Surabaya

Surabaya stands near the mouth of the Brantas River, facing Madura across the strait. Its position gave ships access to the fertile interior of eastern Java and to the route between Malacca and the Spice Islands. A major port of Majapahit, it grew into a powerful principality as the old kingdom weakened. Ma Huan, travelling with Zheng He's expedition in the early fifteenth century, described the passage from the harbour upriver toward the royal capital.

Surabaya resisted the rising Muslim kingdom of Demak before submitting in 1530, and regained independence after Sultan Trenggana's death in 1546. Its wealth and allies made it a formidable opponent for the inland kingdom of Mataram. Sultan Agung attacked its allies and besieged the city, forcing its surrender in 1625. Mataram's success brought much of Java under one ruler, though the coastal city retained its commercial importance. In 1743 the Dutch East India Company took control of Surabaya from a weakened Mataram. The harbour became an increasingly important base for trade and naval activity, drawing on the products of eastern Java.