| Bengkulu | |
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| Bengkulu city square | |
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Bengkulu
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Bengkulu
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Province | Bengkulu |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmad Kanedi |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 340,000 |
| Time zone | WIB (UTC+7) |
| Area code(s) | +62 736 |
Bengkulu is a city on the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. With a population of 340,000 (2007), the city is the capital and largest city of Bengkulu province.
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In the seventeenth century, the Lampung region of southern Sumatra was under the possession of the kingdom of Banten in western Java. It was a major producer of pepper.
In 1682, a troup of the Dutch East India Company attacked Banten. The crown prince, who had headed the government submitted to the Dutch, recognized him as Sultan. The Dutchman expelled all other Europeans present in Banten. As a result the British withdrew and the British East India Company founded Bengkulu as a commercial establishment (named Bencoolen) in 1685.
In 1714, the British built Fort Marlborough. However, it was never financially viable, because of its remoteness and the difficulty in procuring pepper. Despite these difficulties, the British persisted, maintaining the presence there for 150 years before ceding it to the Dutch as part of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to focus attention on Malacca. Like the rest of present-day Indonesia, Bengkulu remained a Dutch colony until after World War II.
During Sukarno's imprisonment by the Dutch in the 1930s, the future first president of Indonesia lived briefly in Bengkulu. Here he met his wife, Fatmawati, who gave him several children, the most famous being the first female President of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Bengkulu lies near the Sunda Fault and is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. In June 2000 a quake caused damage and the death of at least 100 people. A recent report predicts that Bengkulu is "at risk of inundation over the next few decades from undersea earthquakes predicted along the coast of Sumatra"[1]A series of earthquakes struck Bengkulu during September, 2007, killing 13 people. [1]
In this town lies the only state university in the province of Bengkulu, the Universitas Bengkulu (UNIB). Many students from different areas of neighboring provinces have studied here.
Each year, in the Muslim month of Muharam, Bengkulu hosts the ceremony Tabot. The two centuries old ritual was made by artisans from Madras in India for the construction of Fort Marlborough. It celebrates the martyrdom of Imam Shiite Hussein's death at the Battle of Karbala. The Tabot is an opportunity for a grand procession, accompanied by songs and dances performed by young girls.
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