The Emergence of the Fort in Semarang

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"It all began with an agreement between Cornelis Speelman and Amangkurat II of Mataram in 1678"

"View of Samarang". Source: The view of Samarang Laying on the Island / Great Yava On the North East Side [National Library of Indonesia, 1775-1780]

The official presence of the Vereenidge Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) in Semarang (or Samarangh as the Dutch called it) began with an agreement between Cornelis Speelman and Amangkurat II of Mataram in 1678. In that particular agreement, Amangkurat II "mortgaged" Semarang in return for the VOC's help in suppressing Trunajaya's rebellion. With this agreement, Cornelis Speelman, who later became Governor-General of the VOC, ordered the construction of a fort made of clay in Semarang. The fort was built to protect Dutch settlements and other Europeans who used the Semarang area as a trade port base. According to the available historical data and records, the construction of the fort was temporarily halted and continued until it was completed in 1690.

Along with the changing dynamics in the Nusantara at that time, the VOC moved the centre of power for the eastern North Coast of Java (Noord Oostkust van Java) from Jepara to Semarang in 1708. The relocation of the VOC's centre of power in Semarang was accompanied by a proposal for a military fort which was approved by the Dutch Government. The fort itself appears on the old map of Semarang dated 1695, first mapped by Van Bemellen. This fort was later called the Fort de Vijfhoek van Samarangh.