History
Semarang's history dates back to the ninth century, when it was known as Bergota. By the end of fifteenth century, a Javanese Islamic missionary from nearby Sultanate of
Demak with the name of
Kyai Pandan Arang founded a village and an Islamic boarding school in this place. On May 1, 1547, after consulting Sunan
Kalijaga,
Sultan Hadiwijaya of
Pajang declared
Kyai Pandan Arang the first
bupati (regent) of Semarang, thus culturally and politically, on this day Semarang was born.
In 1678, Sunan
Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the
Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a part of a debt payment. In
1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On October 5, 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan
Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out
Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the
Dutch East Indies government, established
tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.
Even though in the
Dutch East Indies Batavia was the political center of government and Surabaya became the center of commerce, the third largest city in
Java was
Semarang. As off
VOC times Semarang had always been an important center of government for North Java, employing many Indo-European officials, until
Daendels (1808-1811) simplified burocracy by eliminating this extra layer of officialdom. The city’s expansion declined until in 1830 the
Java War ended and export commerce via the north of Java picked up again. Trade from the south and the middle of Java, where many
Indo entrepreneurs rented and cultivated plantations, flourished. Soon the government invested in the establishment of a railway infrastructure which also employed many Indo people. The historic presence of a large Indo (Eurasian) community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called
Javindo existed there.
[1] Nowadays there is no substantial Indo community left in Semarang, as most fled the city during the Indonesian national revolution in the middle of the 20th century.
In the 1920s, the city became a center of
leftist and
nationalist activism. With the founding of the
Communist Party of Indonesia in the city, Semarang became known as the "Red City". The
Japanese military occupied the city along with the rest of Java in 1942, during
Pacific War of
World War II. During that time, Semarang was headed by a military governor called a
Shiko, and two vice governors known as
Fuku Shiko. One of the vice governors was appointed from
Japan, and the other was chosen from the local population.
After
Indonesian independence in 1945, Semarang became the capital of
Central Java province.
Administration
The city of Semarang divided into 16 districts (
kecamatan) and 177 sub-districts of (
kelurahan). The 16 districts are:
West Semarang,
East Semarang,
Central Semarang,
North Semarang,
South Semarang,
Candisari,
Gajahmungkur,
Gayamsari,
Pedurungan,
Genuk,
Tembalang,
Banyumanik,
Gunungpati,
Mijen,
Ngaliyan, and
Tugu.
A
Bupati (regent) used to be the head of government in Semarang until 1906. After 1906, the city of Semarang was headed by a Mayor (
Walikota).
Mayors of Semarang after Indonesian independence:
- Moch. lchsan
- Koesoebiyono (1949 - 1 July 1951)
- RM Hadisoebeno Sosrowardoyo (1 July 1951 - 1 January 1958)
- Abdulmadjid Djojoadiningrat (7 January 1958 - 1 January 1960)
- RM Soebagyono Tjondrokoesoemo (1 January 1961 - 26 April 1964)
- Wuryanto (25 April 1964 - 1 September 1966)
- Soeparno (1 September 1966 - 6 March 1967)
- R. Warsito Soegiarto (6 March 1967 - 2 January 1973)
- Hadijanto (2 January 1973 - 15 January 1980)
- Imam Soeparto Tjakrajoeda (15 January 1980 - 19 January 1990)
- Soetrisno Suharto (19 January 1990 - 19 January 2000)
- Sukawi Sutarip (19 January 2000 – 19 January 2010)
- Soemarmo HS (19 January 2010 - present)
copied from wikipedia
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