BANTAM, a seaport town, and the capital of a ingdom in the north-west extremity of the island of Batavia or Java. It is situated at the foot of a moun tain, from which issues three rivers, one of which pas ses through the town, while the other two inclose it. The town of Bantam, which resembles an immense grove of cocoa nut trees, has no walls or forts ex cepting fort Diamond, which contains the royal resi dence. Each of the streets which compose the town is built with straw and rose wood, and is surrounded with a plantation of cocoa nut trees. The river of Bantam, which is very shallow, is about 175 feet wide at its mouth ; and the bay of the same name affords a commodious and secure anchorage.
Before the inhabitants of the East were visited by the rapacious merchants of Europe, Bantam Was one of the most commercial cities in the Indies. The Arabs, the Turks, the Moors, the Chinese, and al most all the Asiatic nations, resorted to this celebra ted rendezvous. The Portuguese were the first Eu ropeans that traded with this city ; and the English afterwards established a factory in it, and for a long time carried on a lucrative commerce. Another esta blishment was formed by the Dutch, but they did not succeed so well as the English in gaining the af fections of the natives.
The transference of the trade of the Dutch to the neighbouring province of Jacatra, which they had conquered, and where they built the town of Bata via ; the removal of the English to Hindostan and China ; the ruin of the bay by the coral shoals and the detritus of the mountains ; and the destruction of a considerable part of the town by fire, all conspired to reduce the opulence and the commerce of Bantam. The power of its king diminished with the commer cial importance of his capital ; and in employing the aid of the Dutch against the other kings of Java, he lost his own independence. With the form ofroyalty he resides as a kind of state prisoner in the Dutch fort, surrounded with female attendants. When he ap pears in public, he is attended by his Bantam life guards, and likewise by a body of Dutch troops from the garrison. None of the life guards arc admitted within the fortress ; and neither his subjects nor his children are allowed to approach him without the permission of the Dutch officer.
The king of Bantam maintains a body of native troops, and several armed vessels, for supporting his authority over a territory in the south part of the island of Sumatra. His subjects in Sumatra and Java, sell to the king, at a low price, the pepper which they collect ; and this valuable commodity is again de livered to the Dutch at r price somewhat advanced.
Before the trade of this kingdom was monopolised by the Dutch, the Bantamese exported about three million pounds of pepper annually ; and in the year 1751, when the kingdom came under the authority of the Dutch, all annual tribute of 100 blears of pepper, or 87,500 pounds weight, was paid by the king to the Dutch East India Company.
The kingdom of Bantam in Java, is about 400 miles in circumference ; but the dominion of the king extends over the province of Succadana in Borneo, the southern part of Sumatra, and all the islands in the straights of Sunda, from Prince's island to Hog's island.
Stavorinus, who, along with some of his fellow tra vellers, was invited to an entertainment by the king of Bantam, mentions a very singular custom. While the king sat at table, he relieved himself by frequent eructations, and as if it had been a piece of wit, or an exhibition of skill, he was imitated by all the rest of the company. This strange practice, in which his Dutch visitors would not likely be very expert, is considered by his majesty as a pleasing indication of the excellence of his fare, and of the good appetite of his guests.
The kingdom of Bantam is the least populous of any of the kingdoms of Java. It contains only about 5000 families, or about 22,000 inhabitants. From the thick forests and deep morasses, the climate is unhealthy, and the mortality great. East Long. 106°, South Lat. 6° 30'. A full account of the ancient commerce of Bantam will be found in Pen chet's Dict. de la Geog. Commerg. and copious de tails respecting the manners of the people, in Stavori nus's Voyages, vol. i. p. 57 ; and Staunton's Embassy to China,. vol. i. p. 296. (r)