Bengkulu
| Bengkulu |
| — Province — |
|
|
| Location of Bengkulu in Indonesia |
| Coordinates: |
| Country |
Indonesia |
| Capital |
Bengkulu |
| Government |
| • Governor |
Plt. Ust. Junaidi Hamzah |
| Area |
| • Total |
20,168 km2 (7,786.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) |
| • Total |
2,013,393 |
| • Density |
99.8/km2 (258.6/sq mi) |
| Demographics |
| • Ethnic groups |
Javanese (22,3%), Rejang (21,4%), Serawai (17,9%), Lembak (4,9%), Pasemah (4,4%), Minangkabau (4,3%), Malay (3,6%), Sundanese (3%), Batak (2%) [1] |
| • Religion |
Islam |
| • Languages |
Bengkulu, Indonesian |
| Time zone |
WIB (UTC+7) |
| Website |
bengkuluprov.go.id |
Bengkulu (also known as Southwest Sumatra) is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen. The province also includes Enggano Island.
Population
The province had a population of 1,567,432 at the 2000 census.,[2] rising to 875,663 males and 837,730 females recorded in the 2010 census[3]
History
The English East India Company established a pepper-trading center and garrison at Bengkulu (Bencoolen) in 1685. In 1714 the British built Fort Marlborough in the city, which still stands. The trading post was never financially profitable for the British, hampered by a location which Europeans found unpleasant, and by an inability to find sufficient pepper to buy.
Despite these difficulties, the British persisted, maintaining their presence 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 Indonesia, Bengkulu remained a Dutch colony until after World War II.
During Sukarno's imprisonment by the Dutch in the early 1930s, the future first president of Indonesia lived briefly in Bengkulu. Here he met his wife, Fatmawati, who bore 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 killed 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"[4] A series of earthquakes struck Bengkulu during September 2007, killing 13 people.[5]
Economy
Three active coal mining companies produce between 200,000 and 400,000 tons of coal per year, which is exported to Malaysia, Singapore, South Asia, and East Asia. Fishing, particularly tuna and mackerel, is an important activity. Agricultural products exported by the province include ginger, bamboo shoots, and rubber.
Notes
References
- Reid, Anthony (ed.). 1995. Witnesses to Sumatra: A traveller's anthology. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. pp. 125–133.
- Wilkinson, R.J. 1938. Bencoolen. Journal of the Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society. 16(1): 127-133.
- Overview of the British experience in Bencoolen