Java Sea

The Java Sea off Surabaya lay between eastern Java, Madura and the routes towards Borneo and the eastern archipelago. Monsoon winds set the rhythm of longer voyages, while coastal craft carried provisions between neighbouring ports. Rice from Java's agricultural hinterland was a vital cargo in exchange with the spice-producing islands; timber and shipbuilding supported this seaborne economy.

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Majapahit's inland wealth was joined to these north-coast trading connections. Muslim port communities subsequently grew in influence, and Surabaya emerged as a powerful coastal state with allies across the sea. Sultan Agung's conquest in 1625 required the defeat of its allies and the isolation of the city, bringing this stretch of coast under Mataram. In 1743 the Dutch East India Company acquired Surabaya from the weakened kingdom. The succession of rulers altered customs, obligations and the balance of naval power, but the waters remained a route for regional shipping as well as company vessels. Here the movement of food, crews and building materials sustained the ports from which rulers attempted to control the wider Java Sea.