A city\u2019s name may appear permanent on a map, but history proves\notherwise. When power shifts, colonialism ends, or local identities are\nreaffirmed, the name of a city can change.<\/p>\n
From Jakarta, formerly known as Batavia, to Mumbai, which was once\ncalled Bombay, the renaming of cities is more than just a change in\nterminology. Behind these changes lie traces of political shifts,\nhistory, power struggles, and the efforts of a society to reassert its\nidentity.<\/p>\n
25 Global Cities with Different Names<\/p>\n
City name changes do not always share the same underlying reasons. In\nseveral instances, a new name emerges following a change in\ngovernance.<\/p>\n
New Amsterdam, for example, was the name of the Dutch settlement in\nManhattan before the territory was seized by the British in 1664 and\nsubsequently known as New York.<\/p>\n
In Vietnam, Saigon was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City following\nthe end of the Vietnam War in 1975.<\/p>\n
Jakarta shares a similar history. After the VOC captured Jayakarta in\n1619, the Dutch built a colonial city that later became known as\nBatavia. This colonial name was abolished during the Japanese\noccupation, when Jakarta was reinstated.<\/p>\n
However, name changes are not always linked to regime changes. Mumbai\nserves as an example of how a city\u2019s name can be tied to local identity.\nThe name Bombay, used during the colonial era, was officially changed to\nMumbai in 1995, referring to Mumbadevi, which is associated with the\nlocal Koli community.<\/p>\n
There are also changes that are primarily linguistic. Beijing was\npreviously widely written as Peking in Western maps and publications.\nThis change was related to the implementation of China\u2019s Pinyin\nromanisation system in 1958, rather than a political renaming of the\ncity.<\/p>\n
In other cities, old names even persist in daily usage despite\nofficial changes. In Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, the term Saigon is\nstill used to refer to several central urban areas.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, a city\u2019s name is more than just a location marker. Behind\na single name can lie the history of colonialism, shifts in power,\nmigration, language, and societal identity. Therefore, when a city\nchanges its name, it is not just the writing on the map that changes,\nbut also the way a place tells its history.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/25-cities-in-the-world-that-have-changed-names-including-jakarta-1790945510", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }