Brilio.net/en - During their 350 years as colonizers, the Dutch built fortifications all over Indonesia to keep control of the population and defend the East Indies - as it was then known - from attack.
The ruins of these have turned into historical sites scattered across the archipelago. Some are relatively famous, but most are relatively unknown outside their locale.
1. Fort Belgica
The fort in Neira, Maluku was originally built by the Portuguese, but was taken over and rebuilt by the Dutch in September 1611.
2. Fort de Kock
Fort de Kock in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra was built by Captain Bouer in 1825 when Merkus Baron Hendrik de Kock served as the Der Troepen commander and Deputy Governor of the Dutch East Indies. The building was used as a Dutch defence post during the Padri War from 1821 to 1837.
3. Fort Du Bus
Ok, this one is long gone but it was an important trading post in West Papua. Built in 1828, the fort was named after the ruling Dutch East Indies Governor General, L.P.J. Burggraaf du Bus de Gisignies.
4. Benteng Pendem
Along the coast of Teluk Penyu in Cilacap, Central Java, the fortress was the regional defensive headquarters for the Dutch army and built up gradually from 1861 to 1879. Vegetation retook the fort after its abandonment The fort once was covered with soil and left neglected until later was discovered and excavated by Cilacap local goverenment in 1986.
5. Fort van der Wijk
This 18th-Century Dutch bastion is in Gombong, 21 km from Kebumen, Central Java.
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