Through the relationship with Prince Jayawikarta from the Sultanate of Banten, Dutch ships arrived in Jayakarta in 1596. In 1602, the English East India Company's first voyage, commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Banten where they were allowed to build a trading post. This site became the center of English trade in Indonesia until 1682.
Jayawikarta is thought to have made trading connections with the English merchants, rivals of the Dutch, by allowing them to build houses directly across from the Dutch buildings in 1615.
Commercial opportunities in the capital of the Dutch colony attracted Indonesian and especially Chinese immigrants. This sudden population increase created burdens on the city. Tensions grew as the colonial government tried to restrict Chinese migration through deportations. On 9 October 1740, 5,000 Chinese were massacred by the Dutch and the following year, Chinese inhabitants were moved to Glodok outside the city walls. The city began to move further south as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the port. The Koningsplein, now Merdeka Square was completed in 1818, the housing park of Menteng was started in 1913, and Kebayoran Baru was the last Dutch-built residential area. By 1930 Batavia had more than 500,000 inhabitants, including 37,067 Europeans.
During the World War II, the city was renamed from Batavia to "Jakarta" (short form of Jayakarta) by the Indonesian nationalists after conquering the city from the Dutch in 1942 with the help of the Japanese forces.
Officially, Jakarta is not a city, but a province with special status as the capital of Indonesia. It has a governor (instead of a mayor), and is divided into several sub-regions with their own administrative systems. As a province, the official name of Jakarta is Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta ("Special Capital City District of Jakarta"), which in Indonesian is abbreviated to DKI Jakarta.
Jakarta is divided into five kota or kotamadya ("cities" – formerly municipalities), each headed by a mayor, and one regency (kabupaten) headed by a regent. In August 2007, Jakarta held its first ever election to choose a governor, whereas previously the city's governors were appointed by the local house of representatives. The poll is part of a country-wide decentralization drive, allowing for direct local elections in several areas.
The Betawi (Orang Betawi, or "people of Batavia") is a term used to describe the descendants of the people living in and around Batavia and recognized as an ethnic group from around the 18th–19th century. The Betawi people are mostly descended from various Southeast Asian ethnic groups brought or attracted to Batavia to meet labor needs, and include people from different parts of Indonesia. The language and Betawi culture are distinct from those of the Sundanese or Javanese. The language is mostly based on the East Malay dialect and enriched by loan words from Dutch, Portuguese, Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic. Nowadays, the Jakarta dialect (Bahasa Jakarta) used as a street language by people in Jakarta is loosely based on the Betawi language.
Betawi arts have a low profile in Jakarta and most Betawi have moved to the suburbs of Jakarta, displaced by new migrants. It is easier to find Java or Minang based wedding ceremonies rather than Betawi weddings in Jakarta. It is easier to find Javanese Gamelan instead of Gambang Kromong (a mixture between Betawi and Chinese music) or Tanjidor (a mixture between Betawi and Portuguese music) or Marawis (a mixture between Betawi and Yaman music). However, some festivals such as the Jalan Jaksa Festival or Kemang Festival include efforts to preserve Betawi arts by inviting artists to give performances.
There has been a significant Chinese community in Jakarta for many centuries. Chinese in Jakarta traditionally resides in old urban areas such as in and around Jakarta Kota, Pluit and Glodok (Jakarta Chinatown) area, they also can be found in old chinatowns of Senen and Jatinegara. Officially, they make up 6% of the Jakartan population, although this number may be under-reported. Chinese culture also had influenced Betawi culture, such as the popularity of Chinese cakes and sweets, firecrackers, to Betawi wedding dress that demonstrate Chinese and Arab influences.
Jakarta has several performing art centers, such as the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) art center in Cikini, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta near Pasar Baru, Balai Sarbini in Plaza Semanggi area, Bentara Budaya Jakarta in Palmerah area, Pasar Seni (Art Market) in Ancol, and traditional Indonesian art performances at the pavilions of some Provinces in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Traditional music is often found at high-class hotels, including Wayang and Gamelan performances. Javanese Wayang Orang performance can be found at Wayang Orang Bharata theater near Senen bus terminal. As the nation's largest city and capital, Jakarta has lured much national and regional talent who hope to find a greater audience and more opportunities for success.
Jakarta hosts several prestigious art and culture festivals, and exhibitions, such as the annual Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest), Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, Jakarta Fashion Week, Jakarta Fashion & Food Festival (JFFF), Indonesia Creative Products and Jakarta Arts and Crafts exhibition. Flona Jakarta is a Flora and Fauna exhibition, held annually in August at Lapangan Banteng park featuring flowers, plant nurseries, and pets. The Jakarta Fair is held annually from mid June to mid July to celebrate the anniversary of the city and is largely centered around a trade fair. However this month-long fair also features entertainment, including arts and music performances by local bands and musicians.
Several foreign art and culture centers are also established in Jakarta, and mainly serve to promote culture and language through learning centers, libraries, and art galleries. Among these foreign art and cultural centers are Netherlands Erasmus Huis, UK British Council, France Centre Culturel Français, Germany Goethe-Institut, Japan Foundation, and The Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center.
The museums in Jakarta cluster around the Central Jakarta Merdeka Square area, Jakarta Old Town, and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
The Jakarta Old Town contains museums that are former institutional buildings of Colonial Batavia. Some of these museums are the Jakarta History Museum (former City Hall of Batavia), Wayang Museum (former Church of Batavia), the Fine Art and Ceramic Museum (former Court House of Justice of Batavia), the Maritime Museum (former Sunda Kelapa warehouse), Bank Indonesia Museum (former Javasche Bank), and Bank Mandiri Museum (former Nederlandsche Handels Maatschappij).
Several museums clustered in central Jakarta around the Merdeka Square area are National Museum of Indonesia (also known as Gedung Gajah ("the Elephant Building"), Monas (National Monument), Istiqlal Islamic Museum in Istiqlal mosque, and Jakarta Cathedral Museum on second floor of Jakarta Cathedral. Also in central Jakarta area is the Taman Prasasti Museum (former cemetery of Batavia), and Textile Museum in Tanah Abang area.
The recreational area of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta contains fourteen museums such as Indonesia Museum, Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, Asmat Museum, Bayt al-Qur'an Islamic Museum, Pusaka (heirloom) Museum, and other science-based museum such as Research & Technology Information Centre, Komodo Indonesian Fauna Museum, Insect Museum, Petrol and Gas Museum, also Transportation Museum.
Jakarta's economy depends heavily on financial service, trade, and manufacturing. Industry includes electronics, automotive, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing. In 2009, 13% of the population had an income per capita in excess of US$ 10,000 (Rp 108,000,000).
The economic growth of Jakarta in 2007 was 6.44% up from 5.95% the previous year, with the growth in the transportation and communication (15.25%), construction (7.81%) and trade, hotel and restaurant sectors (6.88%). In 2007, GRP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) was Rp. 566 trillion (around $US 56 billion). The largest contributions to GDRP were by finance, ownership and business services (29%); trade, hotel and restaurant sector (20%), and manufacturing industry sector (16%). In 2007, the increase in per capita GRDP of DKI Jakarta inhabitants was 11.6% compared to the previous year
Both GRDP by at current market price and GRDP by at 2000 constant price in 2007 for the Municipality of Central Jakarta (Jakarta Pusat), which was Rp 146 million rupiahs and Rp 81 million rupiahs, was higher than other municipalities in DKI Jakarta.
A new law in 2007 forbids the giving of money to beggars, buskers and hawkers, bans squatter settlements on river banks and highways, and prohibits spitting and smoking on public transportation. Unauthorized people cleaning car windscreens and taking tips for directing traffic at intersections will also be penalized. Critics of the new legislation claim that such laws will be difficult to enforce and it tends to ignore the desperate poverty of many of the capital's inhabitants.
Copied idea of Singapore's Orchard Road, Jakarta administration will restricts on-street parking at Hayam Wuruk Street and Gajah Mada Street in Central Jakarta. It will be followed to remove illegal vendors at trotoaire and also beggars from those area.
2006's survey showed that "less than a quarter of the population was fully served by improved water sources. The rest relied on a variety of sources, including rivers, lakes and private water vendors. Some 7.2 million people were without clean water."
Jakarta is primarily a city of government and business. It is seldom viewed as a centre for tourism other than the old part of the city which is a popular tourist destination. However the Jakarta authority saw the opportunity to develop the city's reputation as a service and tourism city. There are many new tourism infrastructures, entertainment centers, and international-class hotels and restaurants being built in Jakarta. Jakarta also possesses many historical places and cultural heritage.
The National Monument, stands at the center of Merdeka Square, the central park of the city. Near the national monument stands a Mahabharata themed Arjuna Wijaya chariot statue and fountain. Further south through Jalan Thamrin, the main avenue of Jakarta, the "Selamat Datang" (welcome) statue stands on the fountain in the center of Hotel Indonesia roundabout. Other landmarks include the Istiqlal Mosque, the Jakarta Cathedral, and the West Irian Liberation monument. The Wisma 46 building in Central Jakarta is currently the highest building in Jakarta and Indonesia. Tourist attractions include Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta Old Town, and the Ancol Dreamland complex on Jakarta Bay, including Dunia Fantasi theme park, Sea World, Atlantis Water Adventure, and Gelanggang Samudra.
Most of the visitors attracted to Jakarta are domestic tourists from all over Indonesia, the majority of them from the neighboring provinces of West Java, Banten, Lampung, and Central Java. As the gateway of Indonesia, Jakarta often serves as the stop-over for foreign visitors on their way to Indonesian popular tourist destinations such as Bali and Yogyakarta. Most foreign visitors from the neighboring ASEAN countries; such as Malaysia and Singapore, visit Jakarta (to some extent also include Bandung) for shopping purposes, since the city is famous for its cheap but fair quality products, especially textiles, craft and fashion products.
Jakarta is sprawling with numerous malls, shopping centers, and traditional markets. At the end of June 2011, there were 68 malls and trade centers across Jakarta and the Governor planed to suspend permits for new commercial centers with footprints bigger than 5,000 square meters since 2012. Jakarta shopping malls with areas in excess of 100,000 metres square, include Grand Indonesia, Pacific Place Jakarta, Plaza Indonesia and Plaza e'X, Senayan City, Plaza Senayan, Pasaraya, Pondok Indah Mall, Mal Taman Anggrek, Mal Kelapa Gading, Mal Artha Gading, and Mall of Indonesia. Other smaller but popular malls are Sarinah Thamrin, Ratu Plaza, Atrium Senen, Mall Ambassador and Pasar Festival. Traditional markets include Blok M, Tanah Abang, Senen, Pasar Baru, Glodok, Mangga Dua, Cempaka Mas, and Jatinegara. In Jakarta there is also a market that sells used goods, such as Surabaya Street and Rawabening Market.
Taman Lapangan Banteng (Buffalo Field Park) is located in Central Jakarta near the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta Cathedral, and the Jakarta Central Post Office. It is about 4.5 hectares. Initially it was called Waterlooplein of Batavia and functioned as the ceremonial square during the Netherlands Indies colonial period. A number of colonial monuments and memorials erected on the square during the colonial period were demolished during the Sukarno era. The most notable monument in the square is the Monumen Pembebasan Irian Barat (Monument of the Liberation of West Irian). During the 1970s and 1980s the park was used as a bus terminal. In 1993 the park was turned into a public space again. It has become a recreation place for people and is occasionally also used as an exhibition place or for other events. The Jakarta Flona (Flora dan Fauna), the flower and decoration plants and pet exhibition, is held in this park around August annually.
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Miniature Park of Indonesia), in East Jakarta, has 10 mini parks. But the most popular is The Bird Park or Aviary
Taman Suropati is located in Menteng city subdistrict in Central Jakarta. The park is surrounded by several Dutch colonial buildings. Taman Suropati was known as Burgemeester Bishopplein during the Dutch colonial time. The park is circular shaped with a surface area of 16,322 m2. There are several modern statues in the park made by artists of the ASEAN countries, which contributes to the nickname of the park "Taman persahabatan seniman ASEAN" ("Park of the ASEAN artists friendship"). Also located in the Menteng area are the Taman Menteng and Situ Lembang pond parks. The Taman Menteng was built on the former Persija soccer Stadium.
Taman Monas (Monas Park) or Taman Medan Merdeka (Medan Merdeka Park) is a huge square where the symbol of Jakarta, Monas or Monumen Nasional (National Monument) is located. The enormous space was created by Dutch Governor General Herman Willem Daendels (1810) and was originally named Koningsplein (Kings Square). On 10 January 1993, President Soeharto initiated action for the beautification of the square. Several features in the square are a deer park and 33 trees that represents the 33 provinces of Indonesia.
In June 2011, Jakarta has only 10.5 percent Ruang Terbuka Hijau (Green Open Space) and will be added to 13.94 percent Public Green Open Space. Public Parks are include in Public Green Open Space. By 2030, the administration also hope there are 16 percent Private Green Open Space.
Jakarta suffers from traffic congestion. A 'three in one' rule during peak hour was introduced in 1992, prohibiting fewer than three passengers per car on Jakarta busiest avenues. This rule applies to Jalan MH Thamrin, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Jalan Majapahit, Jalan Gajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk, from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM. By Minister Decree the trucks have been disallowed to pass Cawang-Semanggi-Pluit Toll Road between 05:00am to 10:00pm and it ease the congestion of all toll road surrounding it. As an example Cawang-Cikunir Toll Road can be throughed in 49 kilometers per hour compare to 9.25 kilometers per hour before trucks pass limitation.
"Auto rickshaws", called bajaj, provide local transportation in the back streets of some parts of the city. From the early 1940s to 1991 they were a common form of local transportation in the city.
In 1966, an estimated 160,000 pedicabs (becak) were operating in the city; as much as 15% of Jakarta's total workforce was engaged in becak driving. In 1971, becak were banned from major roads, and shortly thereafter the government attempted a total ban, which substantially reduced their numbers but did not eliminate them. A campaign to eliminate them succeeded in 1990 and 1991, but during the economic crisis of 1998, some returned amid less effective government attempts to control them.
The TransJakarta bus rapid transit service (known as Busway) was developed in the context of development reform (or reformasi) and used Bogota's TransMilenio system as a model. Jakarta's first busway line, from Blok M to Jakarta Kota opened in January 2004 and as of December 31, 2010, ten corridors are in use. The city government planned to open all 15 corridors within a decade making the TransJakarta system one of the fastest deployed bus rapid transit systems in the world. However, new developments in the planned metro system have postponed the remaining five corridors.
A structured road network had been developed in the early 19th century as part of the Java Great Post Road by Daendels, connecting most major cities throughout Java. During the following decades, the road network was expanded to a great extent, although it could not keep up with the rapidly increasing numbers of motorized vehicles, resulting in today's traffic problems. Toll roads connect Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and to the ports of Merak and Tangerang to the west, Bogor and Puncak to the south, and Bekasi, Cikarang, Karawang, Cikampek, Purwakarta and Bandung to the east. The Jakarta inner ring road is a busy toll road circling Jakarta and connecting important centers and interchanges such as Semanggi near the Sudirman business center; Cawang, Tomang and Pluit interchanges; the port of Tanjung Priok, and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. An outer ring road is under construction, but it is largely operational. Several non-toll long fly over (more than a kilometer) has been initially built such as Kampung Melayu – Tanah Abang fly over.
Long-distance railways and local tram services were first introduced during the Dutch colonial era. While the trams were replaced with buses in the post-colonial era, long-distance railways continued to connect the city to its neighboring regions as well as cities throughout Java. The surrounding cities of Jakarta are served by KRL Jabotabek, a mass rapid transit system which serves commuters both in and around Jakarta. The major rail stations are Gambir, Jakarta Kota, Jatinegara, Pasar Senen, Manggarai, and Tanah Abang. During rush hours, the number of passengers greatly exceeds the system's capacity, and crowding is common.
There had been plans for a monorail and part of it was already under construction, but the project stalled in 2004 and was officially abandoned as of 2008, mostly due to a lack of investors to fund it all. If completed, the monorail would have been made up of two lines: the green line serving Semanggi-Casablanca Road-Kuningan-Semanggi and the blue line serving Kampung Melayu-Casablanca Road-Tanah Abang-Roxy.
A two-line metro (MRT) system is currently being developed, with a north-south line between Kota and Lebak Bulus, with connections to both monorail lines; and an east-west line, which will connect to the north-south line at Sawah Besar Station. In the end the JMRT will be a combination of both subways and elevated rails. The metro system will be built beginning in 2011 with a 15.2 km long line between Hotel Indonesia and Lebak Bulus, and the entire MRT network is scheduled to be operational by 2016. Because of this, the five remaining planned busways have been postponed. Jakarta Capital City Government has decided to build rail-based mass transits because this type of transport is capable of carrying passengers in large quantities quickly and cheaply.
Jakarta is home to a number of universities, of which the University of Indonesia is the largest. It is a state-owned university with campuses in Salemba and Depok.
STOVIA was the first high school in Jakarta, established in 1851. As the largest city and the capital, Jakarta houses a large number of students from various parts of Indonesia, many of whom reside in dormitories or home-stay residences. For basic education, there are a variety of primary and secondary schools, tagged with public (national), private (national and bi-lingual national plus) and international schools. Two of the major international schools located in Jakarta are the Jakarta International School and the British International School (BIS). Other international schools include the Jakarta International Korean School, Jakarta International Multicultural School, Australian International School, New Zealand International School, Singapore International School, and Sekolah Pelita Harapan
Jakarta was host to the Asian Games in 1962, host of the Asian Cup 2007 beside Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and has hosted the regional-scale Southeast Asian Games in 1979, 1987 and 1997. In 2011, Jakarta together with Palembang, will again host the Southeast Asian Games.
Jakarta's most popular home football club is Persija, which plays its matches in their home stadium at Bung Karno Stadium or at Lebak Bulus Stadium. The home match of Persija often draws its large fan — cladded with Persija's typical orange kit — to watch the match in the main stadium. The large spectators flocking to the main stadium usually worsen the traffic congestion in Jakarta. Another premiere division team is Persitara which plays its matches in the Sumantri Brojonegoro Stadium in Kuningan area.
The biggest stadium in Jakarta is the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium with a capacity of 88,083 seats. The Senayan sports complex has several sport venues, including the Bung Karno soccer stadium, Madya Stadium, Istora Senayan, aquatic arena, baseball field, basketball court, badminton court, a shooting range, several indoor and outdoor tennis court and a golf driving range. The Senayan complex was built in 1959 to accommodate the Asian Games in 1962. For basketball, the Kelapa Gading Sport Mall in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, with a capacity of 7,000 seats, is the home arena of the Indonesian national basketball team.
The Jakarta Car-Free Days is held monthly on every last Sunday of the month in the main avenue of the city; Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin, from 6 AM to 12 AM. The briefer Car-Free Day which only lasted from 6 AM to 9 AM is held on every other Sundays. The event invited local pedestrian to do sport and exercise and having their activities on the streets that normally full of cars and traffic. Along the road from the Senayan traffic circle on Jalan Sudirman, South Jakarta, to the "Selamat Datang" Monument at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Jalan Thamrin, all the way north to National Monument Central Jakarta, cars are cleared out for pedestrians. Morning gymnastics, calisthenics and aerobic exercises, futsal games, jogging, bicycling, skateboarding, badminton, karate, an on-street library and musical performances take over the roads and the main parks in Jakarta.