Jakarta

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Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, located in the northwest of the country's most populated island, Java. It is the largest metropole in Southeast Asia and a major financial, commercial, and cultural center. From the 17th to the mid-20th century, the city was known as Batavia and served as the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies.

Names

While the area around modern-day Jakarta had been settled as early as the 5th century BCE, the city was first mentioned under the name Sundapura in 358 CE, when it was part of the Taruma Kingdom. In 669 CE, it came under the rule of the Sunda Kingdom and became known as Sunda Kelapa, an important port town. In 1527, the city was conquered by the Demak Sultanate, who renamed it to Jayakarta.

In 1619, the Dutch East India Company occupied Jayakarta after driving out its longtime rivals, the British East India Company. The city was subsequently renamed to Batavia and became the center of the Dutch's trading network in Asia. It held this position for three centuries, until World War II, when it was conquered by Japan. Following Japan's surrender and the subsequent formation of the independent Republic of Indonesia, Batavia became the capital of the new country under the name Djakarta, which was later changed to its current name.

History

In 1725, after saving the Fenghuang's crew from the East India Company and Admiral Jeong's fleet, Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, sailed to Batavia alongside his allies to celebrate their victory. During the celebrations, Jan explained to the British Assassin Edward Kenway how the latter's friend, Zhang, had reached out to him for help and how Jan had decided to work alongside the Zhang Wei Union once more, despite their previous falling out in the Sultanate of Sulu.

Jan claimed that, with their enemies in possession of two Pieces of Eden, he had no choice but to turn to Edward for help in order to retrieve the artifacts and restore the balance of power in Southeast Asia. The Assassin agreed to work together once more while his allies also decided to trust Jan despite some of their misgivings. The group then set out to recruit additional allies before leaving Batavia to commence their final expedition together and stop their enemies' plans.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple