Photo: Joost Evers/Anefo

Jakarta as a city center for business and government is growing rapidly from time to time. Since the Sunda Kelapa era, Jayakarta, Batavia, until now called Jakarta, this city has remained a magnet for people to pursue their dreams.

Started as a port city, Jakarta's strategic location allows the city to become a hub for trade in the region. Jakarta as the center of government began when the VOC made Batavia as the base, followed by the Dutch colonial government which made Batavia the center of the Dutch East Indies government.

In post-independence Indonesia, Jakarta is maintained as the center of government of the Republic of Indonesia until now. The capital had moved to Yogyakarta during an emergency situation due to the Dutch military aggression, but after 4 years it returned to Jakarta. There are also several discourses on moving the capital to another area considering that Jakarta is getting more crowded and is no longer able to accommodate its burden as a business center and a government center at the same time.

Photo: Joost Evers/Anefo

Before being known as a metropolitan city, Jakarta was known as a big village. These photos were the atmosphere of Jakarta in 1971 under the leadership of Governor Ali Sadikin. As seen not many high-rise buildings, it was not wrong to called it a big village.

Photo: Joost Evers/Anefo