Batavia (region)

Batavia was the name used by the Roman Empire for the land of the Batavians, a Germanic tribe. This was roughly the area around the modern city of Nijmegen, Netherlands. The name was mentioned by Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder and especially Tacitus in his account of the Germanic uprising of 68, but was last recorded in the 5th century. The same area is nowadays known as Betuwe.^[1]

In the Renaissance, the Dutch wanted to rediscover their pre-medieval Batavi culture and history. This common history raised Batavi to the status of cultural ancestors to all Dutch people (see The Batavian Revival). They occasionally called themselves, or their things (Batavia), Batavians, resulting even in a short-lived Batavian Republic. The name Batavia was also taken to the colonies such as the Dutch East Indies, where they renamed the city of Jayakarta to become Batavia from 1619 until about 1942, when its name was changed to Djakarta (short for the former name Jayakarta, later respelt Jakarta; see: History of Jakarta). The name was also used in Suriname, where they founded Batavia, Suriname, and in the United States where the Holland Land Company founded the city and the town of Batavia, New York. This name spread further west in the United States to such places as Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, and Batavia, Ohio.

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