Geschiedenis Van Java

"Geschiedenis Van Java". This historical account covers the Dutch East India Company's rule in Java (Jakarta/Batavia) and the Mataram court, mainly during the 1620s–1650s, with extended discussion of Batavia’s urban development, administration, and trade policies. The narrative follows Coen's stern leadership during Batavia's defense (1627–1629) and the VOC’s continued control of Java's western frontier, and moves through successive VOC governors (Specx, Brouwer, Diemen) with fortifications, urban expansion, and tightened trade controls. It examines ongoing Java war and diplomacy with Mataram, including a 1646 peace and a 1646–1648 treaty that reshaped Dutch–Mataram relations. Court politics at Ingalagoe and the manipulation of Wira Goena are described, alongside ongoing VOC administration and monopoly efforts to curb private trade and corruption by the Zeventienen. Batavia's growth, social fabric, and the tensions between VOC officials, freemen, and Asian communities are analyzed, as are the fortifications and city plan with Pearl, Diamond, Sapphire, and Ruby bastions and canal networks. The work also reflects on the moral ambiguities of colonial rule, through a historiographic lens anchored in Valentijn’s accounts.