Change of Jakarta's anniversary date

Change of Jakarta's anniversary date

I support the idea of reviewing Jakarta's anniversary date, as
proposed in The Jakarta Post on June 26.

It has always been my belief that June 22, 1527, is not the
right date. The Portuguese fleet entered Sunda Kelapa harbor on
that date, so it is illogical to say the date of the arrival of
Francisco de Sa should be considered the anniversary date of
Jayakarta.

According to history, Sunan Gunung Jati, or Falatehan,
controlled Sunda Kelapa harbor in 1526 or early 1527. I believe
it is more precise to say that this happened in the second
semester of 1526 or in the first quarter of 1527. My argument is
as follows: Sunan Gunung Jati was a haji, an expert on Islam, a
statesman and a warrior. He was appointed the representative of
Demak in 1526 to protect the Javanese living in Banten and Sunda
Kelapa. After staying in Banten for some time, Falatehan took
over Sunda Kelapa harbor.

Before falling under Banten's control, Sunda Kelapa was a
harbor of a city/area known as Surakarta. When Banten assumed
control over it, its name became Jayakarta, which signified
Falatehan's victory. (The word "jaya" means "victorious" or
"glorious".)

As for Banten, it was originally called Surasaji. Then, the
name became Surasowan. Cirebon used to be called Surawisesa. As
for Surabaya, even in the 14th century the city was known as
that.

I do not agree with Ridwan Saidi, who has said that Falatehan
destroyed the buildings and locals' houses when he attacked Sunda
Kelapa. My assumption is that Sunan Gunung Jati took over Sunda
Kelapa peacefully after the Pajajaran port administrator was
converted to Islam. If the takeover had involved a battle,
Pajajaran would have certainly tried to win it back. In reality,
up to 1570 Pajajaran did not dare to fight a war against Banten.

Finally, the Pajajaran Kingdom was destroyed by Panembahan
Yusup, the grandson of Sunan Gunung Jati, in 1570, In this attack
nobody in the kingdom's Pakuan palace was spared. Panembahan
Yusuf made the attack from behind the palace, namely through
Leuwiliang. Pajajaran troops reinforced their defenses in the
northern part of Pakuan as they thought the attack would come
from Jayakarta.

SUNARTO PRAWIROSUJANTO
Jakarta