive the remaining Makassarese out of East Java.
Banten retreats from Cirebon and the Priangan.
VOC makes an alliance with Minahasans at Manado.
December 25 Trunojoyo gives himself up to the combined VOC and Mataram forces, under the promise that his life will be spared. He is executed anyway. (In one story, he is promised the post of minister and executed by Amangkurat II himself, with a royal keris.)
Indonesia About Year 1680
VOC forces attack rebel areas in Mataram.
Pangeran Puger continues to run a court at Plered against Amangkurat II. Amangkurat II founds a new court at Kartasura (guarded by VOC troops), then drives Puger out of Plered.
Banten declares war on VOC. Sultan Ageng is replaced in coup by his son, Sultan Haji, who seeks help from the VOC.
VOC forces invade Madura, supposedly on behalf of Mataram. Cakraningrat II, uncle of Trunojoyo, takes power in West Madura. VOC retains control of East Madura.
Indonesia About Year 1681
January 6 VOC signs agreement with the princes of Cirebon for mutual assistance in case of emergencies, and agreeing on severe punishment if any of the three heads rebelled against the VOC. Cirebon will not build any fortifications without VOC approval, the VOC has a monopoly on pepper in Cirebon, and the princes may control the export of sugar and rice from Cirebon.
Pangeran Puger builds a new force and retakes the center of Mataram, but not Kartasura. VOC forces push him back and defeat him.
VOC intervenes in Roti, puts allies in power.
Karangasem begins trying to take Lombok.
Indonesia About Year 1682
Sultan Ageng's supporters, including much of the population, retake Banten against his son. VOC reacts by taking Banten with superior firepower. VOC expels English and other European traders from Banten, and begins to control Cirebon, the Priangan, and Lampung. Syekh Waliyullah, Islamic scholar and enemy of the Dutch, is exiled to the VOC post in Ceylon.
Indonesia About Year 1684
April 17 VOC renews its 1659 treaty with Banten; in addition, Banten gives up its claims to Cirebon, and grants the VOC a monopoly in the pepper trade in Lampung.
April 28 VOC cancels the debts owed by the Sultan of Banten, but only on the condition that the previous treaties between the VOC and Banten are obeyed.
Surapati, (also called Untung), a former slave and outlaw, now employed as a VOC soldier, attacks a VOC column and escapes. He travels across the countryside of Java gathering followers.
Surapati instructs his followers to kill two officials in Banyumas who were rebelling against the authority of Mataram. He receives the gratitude of Amangkurat II, and is given refuge by anti-VOC members of the court of Mataram at Kartasura.
Indonesia About Year 1685
Post is founded at Bengkulu by English traders who had been forced to leave Banten.
VOC forces treaty on Sultan of Riau.
Sa'dillah becomes Sultan of Banjar.
Indonesia About Year 1686
February 15 VOC receives a complete monopoly on pepper in Banten.
VOC sends an embassy to the Mataram court at Kartasura, demanding the return of Surapati. Amangkurat II stages a fake attack on Surapati's residence, then has his soldiers turn to cut down VOC representatives and soldiers, with the help of Pangeran Puger. The remaining VOC presence at court leaves for Jepara. Amangkurat II sends an ambassador to the VOC at Jepara claiming that he took no part in attacking the Dutch.
Surapati and the chief minister of Amangkurat II leave Kartasura for Pasuruan. Amangkurat II orders his ministers in Madura and Surabaya to make the appearance of pursuit.
Surapati begins building a new kingdom for himself in easternmost Java.
Amangkurat II sends secret letters to Johore, Minangkabau, English East India Co, even Siam trying to find help against VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1688
Local leader on Bangka (claimed by Palembang) asks for VOC protection.
Indonesia About Year 1689
Plot against VOC in Batavia fails; rebels flee to Kartasura.
Indonesia About Year 1690
Amangkurat II stages another mock attack on Surapati at Pasuruan. The promised VOC help arrives late, foiling the plans to ambush the VOC soldiers again.
VOC abandons outpost at Perak.
Tea is introduced on Java.
Indonesia About Year 1694
VOC begins contacts with Bataks around Lake Toba, Sumatra.
Indonesia About Year 1695
Sultanate of Asahan is founded on Sumatra, as a dependency of Siak.
Indonesia About Year 1696
Arung Palakka, King of Bone, passes away.
Sultan Muhammad Syah of Indrapura abdicates. VOC gains influence in the absence of a ruler there.
Indonesia About Year 1697
King of Buleleng in Bali takes Balambangan on Java and returns it to Balinese rule.
Indonesia About Year 1699
Surapati takes areas around Madiun.
VOC introduces coffee cultivation to Java.
VOC increases influence around Kutai on Kalimantan.
Sultan Mahmud II of Riau is assassinated; civil war breaks out.
Earthquake at Batavia.
Indonesia About Year 1700
Tahlilillah becomes Sultan of Banjar.
Senopati succeeded by Krapyak in Mataram.
Portuguese send a fleet from Goa, India, to drive the Dutch from the Indies.
English set up fort at Banda.
Aceh sends two ambassadors to Europe to observe and report on the situation to the Sultan.
December 25-27 Five Dutch ships defeat the Portuguese fleet of 30 ships in battle in Banten harbor.
Indonesia About Year 1602
March 20 Dutch companies combine to form Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC); led by Heeren XVII representing different regions of the Netherlands; States-General gives VOC power to raise armies, build forts, negotiate treaties and wage war in Asia.
VOC begins sending large, well-armed ships to the Indies (38 in the first three years).
VOC establishes post at Gresik.
Sir James Lancaster leads an (English) East India Company expedition, reaches Aceh, and builds a trading post at Banten.
The Dutch East India Company was given most of the powers of a sovereign state, partly because communication between the Netherlands and Asia was so slow that colonial activities simply could not be directed from Amsterdam.
(Until 1800 in this time-line, Dutch activities are marked with a VOC for East India Company.)
Indonesia About Year 1603
Official VOC trading post founded at Banten.
Indonesia About Year 1604
English East India Company expedition under Sir Henry Middleton visits Ternate, Tidore, Ambon, and Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1605
Portuguese at Ambon surrender to ships under VOC.
King of Gowa converts to Islam, but other kings of the area refuse invitation to convert. Gowa attacks its neighbors and converts them to Islam.
VOC sends expeditions to Banda, Irian Jaya, northern Australia.
The chief minister to the King of Gowa in these days was named Matoaya. Besides presiding over the conversion of Gowa and Makassar to Islam, he encouraged the establishment of Makassar as a free port opposed to Portuguese or Dutch control, and started a local industry to manufacture firearms, to maintain Gowa's strength against outside forces.
Indonesia About Year 1606
Spanish take Ternate and Tidore.
VOC makes unsuccessful attack on Portuguese Melaka.
VOC begins trading at Banjarmasin.
Indonesia About Year 1607
Iskandar Muda is Sultan of Aceh.
May Sultan of Ternate appeals to the VOC for help against the Spanish.
Aceh under Iskandar Muda and his successor, Iskandar Thani, was a center of Islamic scholarship and debate.
Indonesia About Year 1608
Gowa begins three years of war against the neighboring Kingdom of Bone.
Indonesia About Year 1609
Portuguese fortress on Bacan falls to VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1610
Krapyak of Mataram starts period of heavy attacks on Surabaya.
Post of Governor-General is created for VOC in Asia, advised by Raad van Indie (Council of the Indies).
Indonesia About Year 1611
English begin setting up many posts in the Indies, including at Makassar, Jepara, Aceh and Jambi.
Dutch set up post at Jayakerta.
Gowa conquers Bone, converts it to Islam.
Indonesia About Year 1613
April 18 Dutch take Solor from Portuguese. Portuguese Dominicans move headquarters to Larantuka, Flores.
Iskandar Muda of Aceh defeats Johore, burns down the city, carries away the Sultan of Johore and VOC representatives.
Mataram forces burn down Gresik; Krapyak asks VOC in Maluku for help against Surabaya.
VOC sets up post at Jepara.
VOC sets up first post on Timor.
Krapyak succeeded by Sultan Agung.
Indonesia About Year 1614
Johore throws out Aceh forces, creates alliance Palembang, Jambi, and other Sultanates against Aceh
Aceh wins naval battle against Portuguese at Bintan, continues on to attack Melaka.
Agung attacks Surabayan territories.
VOC sends ambassador to Agung.
Bandung founded.
Sultan Agung in a traditional portrait.
Agung was the greatest ruler of Mataram. At one point, all of Java except for Banten and Batavia was under his rule.
Agung was the greatest ruler of Mataram. At one point, all of Java except for Banten and Batavia was under his rule.
Indonesia About Year 1615
VOC closes post at Gowa, hostilities drag on for years.
First Dutch Reformed church in the east founded at Ambon.
English build warehouse at Jayakerta.
Dutch abandon Solor after just two years.
Protestantism (Kristen), one of Indonesia's five religions.
The Dutch introduced the fifth of Indonesia's recognized religions: Protestant Christianity. Beside the missionary work on Java, there were soon many "orang Kristen" around Manado on Sulawesi, in Ambon, and around Kupang on Timor and nearby Roti.
The VOC, being mostly a business, had very little interest in spreading religion. However, it banned to practice of Catholicism wherever it could.
Indonesia About Year 1616
VOC military expedition against Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1617
Aceh takes Pahang.
Agung defeats Surabaya at Pasuruan, defeats Surabayan expedition to his rear; Pajang rebels, Agung destroys Pajang and moves inhabitants to Mataram.
Gowa extends control over Sumbawa.
"Monopolies" and "smuggling" in these days were sometimes defined by contracts and treaties, but at other times a "monopoly" was simply declared unilaterally. Some of the "smuggling" that occurred would just be called "competition" today.
In 1615-1616, the Schouten expedition became the first to sail around Cape Horn at the the southern tip of South America, then made the first visit by Europeans to many south Pacific islands. By the time they arrived in Batavia (Jakarta), Coen had them jailed for violating the V.O.C.'s monopoly, and confiscated their ships.
(Years later, in 1722, the Dutch explorer Roggeveen would run into the same trouble after discovering Easter Island.)
Indonesia About Year 1618
Jan Pieterzoon Coen becomes Governor-General of VOC.
English merchants attack Chinese ships in Banten in a dispute over the price of pepper. Coen begins secretly fortifying the VOC warehouses at Jayakerta to the east.
December Sultan of Banten encourages English to drive Dutch out of Jayakerta. Coen leaves for Maluku to muster ships and soldiers.
Agung bans the sale of rice to the VOC. Agung's governor of Jepara attacks the VOC post there; Dutch burn down much of Jepara in retaliation.
Dutch reoccupy Solor.
Indonesia About Year 1619
January English force Dutch surrender at Jayakerta, but Banten forces take over from the English in a surprise move. The English and the Pangeran of Jayakerta retreat.
March 12 Dutch rename post at Jayakerta to Batavia (today's Jakarta).
May Coen passes through Jepara, and burns down the city again, including the English trading post.
May 28 Coen arrives at Jayakerta, and burns down the original town of Jayakerta, leaving only the Dutch post of Batavia remaining to become VOC headquarters.
Agung takes Tuban from Surabaya, destroying the city.
August VOC begins building city at Batavia.
Agung was not pleased with the Dutch taking Jayakerta, since he had intended to take it himself. Likewise, the Sultan of Banten did not want the English to take it, for the same reason.
Indonesia About Year 1620
VOC under Coen almost exterminates population of Banda to prevent "smuggling". Survivors settle on small islands near Seram.
Aceh takes Kedah.
Gowa extends influence over Sumbawa.
Rahmatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
The most aggressive Governor-General of the V.O.C.
One of Coen's goals was to make the VOC strong enough on its own that it did not have to depend on the goodwill of neighboring rulers. He intended to do this by changing the VOC from a trade empire to an empire that ruled actual territories, then settling those territories with colonists from the Netherlands. Military strength was important, both for maintaining a position of power among the local kings and sultans, and for keeping the Spanish, Portuguese and English away.
For Coen, the VOC was more than a business, but for neighboring rulers, such as Sultan Agung, and even for government officials in China, the VOC were mere merchants, and they refused to give VOC officials the same standing in protocol that they gave the representatives of other kings or sultans.
Indonesia About Year 1621
British found trading post at Ambon.
Indonesia About Year 1622
Mataram navy defeats Sukadana (an ally of Surabaya in West Kalimantan), and destroy the city.
Agung and VOC make overtures to each other.
Indonesia About Year 1623
VOC agents in Ambon arrest, torture and execute English agents on charges of conspiracy.
Aceh sacks Johore.
Carstenz expedition for VOC explores southern coast of Irian Jaya.
Coen returns to the Netherlands. Carpentier is new Governor-General of the VOC.
VOC takes nominal claim to Aru Islands.
Indonesia About Year 1624
Aceh takes Nias.
Sultan Agung conquers Madura, and takes 40,000 prisoners. Raden Praseno, a grandson of Pratanu, is named Pangeran Cakraningrat I of Madura by Agung.
Indonesia About Year 1625
Agung dams Brantas River to cut off water supply from Surabaya, which finally surrenders.
Cirebon is an ally of Agung.
Epidemics and ruin of war spread through Java.
Abul Fath becomes Sultan of Banten.
In 1625 the first "hongi" raids took place in Maluku. These were attacks, usually by local allies of the VOC, against anyone who was growing cloves without authorization of the VOC.
By this time, the VOC was probably the largest business enterprise anywhere in the world, with tens of thousands of employees. The territories controlled by the VOC were not only in Indonesia: in the mid-1600s, they also included Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and the Cape area in what is now South Africa. The VOC also had "factories", warehouses and offices in Thailand, Japan, Iran, Yemen, and Canton in China.
Indonesia About Year 1627
Coen returns from the Netherlands to serve as Governor-General of the V.O.C. again.
December 25 Soldiers from Banten infiltrate the fortress of Batavia, kill some guards, and escape, but do little damage.
Around this time, Sultan Agung forced the removal of the entire population of many villages in the Priangan (around today's Bandung) for disobedience. Around 1200 men were sent back to Mataram from these villages, and executed.
Indonesia About Year 1628
Agung sends army against VOC in Batavia; dams Ciliwung River in attempt to deny fresh water to the VOC. He fails to oust the Dutch, who prevent his army from receiving supplies by sea. Commanders of the Mataram army are executed for failure.
Last of the English leave Banda.
Indonesia About Year 1629
Agung attacks Batavia again. He is defeated, although Coen dies during the siege.
Banten, fearing Agung now more than the VOC, pleads for peace with the VOC.
Iskandar Muda sends navy of Aceh against Portuguese Melaka, but the Aceh navy is destroyed.
September 20 Coen passes away.
Introduction of sugar cultivation in Banten.
Indonesia About Year 1630
Dutch abandon Solor, which is retaken by the Portuguese.
Indonesia About Year 1631
Agung suppresses rebellion at Sumedang.
Indonesia About Year 1633
Agung raids east Java; the Hindu kingdom of Balambangan asks for VOC help and is refused. Balambangan then asks the King of Gelgel in Bali for help.
War between VOC and Banten.
Aceh takes the Indrapura area of Minangkabau.
Indonesia About Year 1634
Dutch arrest Kakiali, leader of Hitu in Maluku, on charges of smuggling.
This was the "mercantilist" age of trade empires. There were many powers that wanted to create trade empires: the Dutch through the VOC, the English, Banten, and Gowa were among them. There was no such thing as "free trade" under these empires. The VOC especially wanted total control of trade, and any selling to anyone outside the VOC was considered "smuggling".
Indonesia About Year 1635
Agung tries to take Balambangan, but is defeated by Balinese forces.
VOC signs treaty with Kutai on Kalimantan.
Indonesia About Year 1636
Iskandar Thani becomes Sultan of Aceh; supports Islamic learning.
Agung begins conquest of easternmost Java.
Agung suppresses a revolt in Giri.
Agung, realizing that he cannot defeat Dutch, makes overtures towards VOC.
Van Diemen becomes Governor-General of VOC.
Portuguese abandon posts on Solor after six years.
VOC bans all private correspondence (until 1701).
Indonesia About Year 1637
VOC attacks Ternate.
VOC releases Kakiali, who pledges friendship to VOC but makes anti-Dutch alliance between Hitu, Ternate, and Gowa.
Local Muslims overcome Portuguese fortress at Ende on Flores.
Agung gives permission for Portuguese and Catholic refugees from Batavia to settle around Jepara.
Agung finally takes Balambangan in easternmost Java. The area is devastated by warfare.
Palembang and Banjarmasin send ambassadors to make homage to Agung.
Ar-Raniri arrives in Aceh from Gujarat in India.
Around this time the VOC started pushing the Portuguese out of many of their posts in Nusa Tenggara.
Ar-Raniri was a great writer and scholar in Aceh's golden age. Among other things, he wrote "Garden of Kings", a book about Islam and the scientific knowledge of the day. However, he was also a controversial figure in Aceh, and he returned to India in 1644.
Indonesia About Year 1639
Chief minister Matoaya of Gowa is succeeded by his son Pattingalloang.
Unlike his father, Pattingalloang did not maintain good relations with the Bugis. The bad feeling would eventually lead some Bugis to side with the VOC against Gowa and Makassar.
Indonesia About Year 1640
Bima on Sumbawa converts to Islam and becomes a Sultanate.
Portugal regains independent crown from Spain.
Portuguese abandon trading post at Jepara.
Cirebon becomes a dependency of Mataram
Indonesia About Year 1641
Taj ul-Alam becomes Sultana of Aceh, starts period of female rulers; Johore and Aceh settle differences.
January 14 VOC takes Melaka from Portuguese, with help from the Sultan of Johore.
Sultan of Johore opens ports in Riau to all traders.
Kakiali and Hitu attack VOC on Ambon.
The VOC takeover of Melaka was the real end of Portuguese importance in the region. But after losing Melaka, some Portuguese started trading with Gowa on Sulawesi.
After Taj ul-Alam became ruler of Aceh, the centralized power in Aceh lessened, regional ruler gained more power, and Aceh's tributaries began to show their independence.
With the English and Portuguese almost gone, and Batavia and Ambon relatively secure from neighboring rulers, this was the most profitable time for the VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1642
VOC gets monopoly on trade with Palembang by treaty.
Hidayatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Tasman explores coasts of Irian Jaya for VOC on voyage back from New Zealand.
"Statutes of Batavia", based on Roman law, are introduced as a legal code for VOC territories.
Indonesia About Year 1643
VOC has Kakiali murdered, continue drive to take Hitu.
Indonesia About Year 1645
Agung begins building royal tombs at Imogiri, (near today's Yogya).
Mandarsyah becomes Sultan of Ternate with VOC help.
VOC established outpost at Perak.
Indonesia About Year 1646
Sultan Agung dies, and is succeeded by Susuhunan Amangkurat I. Mataram controls all Java, more or less, except Banten and Batavia. Relations between Amangkurat I and the VOC are good in the beginning.
VOC finally takes Hitu.
Dutch arrive again on Solor, abandoned by the Portuguese ten years earlier.
September 24 Cooperation treaty between VOC and Mataram, involving promises of mutual assistance against enemies and extradition of runaway debtors, among other things. Ships of Mataram may trade at any VOC port except Ambon, Ternate or Banda, but must apply for a pass at Batavia if they are sailing for Melaka or points beyond.
Portuguese begin building a settlement at the present site of Kupang on western Timor.
VOC builds a trading post in the Tanimbar Islands.
Indonesia About Year 1647
Amangkurat I moves court to Plered near Karta.
Mataram kingdom loses Balambangan in easternmost Java to Balinese forces.
Indonesia About Year 1648
Cakraningrat II takes power in Madura, under Mataram.
Indonesia About Year 1650
VOC intervenes in uprising against Sultan Mandarsyah of Ternate, sparking civil war.
Amangkurat I orders Cirebon to attack Banten.
Musta'in Billah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
Indonesia About Year 1651
VOC reopens post at Jepara; Amangkurat I begins interfering in coastal trade.
Sultan Ageng begins rule at Banten (not to be confused with Sultan Agung of Mataram).
VOC takes Kupang on western Timor; Portuguese move to Lifau, in what is now East Timor.
VOC outpost at Perak is destroyed.
Indonesia About Year 1652
VOC takes Sultan Mandarsyah of Ternate to Batavia, makes him sign agreement not to grow cloves, starts military moves against opposing faction in Ternate.
Amangkurat I bans the export of rice or timber.
Hongi raids destroy clove cultivation on Buru.
Tensions grow between the VOC and Gowa.
Indonesia About Year 1655
Amangkurat I orders that no boats of any kind shall set sail from his ports.
Indonesia About Year 1656
VOC deports population of Hoamoal near Ternate to Ambon.
Indonesia About Year 1657
Amangkurat I attacks Banten again.
VOC forces population of Buru to relocate to Kaleji Bay.
Indonesia About Year 1658
VOC sets up post at Manado.
War between VOC and Palembang.
Indonesia About Year 1659
VOC forces burn down Palembang, and reestablish the VOC post.
Amangkurat I has several family members murdered, including the mother of the future Amangkurat II.
July 10 Treaty between VOC and Banten: prisoners and runaway slaves are to be exchanged; VOC receives a presence at Banten free from rent or taxes; boundary between Banten and VOC territory is set.
VOC builds fort in the Aru Islands, but soon abandons it.
Bugis fighters from a 1650s engraving.
Indonesia About Year 1660
VOC attacks Gowa, destroys Portuguese ships in harbor, and forces peace treaty on Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa.
Arung Palakka of Bone rebels against Gowa; retreats with supporters to Butung.
Buleleng begins drive to become power on Bali; King of Klungkung remains as "Dewa Agung" or chief king.
Amangkurat I closes ports again; VOC leaves Jepara.
Formerly Bali had answered to the King at Gelgel. Around this time, the kingdom split into nine states:
Badung
Bangli
Buleleng
Gianyar
Jembrana
Karangasem
Klungkung
Mengwi
Tabanan
Indonesia About Year 1661
Court rebellion against Amangkurat I.
Banten takes diamond-bearing area of Landak on Kalimantan.
Amangkurat I had a reputation for being cruel and unpredictable. Besides his disastrous interference in the economy, at one time he had many of the Islamic scholars in Mataram killed, then took their former judicial powers for himself, turning himself into an absolute ruler.
Indonesia About Year 1662
Portuguese headquarters in the east is moved from Larantuka, Flores to Lifau (today Oecussi or Pantemakassar) in what is now East Timor.
VOC signs treaty with chiefs on Roti.
Indonesia About Year 1663
Spanish abandon post at Tidore.
VOC allows Arung Palakka and followers to settle at Batavia.
Banten begins direct trade with Manila.
July 6 Treaty of Painan: coastal areas of Minangkabau, including Padang, become a protectorate of the VOC, which guarantees them security against raids from Aceh.
By the end of the 1660s, Banten was trading directly with China, Japan, Thailand, India and Arabia, using its own ships to compete with English, French, Danish and VOC traders. Sultan Ageng of Banten was a strong opponent of the VOC monopoly who insisted on promoting trade with other European, Arab and Asian traders as he pleased.
Indonesia About Year 1666
VOC sends out a fleet under Admiral Cornelis Speelman, with Bugis soldiers under Arung Palakka and Ambonese soldiers under "Captain Jonker", to settle issues in Gowa and Maluku.
Cornelis Speelman, Admiral and later Governor-General. Speelman left the Netherlands as a teenager and spent the rest of his life in the Indies, never returning.
Indonesia About Year 1667
VOC expedition under Speelman lands at Butung, and clears the island of Gowa forces.
Speelman expedition forces the Sultan of Tidore (now free of Spanish presence) to submit to the VOC. A peace treaty is signed between Ternate and Tidore, now both under VOC control.
The future Amangkurat II begins seeking VOC help against his father.
English give up claims to Banda in exchange for Manhattan Island in America.
Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa is remembered for fighting bravely against the VOC, but he eventually had to sign a treaty giving up almost all his territories to the Dutch.
Indonesia About Year 1668
Arung Palakka returns to Bone, sparking a popular revolt against the Sultan of Gowa.
Speelman expedition finally defeats Gowa.
November 18 Treaty of Bungaya: Gowa submits to VOC control, and Sultan Hasanuddin has no influence outside the general area of the city of Makassar.
VOC extends claims to Sumbawa and Flores after the defeat of Gowa.
Bugis leaving the confusion on Sulawesi found Samarinda on Kalimantan.
VOC builds a fort at Menggala in Lampung.
By this time, the Portuguese in Makassar and Gowa had fled to Flores, or even to Macao or Thailand.
Indonesia About Year 1669
Sultan Hasanuddin of Gowa passes away; continuing troubles against the VOC in Gowa finally end.
VOC traders at Banjarmasin are massacred.
Indonesia About Year 1670
VOC establishes outposts at Bengkalis (across the straits from Melaka) and Perak, both for controlling the trade in tin.
Balambangan in easternmost Java becomes independent of Balinese rule.
Indonesia About Year 1671
Trunojoyo unites Madura under his control, drives out Mataram forces.
(Note: throughout this page, VOC stands for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or the Dutch East India Company. The VOC had been granted many of the powers of a sovereign state by the government of the Netherlands.)
Indonesia About Year 1672
Gunung Merapi erupts in Mataram.
VOC recognizes Arung Palakka as King of Bone.
In 1672, Louis XIV of France invaded the Netherlands with 100,000 soldiers. The Dutch had to open the dikes and flood the fields to prevent Amsterdam from falling to the French. However, since travel and communication were so slow in the 1600s and 1700s, these events had little effect on the activities of the VOC, which had the power to govern itself in any case.
Indonesia About Year 1674
Famine in Mataram.
Bugis under Arung Palakka attack Toraja.
Makassarese unhappy with Arung Palakka settle in East Java.
Indonesia About Year 1675
Rebellion in Mataram, with help from Trunojoyo. Makassarese exiles attack ports on north coast of Java. Trunojoyo of Madura takes Surabaya. Rebels appeal to Islamic sentiments among the common people against both the court of Mataram and the VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1676
Trunojoyo defeats Mataram army at Gogodog.
Amangkurat I sends his son, Pangeran Puger, to the VOC to ask for help.
VOC sends Admiral Speelman to fight the rebels against Mataram in North Java and Madura. Speelman quiets the rebellion along the coast between Cirebon and Jepara.
Indonesia About Year 1677
February 25 VOC makes a treaty with Amangkurat I: VOC will help Mataram, VOC territory around Batavia will be extended eastward, VOC may establish a factory anywhere they like without any restrictions on exports or imports, Mataram will restrict Malays, Arabs and other outsiders from settling in Mataram, and Mataram will repay the VOC for the cost of putting down the rebellion. Speelman receives the right to make treaties on behalf of Amangkurat I.
May VOC pushes Trunojoyo out of Surabaya. Trunojoyo leaves behind over 100 cannon.
May Trunojoyo moves on to loot the court of Mataram at Plered. Both loyal and rebellious members of the family of Amangkurat I flee. Trunojoyo takes the royal treasury and retreats to Kediri.
Banten forces occupy Cirebon and the Priangan.
July Amangkurat I dies. Amangkurat II seeks VOC help against the rebels.
Balinese from Karangasem drive Makassarese off of Lombok.
VOC occupies Sangir islands.
Indonesia About Year 1678
January 15 Amangkurat II gives the VOC a monopoly on the sugar trade in Jepara.
Amangkurat II, without money to pay his debts to the VOC, promises to give up Semarang, his claims to the Priangan, and fees from coastal ports until debts are paid.
VOC and Amangkurat II march on Kediri and destroy Trunojoyo's headquarters after a fifty-day siege. Arung Palakka and his supporters fight for the VOC as mercenaries, and conspire to win away Makassarese mercenaries fighting for Trunojoyo. Captured gold and treasure is distributed among the victorious troops. Amangkurat II receives back the gold crown of Majapahit, an heirloom of the house of Mataram, but its central diamond is missing (possibly stolen by a Dutch soldier). Trunojoyo himself escapes.
Inayatullah becomes Sultan of Banjar on Kalimantan.
December 9 Nine Makassarese chiefs who had been fighting for Trunojoyo as mercenaries surrender to the VOC, and are allowed to return to Sulawesi.
Throughout this period, the rulers of Mataram borrowed money from the VOC, which turned out to be a bad deal for both. The rulers of Mataram lost power and sovereignty, but the debts to the VOC were never fully repaid, and the VOC lost money year after year.
Indonesia About Year 1679
VOC and Arung Palakka drive the remaining Makassarese out of East Java.
Banten retreats from Cirebon and the Priangan.
VOC makes an alliance with Minahasans at Manado.
December 25 Trunojoyo gives himself up to the combined VOC and Mataram forces, under the promise that his life will be spared. He is executed anyway. (In one story, he is promised the post of minister and executed by Amangkurat II himself, with a royal keris.)
Indonesia About Year 1680
VOC forces attack rebel areas in Mataram.
Pangeran Puger continues to run a court at Plered against Amangkurat II. Amangkurat II founds a new court at Kartasura (guarded by VOC troops), then drives Puger out of Plered.
Banten declares war on VOC. Sultan Ageng is replaced in coup by his son, Sultan Haji, who seeks help from the VOC.
VOC forces invade Madura, supposedly on behalf of Mataram. Cakraningrat II, uncle of Trunojoyo, takes power in West Madura. VOC retains control of East Madura.
Indonesia About Year 1681
January 6 VOC signs agreement with the princes of Cirebon for mutual assistance in case of emergencies, and agreeing on severe punishment if any of the three heads rebelled against the VOC. Cirebon will not build any fortifications without VOC approval, the VOC has a monopoly on pepper in Cirebon, and the princes may control the export of sugar and rice from Cirebon.
Pangeran Puger builds a new force and retakes the center of Mataram, but not Kartasura. VOC forces push him back and defeat him.
VOC intervenes in Roti, puts allies in power.
Karangasem begins trying to take Lombok.
Indonesia About Year 1682
Sultan Ageng's supporters, including much of the population, retake Banten against his son. VOC reacts by taking Banten with superior firepower. VOC expels English and other European traders from Banten, and begins to control Cirebon, the Priangan, and Lampung. Syekh Waliyullah, Islamic scholar and enemy of the Dutch, is exiled to the VOC post in Ceylon.
Indonesia About Year 1684
April 17 VOC renews its 1659 treaty with Banten; in addition, Banten gives up its claims to Cirebon, and grants the VOC a monopoly in the pepper trade in Lampung.
April 28 VOC cancels the debts owed by the Sultan of Banten, but only on the condition that the previous treaties between the VOC and Banten are obeyed.
Surapati, (also called Untung), a former slave and outlaw, now employed as a VOC soldier, attacks a VOC column and escapes. He travels across the countryside of Java gathering followers.
Surapati instructs his followers to kill two officials in Banyumas who were rebelling against the authority of Mataram. He receives the gratitude of Amangkurat II, and is given refuge by anti-VOC members of the court of Mataram at Kartasura.
Indonesia About Year 1685
Post is founded at Bengkulu by English traders who had been forced to leave Banten.
VOC forces treaty on Sultan of Riau.
Sa'dillah becomes Sultan of Banjar.
Indonesia About Year 1686
February 15 VOC receives a complete monopoly on pepper in Banten.
VOC sends an embassy to the Mataram court at Kartasura, demanding the return of Surapati. Amangkurat II stages a fake attack on Surapati's residence, then has his soldiers turn to cut down VOC representatives and soldiers, with the help of Pangeran Puger. The remaining VOC presence at court leaves for Jepara. Amangkurat II sends an ambassador to the VOC at Jepara claiming that he took no part in attacking the Dutch.
Surapati and the chief minister of Amangkurat II leave Kartasura for Pasuruan. Amangkurat II orders his ministers in Madura and Surabaya to make the appearance of pursuit.
Surapati begins building a new kingdom for himself in easternmost Java.
Amangkurat II sends secret letters to Johore, Minangkabau, English East India Co, even Siam trying to find help against VOC.
Indonesia About Year 1688
Local leader on Bangka (claimed by Palembang) asks for VOC protection.
Indonesia About Year 1689
Plot against VOC in Batavia fails; rebels flee to Kartasura.
Indonesia About Year 1690
Amangkurat II stages another mock attack on Surapati at Pasuruan. The promised VOC help arrives late, foiling the plans to ambush the VOC soldiers again.
VOC abandons outpost at Perak.
Tea is introduced on Java.
Indonesia About Year 1694
VOC begins contacts with Bataks around Lake Toba, Sumatra.
Indonesia About Year 1695
Sultanate of Asahan is founded on Sumatra, as a dependency of Siak.
Indonesia About Year 1696
Arung Palakka, King of Bone, passes away.
Sultan Muhammad Syah of Indrapura abdicates. VOC gains influence in the absence of a ruler there.
Indonesia About Year 1697
King of Buleleng in Bali takes Balambangan on Java and returns it to Balinese rule.
Indonesia About Year 1699
Surapati takes areas around Madiun.
VOC introduces coffee cultivation to Java.
VOC increases influence around Kutai on Kalimantan.
Sultan Mahmud II of Riau is assassinated; civil war breaks out.
Earthquake at Batavia.
Indonesia About Year 1700
Tahlilillah becomes Sultan of Banjar.
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