Karimun Jawa

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Karimun Jawa Islands, archipelago of 27 rocky islands in the Java Sea (not to be confused with the larger island of Karimun in Indonesia's Riau Province). Also known as Pulau pulau Karimunjawa - and being contained within the Kepulauan Karimun Jawa National Park. Two of the larger islands are known as Kemujang and Parang. The island of Bawean' lies due east of this group of islands.

The islands are administratively part of Jepara district (kabupaten) in Central Java. The islands are believed to have been uninhabited, apart from being used as a pirate base, until the British occupation authorities in Java established a penal settlement there in the early nineteenth century. The settlement was abandoned by the Dutch (who recovered Java from the British after the Napoleonic Wars) during the Java War (1825-1830), but the former convicts remained as settlers. Coconut plantations set up during the convict period became a major source of income, as did fishing.