Jakarta happens to be located in Java, but it is hardly of Java. The contrast between the metropolitan capital and the surrounding province is dramatic. For, although West Java contains some big cities of its own, its soul is rural. The least densely populated province of the island, it offers unrivaled scenery, extensive nature reserves and refreshing mountain weather, all within a few hours of Jakarta's confusion. Its prosperity, friendly people and excellent transportation facilities make it one of the most genuinely relaxing parts of rural Indonesia in which to travel. West Java also offers much that is of cultural and historical interest.

West Java was first known to Europe as Sunda - a land, kingdom, language and people all distinct from Java. The l6th-century Portuguese were so impressed by this country that they misapplied its name not only to the island of Java, but to the whole archipelago; to this day, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Celebes are still known collectively as the "Greater Sunda Islands." The first known kingdom on Java, the Hindu state of Tarumanegara, flourished on the north coastal plain of West Java in the 5th century. A millenium later, the first Portuguese ships to weigh anchor here were welcomed by another great Hindu kingdom, Pajajaran, a contemporary and rival of the great East Javanese Majapahit. Since 1433, the capital had been at an inland location, Pakuan, today's Bogor, where Dutch governors- general would later reside. However, in 1522, when Pajajaran concluded an alliance with Portuguese Goa, it was still master of the north coast, including the lucrative ports of Banten and Sunda Kelapa (now Jakarta). The Portuguese were to help protect the Hindu power against Islam's rapid westward expansion along the coast. However, when they returned in 1527, both ports had been captured by Muslims and made vassals of the young sultanate of Demak, 400 kilometers to the east. Landlocked, Pajajaran declined, and 50 years later its capital was conquered by Banten.

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