Inventory of forts in Indonesia

Abstract

The great archipelago in Indonesia with its wealthy and various nature, the products and commodities of tropic agriculture and the rich soil, was through the centuries a region of interest for other countries all over the world. For several reasons some of these countries came to Indonesia to establish their existence and tried to monopolize the trading. These countries such as the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch and the British built strengthened trade stations which later became forts all over Indonesia to defend their interest. The archipelago of Indonesia possesses a great number of fortification-works as legacies of native rulers and those which were built by European trading companies and later became colonial powers in the 16th to the 19th centuries. These legacies include those specific structures built as a defence system during pre and within the period of World War II. These fortresses are nowadaysvaluable subjects, because they might be considered as shared heritage among these countries and Indonesia. It's important to develop a vision to preserve these particular subjects of heritage, because they are an interesting part of the Indonesian history and its cultural treasures. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia has national program to compile a comprehensive documentation of the existing condition of these various types of forts as cultural heritage. The result of the 3 years project was a comprehensive 442 forts database in Indonesia, which will be very valuable to the implementation of legal protection, preservation matters and adaptive re-use in the future.