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West Kalimantan
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The vast province of West-Kalimantan is mainly shaped by the catchment area of the Kapuas, the longest river of Indonesia. West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) has a surface of 146.807 sq.km. and counts only a few million inhabitants. Traveling in this area is demanding, adaption to local problems and delays is required. Tourism in this province, almost unknown to the main public, is not encouraged as well.
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Shortly after their arrival in the archipelago the Dutch focused on the diamond fields in Western Borneo. They created warehouses ('factorijen') in Sambas and Sukadana, but they were soon abandoned when the stream of diamonds decreased and the Dutch refocused on Java and the Moluccan spice islands.
In 1698, the Dutch forces the Malay ruler of Borneo to recognize the rule of the sultan of Batam on Java, which was under Dutch control. To settle their position even better, they supported the Arab explorer Abdul Rahman, which founded a trade post in Pontianak and killed the local rulers. However trade with the region (and the demand of taxes) went through Pontianak, but profits were not high enough for the Dutch to support troops and offices. In 1917, they retreated, but economical and political developments would return them very soon.
At the end of the 18th century, a true gold rush emerged along Borneo's western coast. Thousands of poor Hakka-farmers from China were attracted by the rich alluvial gold deposits, which eventually produced up to one seventh of the yearly yield in gold, The Dutch, always looking for more opportunities for trade, returned right away. But against the time that they beat the Chinese - which ruled over the gold - the fields were almost depleted.
Next the Dutch settled in Sintang, far upstream along the Kapuas, which shortly became one of the two most important governmental locations of Dutch Borneo. The governmental jump in the hinterlands, covered by the army, offered the opportunity for exploration of the vast, still unknown hinterlands.
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Last revised on December 02, 2009
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| WEST KALIMANTAN PICTURES |
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| 5 pictures in this gallery |
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