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120-638: Since 1995, Old Banten has been proposed to UNESCO World Heritage. Banten was a 16th-century port city known for its pepper. The city flourished when the Islamic Banten Sultanate reached its peak during the 17th century. There was a period of intense conflicts with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) over the trade of spices, which eventually led to the dissolution of the Sultanate in Banten and to

240-562: A Jain or Buddhist temple or "dwelling, waiting place" in many medieval era inscriptions and texts, from vi-har which means "to construct". It contrasts with Sanskrit : araṇya or Pali : arañña , which means "forest". In medieval era, the term meant any monastery, particularly for Buddhist monks. Matha is another term for monastery in the Buddhist tradition, today normally used for Hindu establishments. The eastern Indian state of Bihar derives its name from vihāra due to

360-608: A vihara-pala , the one who managed the vihara, settled disputes, determined sangha's consent and rules, and forced those hold-outs to this consensus. Three early influential monastic fraternities are traceable in Buddhist history. The Mahavihara established by Mahinda was the oldest. Later, in 1st century BCE, King Vattagamani donated the Abhayagiri vihara to his favored monk, which led the Mahavihara fraternity to expel that monk. In 3rd century CE, this repeated when King Mahasena donated

480-638: A Dutch ship. The Cambodians defeated the VOC in the Cambodian–Dutch War from 1643 to 1644 on the Mekong River. In 1640, the VOC obtained the port of Galle , Ceylon , from the Portuguese and broke the latter's monopoly of the cinnamon trade. In 1658, Gerard Pietersz Hulft laid siege to Colombo , which was captured with the help of King Rajasinghe II of Kandy . By 1659, the Portuguese had been expelled from

600-498: A centre of Buddhist learning. Reference to five kinds of dwellings (Pancha Lenani) namely, Vihara, Addayoga, Pasada, Hammiya and Guha is found in the Buddhist canonical texts as fit for monks. Of these only the Vihara (monastery) and Guha (Cave) have survived. At some stage of Buddhism, like other Indian religious traditions, the wandering monks of the Sangha dedicated to asceticism and

720-521: A corporation, serving as centers of learning. Other notable monasteries of the Pala Empire were Traikuta, Devikota (identified with ancient Kotivarsa, 'modern Bangarh'), and Pandit Vihara . Excavations jointly conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India and University of Burdwan in 1971–1972 to 1974–1975 yielded a Buddhist monastic complex at Monorampur, near Bharatpur via Panagarh Bazar in

840-651: A few viharas have been unearthed here and the most elaborate is the Shalban Vihara . The complex consists of a fairly large vihara of the usual plan of four ranges of monastic cells round a central court, with a temple in cruciform plan situated in the centre. According to a legend on a seal (discovered at the site) the founder of the monastery was Bhavadeva , a ruler of the Deva dynasty. As Buddhism spread in Southeast Asia, monasteries were built by local kings. The term vihara

960-590: A group of monks. It particularly referred to a hall that was used as a temple or where monks met and some walked about. In the context of the performative arts, the term means the theatre, playhouse, convent or temple compound to meet, perform or relax in. Later it referred to a form of temple or monastery construction in Buddhism and Jainism, wherein the design has a central hall and attached separated shrines for residence either for monks or for dieties and sacred figure such as Tirthankaras , Gautama Buddha . The word means

1080-539: A large share of its profits to this end in the period up to 1630. The VOC traded throughout Asia, benefiting mainly from Bengal . Ships coming into Batavia from the Netherlands carried supplies for VOC settlements in Asia. Silver and copper from Japan were used to trade with the world's wealthiest empires, Mughal India and Qing China , for silk, cotton, porcelain, and textiles. These products were either traded within Asia for

1200-666: A mere one-fifth the tonnage of goods carried by the VOC. The VOC enjoyed huge profits from its spice monopoly and slave trading activities through most of the 17th century. Having been set up in 1602 to profit from the Malukan spice trade, the VOC established a capital in the port city of Jayakarta in 1619 and changed its name to Batavia (now Jakarta ). Over the next two centuries the company acquired additional ports as trading bases and safeguarded their interests by taking over surrounding territory. It remained an important trading concern and paid annual dividends that averaged to about 18% of

1320-577: A mere village, with squatters filling empty space in between archaeological area. Despite encouraged tourism, especially for the Great Mosque of Banten , the rest of the site received lack of proper conservation. The Surosowan Kraton is a ruined palace where the Sultans of Banten resided. The palace was built in 1552. Unlike the Kaibon Kraton, there is little left inside the kraton. The only visible remains of

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1440-737: A monopoly on East Indies trade. In 1620, diplomatic agreements in Europe ushered in a period of collaboration between the Dutch and English spice trades. This ended with the notorious Amboyna massacre , where ten Englishmen were arrested, tried and beheaded for conspiracy against the Dutch government. Although this caused outrage in Europe and a diplomatic crisis, the English quietly withdrew from most of their Indonesian activities (except trading in Banten) and focused on other Asian interests. In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen

1560-463: A new era of an abundant supply of capital at low interest rates suddenly opened around this time. The second factor enabled the company easily to finance its expansion in the new areas of commerce. Between the 1680s and 1720s, the VOC was therefore able to equip and man an appreciable expansion of its fleet, and acquire a large amount of precious metals to finance the purchase of large amounts of Asian commodities, for shipment to Europe. The overall effect

1680-590: A number of Dutch merchants and explorers, such as Jan Huyghen van Linschoten and Cornelis de Houtman , went on to obtain firsthand knowledge of the "secret" Portuguese trade routes and practices that were already in place, thereby providing further opportunity for the Dutch to enter the trade. The stage was thus set for Dutch expeditions to the Indonesian islands , beginning with James Lancaster in 1591, Cornelis de Houtman in 1595 and again in 1598, Jacob Van Neck in 1598, Lancaster again in 1601, among others. During

1800-455: A number of small cells. Rock-cut cells are often fitted with rock-cut platforms for beds and pillows. The front wall had one or more entrances, and often a verandah . Later the back wall facing the entrance had a fairly small shrine-room, often reached through an ante-chamber. Initially these held stupas , but later a large sculpted Buddha image , sometimes with reliefs on the walls. The verandah might also have sculpture, and in some cases

1920-421: A quarter of the initial shareholders were Zuid-Nederlanders (people from an area that includes modern Belgium and Luxembourg ), and there were also a few dozen Germans. The VOC had two types of shareholders: the participanten , who could be seen as non-managing members, and the 76 bewindhebbers (later reduced to 60) who acted as managing directors. This was the usual set-up for Dutch joint-stock companies at

2040-524: A rectangular 5 hectare artificial lake formerly used as a water reservoir for the city of Banten. From this reservoir, water are channeled via pipes and viaducts to the city, passing a series of water treatment stations. Some of these water treatment stations are still visible today. The village of Kasunyatan, several meter south of Old Banten, was once an Islamic learning center for the Sultan of Banten. There are several tombs and 16th-century Kasunyatan Mosque in

2160-572: A second English East India Company voyage commanded by Sir Henry Middleton reached the islands of Ternate , Tidore , Ambon and Banda . In Banda, they encountered severe VOC hostility, sparking Anglo-Dutch competition for access to spices. From 1611 to 1617, the English established trading posts at Sukadana (southwest Kalimantan ), Makassar , Jayakarta and Jepara in Java , and Aceh, Pariaman and Jambi in Sumatra , which threatened Dutch ambitions for

2280-448: A trade surplus with other European countries. Coen discovered the obvious solution for the problem: to start an intra-Asiatic trade system, whose profits could be used to finance the spice trade with Europe. In the long run this obviated the need for exports of precious metals from Europe, though at first it required the formation of a large trading-capital fund in the Indies. The VOC reinvested

2400-414: A trading post in the area and eventually to monopolise the trade there, especially the gold trade. By 1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private army of 10,000 soldiers, and a dividend payment of 40% on the original investment. Many of the VOC employees inter-mixed with the indigenous peoples and expanded

2520-653: A treaty of 1684 with the Sultan. Also, on the Coromandel Coast , it moved its chief stronghold from Pulicat to Nagapattinam , so as to secure a monopoly on the pepper trade to the detriment of the French and the Danes. However, the importance of these traditional commodities in the Asian-European trade was diminishing rapidly at the time. The military outlays that the VOC needed to make to enhance its monopoly were not justified by

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2640-514: A venture that would continue for 21 years, with a financial accounting only at the end of each decade. In February 1603, the company seized the Santa Catarina , a 1500-ton Portuguese merchant carrack , off the coast of Singapore. She was such a rich prize that her sale proceeds increased the capital of the VOC by more than 50%. Also in 1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia

2760-456: Is a museum located between Surosowan Kraton and the Great Mosque. The museum kept archaeological remnants such as ceramic vases, roof, and coins related with the historic port city of Banten. Other important artifacts are Meriam Ki Amuk (a 2.5 meter long Ottoman cannon) and a stone pepper mill. There are remnants of infrastructures outside the walled city of Banten. Tasik Ardi (Ardi Lake) is

2880-502: Is an example of a structural monastery with 115 cells, where the lower parts of the brick-built structure have been excavated. Somapura Mahavihara , also in Bangladesh, was a larger vihara, mostly 8th-century, with 177 cells around a huge central temple. Usually the standard form as described above is followed, but there are some variants. Two vihara halls, Cave 5 at Ellora and Cave 11 at Kanheri , have very low platforms running most of

3000-585: Is cognate with the Modern Korean Chǒl from Middle Korean Tiel , the Jurchen Taira and the reconstructed Old Chinese dɘiaʁ , all meaning "Buddhist Monastery". These words are apparently derived from the Aramaic word for " monastery " dērā/ dairā/ dēr (from the root dwr "to live together"), rather than from the unrelated Indian word for monastery vihara , and may have been transmitted to China by

3120-691: Is credited to Emperor Ashoka, and it is a donation to the Ajivikas. According to Johannes Bronkhorst, this created competitive financial pressures on all traditions, including the Hindu Brahmins. This may have led to the development of viharas as shelters for monks, and evolution in the Ashrama concept to agraharas or Hindu monasteries. These shelters were normally accompanied by donation of revenue from villages nearby, who would work and support these cave residences with food and services. The Karle inscription dated to

3240-638: Is distinguished by elaborate gavaksha and railing relief carving around the cell-doors, but especially by having a rounded roof and apsidal far end, like a chaitya hall. The earliest Buddhist rock-cut cave abodes and sacred places are found in the western Deccan dating back to the 3rd century BCE. These earliest rock-cut caves include the Bhaja Caves , the Karla Caves , and some of the Ajanta Caves . Vihara with central shrine containing devotional images of

3360-485: Is increasingly questioned by the discovery of pre-Kushana era Buddha images outside the northwestern territories. Further, states Huntington, "archaeological, literary, and inscriptional evidence" such as those in Madhya Pradesh cast further doubts. Devotional worship of Buddha is traceable, for example, to Bharhut Buddhist monuments dated between 2nd and 1st century BCE. The Krishna or Kanha Cave (Cave 19) at Nasik has

3480-577: Is of a later date. According to Behrendt, these "must have been the architectural prototype for the later northern and western Buddhist shrines in the Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad , Ellora , Nalanda , Ratnagiri and other sites". Behrendt's proposal follows the model that states the northwestern influences and Kushana era during the 1st and 2nd century CE triggered the development of Buddhist art and monastery designs. In contrast, Susan Huntington states that this late nineteenth and early twentieth century model

3600-493: Is preferred. Monks wandering from place to place preaching and seeking alms often stayed together in the sangha . In the Punjabi language , an open space inside a home is called a vehra . In Korea , Japan , Vietnam and China , the word for a Buddhist temple or monastery seems to have a different origin. The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple is Tera ( 寺 ) , it was anciently also written phonetically 天良 tera , and it

3720-453: Is still sometimes used to refer to the monasteries/temples, also known as wat , but in Thailand it also took on a narrower meaning referring to certain buildings in the temple complex. The wihan is a building, apart from the main ubosot (ordination hall) in which a Buddha image is enshrined. In many temples, the wihan serves as a sermon hall or an assembly hall where ceremonies, such as

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3840-595: Is the presence of circular corner cells. It is believed that the general layout of the monastic complex at Jagjivanpur is by and large similar to that of Nalanda. Beside these, scattered references to some monasteries are found in epigraphic and other sources. Among them Pullahari (in western Magadha), Halud Vihara (45 km south of Paharpur), Parikramana vihara and Yashovarmapura vihara (in Bihar) deserve mention. Other important structural complexes have been discovered at Mainamati (Comilla district, Bangladesh). Remains of quite

3960-649: Is unclear. Monasteries in the form of caves are dated to centuries before the start of the common era, for Ajivikas , Buddhists and Jainas . The rock-cut architecture found in cave viharas from the 2nd-century BCE have roots in the Maurya Empire period. In and around the Bihar state of India are a group of residential cave monuments all dated to be from pre-common era, reflecting the Maurya architecture. Some of these have Brahmi script inscription which confirms their antiquity, but

4080-465: The sangha . The rules are preceded by stories telling how the Buddha came to lay them down, and followed by explanations and analysis. According to the stories, the rules were devised on an ad hoc basis as the Buddha encountered various behavioral problems or disputes among his followers. Each major early Buddhist tradition had its own variant text of code of discipline for vihara life. Major vihara appointed

4200-466: The Bardhaman district of West Bengal. The date of the monastery may be ascribed to the early medieval period. Recent excavations at Jagjivanpur (Malda district, West Bengal) revealed another Buddhist monastery ( Nandadirghika-Udranga Mahavihara ) of the ninth century. Nothing of the superstructure has survived. A number of monastic cells facing a rectangular courtyard have been found. A notable feature

4320-512: The Deccan in particular, but this is an accident of survival. Originally structural viharas of stone or brick would probably have been at least as common everywhere, and the norm in the south. By the second century BCE a standard plan for a vihara was established; these form the majority of Buddhist rock-cut "caves". It consisted of a roughly square rectangular hall, in rock-cut cases, or probably an open court in structural examples, off which there were

4440-543: The English East India Company , thereby threatening their Dutch competitors with ruin. In 1602, the Dutch government followed suit, sponsoring the creation of a single "United East Indies Company" that was also granted monopoly over the Asian trade. For a time in the seventeenth century, it was able to monopolise the trade in nutmeg, mace, and cloves and to sell these spices across European kingdoms and Emperor Akbar

4560-606: The Heeren XVII (the Lords Seventeen). They were selected from the bewindhebber -class of shareholders. Of the Heeren XVII , eight delegates were from the Chamber of Amsterdam (one short of a majority on its own), four from the Chamber of Zeeland, and one from each of the smaller Chambers, while the seventeenth seat was alternatively from the Chamber of Middelburg-Zeeland or rotated among the five small Chambers. Amsterdam had thereby

4680-573: The Indian subcontinent . The concept is ancient and in early Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for dwellings. The term evolved into an architectural concept wherein it refers to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard, particularly in Buddhism . The term is also found in Jain monastic literature, usually referring to temporary refuge for wandering monks or nuns during

4800-655: The Malabar and Coromandel coasts in India. Direct access to mainland China came in 1729 when a factory was established in Canton . In 1662, however, Koxinga expelled the Dutch from Taiwan ( see History of Taiwan ). In 1663, the VOC signed the "Painan Treaty" with several local lords in the Painan area that were revolting against the Aceh Sultanate . The treaty allowed the VOC to build

4920-533: The Masjid Kanari , a tower of the ruined Masjid Pecinan Tinggi , the already demolished mosque of the Kraton Kaibon , and ruins of Koja Mosque. The Kaibon Kraton is the ruined palace and residence of Ratu Aisyah, the queen and mother of Sultan Syaifuddin. The Kraton was destroyed in 1832 following the order of Daendels , partly because unlike other Sultanates in Indonesia, the Sultanate of Banten never bowed to

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5040-454: The Sandalwood trade and their resistance lasted throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, causing Portuguese Timor to remain under the Portuguese sphere of control. At the time, it was customary for a company to be funded only for the duration of a single voyage and to be liquidated upon the return of the fleet. Investment in these expeditions was a very high-risk venture, not only because of

5160-609: The States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies , it was granted a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. Shares in the company could be purchased by any citizen of the United Provinces (Dutch Republic) and subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets (one of which became the Amsterdam Stock Exchange ). The company possessed quasi-governmental powers, including

5280-584: The Swedish East India Company ). The company's alternative names that have been used include the 'Dutch East Indies Company', 'United East India Company', 'Jan Company', or 'Jan Compagnie'. Before the Dutch Revolt , which began in 1566/68, the Flemish city of Antwerp had played an important role as a distribution center in northern Europe. After 1591, the Portuguese used an international syndicate of

5400-441: The 1st century CE donates a cave and nearby village, states Bronkhorst, "for the support of the ascetics living in the caves at Valuraka [Karle] without any distinction of sect or origin". Buddhist texts from Bengal, dated to centuries later, use the term asrama-vihara or agrahara-vihara for their monasteries. Buddhist viharas or monasteries may be described as a residence for monks, a centre for religious work and meditation and

5520-512: The Ajanta Caves. Some of these viharas and temples though evidenced in texts and inscriptions are no longer physically found, likely destroyed in later centuries by natural causes or due to war. As more people joined Buddhist monastic sangha , the senior monks adopted a code of discipline which came to be known in the Pali Canon as the Vinaya texts. These texts are mostly concerned with the rules of

5640-502: The Buddha, dated to about the 2nd century CE are found in the northwestern area of Gandhara , in sites such as Jaulian , Kalawan (in the Taxila area) or Dharmarajika , which states Behrendt, possibly were the prototypes for the 4th century monasteries such as those at Devnimori in Gujarat . This is supported by the discovery of clay and bronze Buddha statues, but it is unclear if the statue

5760-625: The Dutch East Indies for the first time in its history. After the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War , the VOC's financial issues worsened considerably. After vain attempts at reorganisation by the provincial States of Holland and Zeeland , the board of directors in the VOC were sacked in 1796 and the company's management was handed over to a Committee for Affairs relating to East India Trade and Possessions (Dutch: Comité tot de zaken van de Oost-Indische handel en bezittingen ). The VOC charter

5880-488: The Dutch captain's life on condition that he joined his army and trained his soldiers on modern lines. This defeat in the Travancore–Dutch War is considered the earliest example of an organised Asian power overcoming European military technology and tactics; and it signalled the decline of Dutch power in India. The attempt to continue as before as a low volume-high profit business enterprise with its core business in

6000-571: The Dutch during a conflict with Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in 1680. There was a plan for reconstruction of the compounds within Kraton Surosowan in early 2013, however it is not clear how to finance the reconstruction process. There are several mosques inside and outside the walled city of Old Banten. The largest mosque, and the only surviving building within the Old Banten walled city, is the Great Mosque of Banten . Well-maintained by its followers,

6120-534: The Dutch-Hituese alliance. In 1613, the Dutch expelled the Portuguese from their Solor fort, but a subsequent Portuguese attack led to a second change of hands; following this second reoccupation, the Dutch once again captured Solor in 1636. East of Solor , on the island of Timor , Dutch advances were halted by an autonomous and powerful group of Portuguese Eurasians called the Topasses . They remained in control of

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6240-695: The East Indies, but implementation of this policy never materialised, mainly because very few Dutch were willing to emigrate to Asia. Another of Coen's ventures was more successful. A major problem in the European trade with Asia at the time was that the Europeans could offer few goods that Asian consumers wanted, except silver and gold. European traders therefore had to pay for spices with the precious metals, which were in short supply in Europe, except for Spain and Portugal. The Dutch and English had to obtain it by creating

6360-487: The German Fugger family and Welser family , as well as Spanish and Italian firms, which operated out of Hamburg as the northern staple port to distribute their goods, thereby cutting Dutch merchants out of the trade. At the same time, the Portuguese trade system was unable to increase supply to satisfy growing demand, in particular the demand for pepper. Demand for spices was relatively inelastic ; therefore, each lag in

6480-457: The Great Mosque complex contains several buildings which shows a mixture of architectural style. The mosque shows a mixture of local Javanese and Chinese influence, the lighthouse-shaped minaret shows Portuguese influence, the tiyamah building (where Islamic studies are conducted), which was built by a Dutchman who converted into Islam, features a typical Dutch colonial style with its high sash window. Other remains of mosques around Old Banten are

6600-609: The Great's Mughal Empire at 14–17 times the price it paid in Indonesia ; While Dutch profits soared, the local economy of the Spice Islands was destroyed, because as a monopoly buyer, the VOC forced the prices paid to the local producers in the Spice Islands down to low levels. With a capital of 6,440,200 guilders , the new company's charter empowered it to build forts, maintain armies, and conclude treaties with Asian rulers. It provided for

6720-429: The Jetavana vihara to an individual monk, which led to his expulsion. The Mahinda Mahavihara led to the orthodox Theravada tradition. The Abhayagiri vihara monks, rejected and criticized by the orthodox Buddhist monks, were more receptive to heterodox ideas and they nurtured the Mahayana tradition. The Jetavana vihara monks vacillated between the two traditions, blending their ideas. A range of monasteries grew up during

6840-429: The Moluccas), cutting out the Javanese middlemen. The ships returned to Europe in 1599 and 1600 and the expedition made a 400 percent profit. In 1600, the Dutch joined forces with the Muslim Hituese on Ambon Island in an anti-Portuguese alliance, in return for which the Dutch were given the sole right to purchase spices from Hitu. Dutch control of Ambon was achieved when the Portuguese surrendered their fort in Ambon to

6960-437: The Netherlands the following year, but with enough spices to make a considerable profit. In 1598, an increasing number of fleets were sent out by competing merchant groups from around the Netherlands. Some fleets were lost, but most were successful, with some voyages producing high profits. In 1598, a fleet of eight ships under Jacob van Neck had been the first Dutch fleet to reach the 'Spice Islands' of Maluku (also known as

7080-440: The Pāla period in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar) and Bengal. According to Tibetan sources, five great mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila , the premier university of the era; Nalanda , past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura , Odantapurā , and Jagaddala . According to Sukumar Dutt, the five monasteries formed a network, were supported and supervised by the Pala state. Each of the five had their own seal and operated like

7200-404: The VOC by 1685. Even more importantly, the Third Anglo-Dutch War temporarily interrupted VOC trade with Europe. This caused a spike in the price of pepper, which enticed the English East India Company (EIC) to enter this market aggressively in the years after 1672. Previously, one of the tenets of the VOC pricing policy was to slightly over-supply the pepper market, so as to depress prices below

7320-493: The VOC in the Dutch Republic , the VOC made extensive use of local Asian labour markets. As a result, the personnel of the various VOC offices in Asia consisted of European and Asian employees. Asian or Eurasian workers could be employed as sailors, soldiers, writers, carpenters, smiths, or as simple unskilled workers. At the height of its existence, the VOC had 25,000 employees who worked in Asia and 11,000 who were en route. Also, while most of its shareholders were Dutch, about

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7440-476: The VOC logo since the late 20th century, having re-registered the company's name for the purpose. Around the world, and especially in English-speaking countries, the VOC is widely known as the 'Dutch East India Company'. The name 'Dutch East India Company' is used to make a distinction from the [British] East India Company (EIC) and other East Indian companies (such as the Danish East India Company , French East India Company , Portuguese East India Company , and

7560-453: The VOC mainly operated in what later became the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia), the company also had important operations elsewhere. It employed people from different continents and origins in the same functions and working environments. Although it was a Dutch company, its employees included not only people from the Netherlands, but also many from Germany and other countries. Besides the diverse north-west European workforce recruited by

7680-414: The VOC sent nearly a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships and netted for their efforts more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods and slaves. By contrast, the rest of Europe combined sent only 882,412 people from 1500 to 1795, and the fleet of the English (later British) East India Company , the VOC's nearest competitor, was a distant second to its total traffic with 2,690 ships and

7800-408: The VOC tried to use military force to make Ming dynasty China open up to Dutch trade, the Chinese defeated the Dutch in a war over the Penghu islands from 1623 to 1624, forcing the VOC to abandon Penghu for Taiwan . The Chinese defeated the VOC again at the Battle of Liaoluo Bay in 1633. The Vietnamese Nguyen lords defeated the VOC in a 1643 battle during the Trịnh–Nguyễn War , blowing up

7920-421: The VOC's trade started in the early 1680s, after the temporary collapse of the EIC around 1683 offered an excellent opportunity to enter these markets. The actual cause for the change lies, however, in two structural features of this new era. In the first place, there was a revolutionary change in the tastes affecting European demand for Asian textiles, coffee and tea, around the turn of the 18th century. Secondly,

8040-508: The Zamorin was made to sign a treaty with the VOC undertaking to trade exclusively with the VOC and expel other European traders. For a brief time, this appeared to improve the company's prospects. However, in 1715, with EIC encouragement, the Zamorin renounced the treaty. Though a Dutch army managed to suppress this insurrection temporarily, the Zamorin continued to trade with the English and the French, which led to an appreciable upsurge in English and French traffic. The VOC decided in 1721 that it

8160-409: The ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins , and establish colonies. Also, because it traded across multiple colonies and countries from both the East and the West, the VOC is sometimes considered to have been the world's first multinational corporation . Statistically, the VOC eclipsed all of its rivals in the Asian trade. Between 1602 and 1796

8280-415: The abundance of Buddhist monasteries in that area. The word has also been borrowed in Malay as biara , denoting a monastery or other non-Muslim place of worship. It is called a wihan ( วิหาร ) in Thai , and vĭhéar ( វិហារ [ʋihiə] ) in Khmer . In Burmese , wihara ( ဝိဟာရ [wḭhəɹa̰] ), means "monastery", but the native Burmese word kyaung ( ကျောင်း [tɕáʊɰ̃] )

8400-427: The annual Indian monsoons. In modern Jainism, the monks continue to wander from town to town except during the rainy season ( chaturmasya ), and the term "vihara" refers to their wanderings. Vihara or vihara hall has a more specific meaning in the architecture of India , especially ancient Indian rock-cut architecture . Here it means a central hall, with small cells connected to it, sometimes with beds carved from

8520-400: The capital for almost 200 years. Much of the labor that built its colonies was from people it had enslaved. Weighed down by smuggling, corruption and growing administrative costs in the late 18th century, the company went bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1799. Its possessions and debt were taken over by the government of the Dutch Batavian Republic . In Dutch, the name of the company

8640-401: The central hall with connected cells, and it is generally dated to about the 1st century BCE. The early stone viharas mimicked the timber construction that likely preceded them. Inscriptional evidence on stone and copper plates indicate that Buddhist viharas were often co-built with Hindu and Jain temples. The Gupta Empire era witnessed the building of numerous viharas, including those at

8760-420: The city from the southern region of the city via aqueducts and underground pipes. The area within the wall was divided into a northern and a southern half. Only Indonesians were allowed to live within the city wall; foreigners were located outside, with foreign Muslims on the northeast, foreign non-Muslims on the west, both along the shore. The northern section contained the remains of the residential compounds of

8880-439: The city's decline. Today, the site where the city of Banten remains is known as Old Banten. It is a well-known tourist attraction, where many locals visit to pay their respects and pray at the graves of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin and his descendants; or visits the Great Mosque. The area reflects the sultanate's earlier glory. Notable buildings include the impressive Great Mosque of Banten, ruins of two important Kraton (palaces),

9000-579: The coastal regions, which were then occupied by the VOC, securing for it the monopoly over cinnamon. To prevent the Portuguese or the English from ever recapturing Sri Lanka , the VOC went on to conquer the entire Malabar Coast from the Portuguese, almost entirely driving them from the west coast of India. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply outpost at the Cape of Storms (the southwestern tip of Africa, now Cape Town , South Africa) to service company ships on their journey to and from East Asia. The cape

9120-487: The colonial government. Several buildings are still visible. The Chinese temple is one of the oldest in Indonesia. The existence of this vihara in Old Banten means that the Buddhist religion was tolerated in the overall Muslim city of Banten. Not far from the Great Mosque of Banten is a Dutch fort built in 1682. The fort is square shaped. There is a European cemetery to the southeast of the fort. The Museum of Old Banten (Indonesian "Museum Situs Kepurbakalaan Banten Lama")

9240-418: The company at this time therefore were not hopeless, had one of the plans for reform been undertaken successfully. However, the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War intervened. British naval attacks in Europe and Asia reduced the VOC fleet by half; removed valuable cargo from its control; and eroded its remaining power in Asia. The direct losses of the VOC during the war can be calculated at 43 million guilders. Loans to keep

9360-508: The company operating reduced its net assets to zero. From 1720 on, the market for sugar from Indonesia declined as the competition from cheap sugar from Brazil increased. European markets became saturated. Dozens of Chinese sugar traders went bankrupt, which led to massive unemployment, which in turn led to gangs of unemployed coolies . The Dutch government in Batavia did not adequately respond to these problems. In 1740, rumours of deportation of

9480-401: The company's overhead rose in step with the growth in trade volume; declining gross margins translated directly into a decline in profitability of the invested capital. The era of expansion was one of "profitless growth". Specifically: "[t]he long-term average annual profit in the VOC's 1630–70 'Golden Age' was 2.1 million guilders, of which just under half was distributed as dividends and

9600-432: The coveted spices or brought back to Europe. The VOC was also instrumental in introducing European ideas and technology to Asia. The company supported Christian missionaries and traded modern technology with China and Japan. A more peaceful VOC trade post on Dejima , an artificial island off the coast of Nagasaki , was for more than two hundred years the only place where Europeans were permitted to trade with Japan . When

9720-488: The decisive voice. The Zeelanders in particular had misgivings about this arrangement at the beginning. The fear was not unfounded, because in practice it meant Amsterdam stipulated what happened. The six chambers raised the start-up capital of the Dutch East India Company: Vihara Vihāra generally refers to a Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery for Buddhist renunciates , mostly in

9840-482: The deterioration of revenues. To a large extent the costs of the operation of the VOC had a "fixed" character (military establishments; maintenance of the fleet and such). Profit levels might therefore have been maintained if the increase in the scale of trading operations that in fact took place had resulted in economies of scale . However, though larger ships transported the growing volume of goods, labour productivity did not go up sufficiently to realise these. In general

9960-494: The elite. There is a mosque facing a Javanese alun-alun , a typical layout of Javanese city. The compound of the shahbandar or the harbor master was located on the eastern side of the alun-alun. the Kraton of Surosowan, as well as the Great Mosque of Banten , is located in this area. Banten population was engaged in common craft such as pottery making, many of these are found and kept in a site museum. The city now has been reduced to

10080-509: The first Central Asian translators of Buddhist scriptures, such as An Shigao or Lokaksema . During the 3rd-century BCE era of Ashoka , vihara yatras were travel stops aimed at enjoyments, pleasures and hobbies such as hunting. These contrasted with dharma yatras which related to religious pursuits and pilgrimage. After Ashoka converted to Buddhism, states Lahiri, he started dharma yatras around mid 3rd century BCE instead of hedonistic royal vihara yatras . The early history of viharas

10200-592: The fortunes of the VOC started to decline. Five major contributing factors are attributed to its decay in the 50 years between 1730 and 1780: Despite these problems, the VOC in 1780 remained an enormous operation. Its capital in the Republic, consisting of ships and goods in inventory, totalled 28 million guilders; its capital in Asia, consisting of the liquid trading fund and goods en route to Europe, totalled 46 million guilders. Total capital, net of outstanding debt, stood at 62 million guilders. The prospects of

10320-459: The four-ship exploratory expedition by Frederick de Houtman in 1595 to Banten , the main pepper port of West Java, the crew clashed with both Portuguese and indigenous Javanese. Houtman's expedition then sailed east along the north coast of Java , losing twelve crew members to a Javanese attack at Sidayu and killing a local ruler in Madura . Half the crew were lost before the expedition made it back to

10440-509: The gangs from the Batavia area led to widespread rioting. The Dutch military searched houses of Chinese in Batavia for weapons. When a house accidentally burnt down, military and impoverished citizens started slaughtering and pillaging the Chinese community. This massacre of the Chinese was deemed sufficiently serious for the board of the VOC to start an official investigation into the Government of

10560-400: The hometown of the chamber conducting the operation was placed on top. The monogram, versatility, flexibility, clarity, simplicity, symmetry, timelessness, and symbolism are considered notable characteristics of the VOC's professionally designed logo. Those elements ensured its success at a time when the concept of the corporate identity was virtually unknown. An Australian vintner has used

10680-579: The increased profits of this declining trade. Nevertheless, this lesson was slow to sink in and at first the VOC made the strategic decision to improve its military position on the Malabar Coast (hoping thereby to curtail English influence in the area, and end the drain on its resources from the cost of the Malabar garrisons) by using force to compel the Zamorin of Calicut to submit to Dutch domination. In 1710,

10800-562: The inscriptions were likely added to pre-existing caves. The oldest layer of Buddhist and Jain texts mention legends of the Buddha, the Jain Tirthankaras or sramana monks living in caves. If these records derived from an oral tradition accurately reflect the significance of monks and caves in the times of the Buddha and the Mahavira, then cave residence tradition dates back to at least the 5th century BCE. According to Allchin and Erdosy,

10920-471: The interim could only do this by selling their share to others on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange . Confusion of confusions , a 1688 dialogue by the Sephardi Jew Joseph de la Vega analysed the workings of this one-stock exchange. The VOC consisted of six Chambers ( Kamers ) in port cities: Amsterdam , Delft , Rotterdam , Enkhuizen , Middelburg and Hoorn . Delegates of these chambers convened as

11040-407: The kraton is the half to two meter wall — of red stone and coral stone — surrounding the perimeter of the kraton complex. The layout of former buildings are visible from the foundation's layout. One of the visible remains is a rectangular pool, assumed to be the pleasure pool where the princess of Banten took a bath, not different from the pleasure pool of Yogyakarta Kraton. The fort was destroyed by

11160-552: The latter came close to bankruptcy; its share price plummeted from 600 to 250; and its president Josiah Child was temporarily forced from office. However, the writing was on the wall. Other companies, like the French East India Company and the Danish East India Company also started to make inroads on the Dutch system. The VOC therefore closed the theretofore flourishing open pepper emporium of Bantam by

11280-491: The latter period, 3.4 percent." Nevertheless, in the eyes of investors the VOC did not do too badly. The share price hovered consistently around the 400 mark from the mid-1680s (excepting a hiccup around the Glorious Revolution in 1688), and they reached an all-time high of around 642 in the 1720s. VOC shares then yielded a return of 3.5 percent, only slightly less than the yield on Dutch government bonds. After 1730,

11400-638: The legend of First Buddhist Council is dated to a period just after the death of the Buddha. It mentions monks gathering at a cave near Rajgiri, and this dates it in pre-Mauryan times. However, the square courtyard with cells architecture of vihara , state Allchin and Erdosy, is dated to the Mauryan period. The earlier monastic residences of Ajivikas, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains were likely outside rock cliffs and made of temporary materials and these have not survived. The earliest known gift of immovable property for monastic purposes ever recorded in an Indian inscription

11520-454: The length of the main hall. These were probably used as some combination of benches or tables for dining, desks for study, and possibly beds. They are often termed "dining-hall" or the " Durbar Hall " at Kanheri, on no good evidence. Cave 11 at the Bedse Caves is a fairly small 1st-century vihara, with nine cells in the interior and originally four around the entrance, and no shrine room. It

11640-451: The level where interlopers were encouraged to enter the market (instead of striving for short-term profit maximisation ). The wisdom of such a policy was illustrated when a fierce price war with the EIC ensued, as that company flooded the market with new supplies from India. In this struggle for market share, the VOC (which had much larger financial resources) could wait out the EIC. Indeed, by 1683,

11760-452: The main administrator of the VOC's activities in Asia, although the Heeren XVII , a body of 17 shareholders representing different chambers, continued to officially have overall control. VOC headquarters were located in Ambon during the tenures of the first three governors-general (1610–1619), but it was not a satisfactory location. Although it was at the centre of the spice production areas, it

11880-428: The monastic life, wandered from place to place. During the rainy season (cf. vassa ) they stayed in temporary shelters. In Buddhist theology relating to rebirth and merit earning, it was considered an act of merit not only to feed a monk but also to shelter him, sumptuous monasteries were created by rich lay devotees. The only substantial remains of very early viharas are in the rock-cut complexes, mostly in north India,

12000-561: The population of Indos in pre-colonial history . Around 1670, two events caused the growth of VOC trade to stall. In the first place, the highly profitable trade with Japan started to decline. The loss of the outpost on Formosa to Koxinga in the 1662 siege of Fort Zeelandia and related internal turmoil in China (where the Ming dynasty was being replaced with the China's Qing dynasty ) brought an end to

12120-408: The remainder reinvested. The long-term average annual profit in the 'Expansion Age' (1680–1730) was 2.0 million guilders, of which three-quarters was distributed as dividend and one-quarter reinvested. In the earlier period, profits averaged 18 percent of total revenues; in the latter period, 10 percent. The annual return of invested capital in the earlier period stood at approximately 6 percent; in

12240-420: The silk trade after 1666. Though the VOC substituted Mughal Bengal 's for Chinese silk, other forces affected the supply of Japanese silver and gold. The shogunate enacted a number of measures to limit the export of these precious metals, in the process limiting VOC opportunities for trade, and severely worsening the terms of trade. Therefore, Japan ceased to function as the linchpin of the intra-Asiatic trade of

12360-414: The spice trade had therefore failed. The company had however already (reluctantly) followed the example of its European competitors in diversifying into other Asian commodities, like tea, coffee, cotton, textiles, and sugar. These commodities provided a lower profit margin and therefore required a larger sales volume to generate the same amount of revenue. This structural change in the commodity composition of

12480-488: The stone. Some have a shrine cell set back at the centre of the back wall, containing a stupa in early examples, or a Buddha statue later. Typical large sites such as the Ajanta Caves , Aurangabad Caves , Karli Caves , and Kanheri Caves contain several viharas. Some included a chaitya or worship hall nearby. The vihara originated as a shelter for monks when it rains. The word means a form of rest house, temple or monastery in ascetic traditions of India, particularly for

12600-632: The supply of pepper caused a sharp rise in pepper prices. In 1580, the Portuguese crown was united in a personal union with the Spanish crown (known as the Iberian Union ), with which the Dutch Republic was at war. The Portuguese Empire thus became an appropriate target for Dutch military incursions. These factors motivated Dutch merchants to enter the intercontinental spice trade themselves. Further,

12720-487: The time made this difficult to discern for the managers of the company, which may partly explain the mistakes they made from hindsight. This lack of information might have been counteracted (as in earlier times in the VOC's history) by the business acumen of the directors. By this time these were almost exclusively recruited from the political regent class, which had long since lost its close relationship with merchant circles. Low profit margins in themselves do not explain

12840-420: The time. The innovation in the case of the VOC was that the liability of not just the participanten but also of the bewindhebbers was limited to the paid-in capital (usually, bewindhebbers had unlimited liability). The VOC therefore was a limited liability company . Also, the capital would be permanent during the lifetime of the company. As a consequence, investors that wished to liquidate their interest in

12960-413: The usual dangers of piracy, disease and shipwreck, but also because the interplay of inelastic demand and relatively elastic supply of spices could make prices tumble, thereby ruining prospects of profitability. To manage such risk, the forming of a cartel to control supply would seem logical. In 1600, the English were the first to adopt this approach by bundling their resources into a monopoly enterprise,

13080-411: The village. Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( Dutch : Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie [vərˈeːnɪɣdə ʔoːstˈɪndisə kɔmpɑˈɲi] ; abbreviated as VOC [veː(j)oːˈseː] ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company , was a chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by

13200-438: The walls of the main hall. Paintings were perhaps more common, but these rarely survive, except in a few cases such as Caves 2, 10, 11 and 17 at the Ajanta Caves . As later rock-cut viharas are often on up to three storeys, this was also probably the case with the structural ones. As the vihara acquired a central image, it came to take over the function of the chaitya worship hall, and eventually these ceased to be built. This

13320-475: The watch tower, the water systems and the artifacts at the Museum of Banten Artifacts. The city of Banten was laid out in accordance with precepts imported from Java rather than mirroring local Sundanese ideas. In 1596, the city housed roughly 100,000 people. It was a walled city. Transport within the city was mainly by water: rivers, canals, and bridges. Artificial reservoir and drainage system provides clean water for

13440-646: Was appointed governor-general of the VOC. He saw the possibility of the VOC becoming an Asian power, both political and economic. On 30 May 1619, Coen, backed by a force of nineteen ships, stormed Jayakarta, driving out the Banten forces; and from the ashes established Batavia as the VOC headquarters. In the 1620s almost the entire native population of the Banda Islands was driven away, starved to death, or killed in an attempt to replace them with Dutch plantations. These plantations were used to grow nutmeg for export. Coen hoped to settle large numbers of Dutch colonists in

13560-505: Was approximately to double the size of the company. The tonnage of the returning ships rose by 125 percent in this period. However, the company's revenues from the sale of goods landed in Europe rose by only 78 percent. This reflects the basic change in the VOC's circumstances that had occurred: it now operated in new markets for goods with an elastic demand, in which it had to compete on an equal footing with other suppliers. This made for low profit margins. The business information systems of

13680-618: Was despite the rock-cut vihara shrine room usually offering no path for circumambulation or pradakshina , an important ritual practice. In early medieval era, Viharas became important institutions and a part of Buddhist Universities with thousands of students, such as Nalanda . Life in "Viharas" was codified early on. It is the object of a part of the Pali canon , the Vinaya Pitaka or "basket of monastic discipline". Shalban Vihara in Bangladesh

13800-448: Was established in Banten , West Java , and in 1611, another was established at Jayakarta (later "Batavia" and then "Jakarta"). In 1610, the VOC established the post of governor-general to more firmly control their affairs in Asia. To advise and control the risk of despotic governors-general, a Council of the Indies ( Raad van Indië ) was created. The governor-general effectively became

13920-430: Was far from the Asian trade routes and other VOC areas of activity ranging from Africa to India to Japan. A location in the west of the archipelago was thus sought. The Straits of Malacca were strategic but became dangerous following the Portuguese conquest, and the first permanent VOC settlement in Banten was controlled by a powerful local ruler and subject to stiff competition from Chinese and English traders. In 1604,

14040-544: Was later renamed Cape of Good Hope in honour of the outpost's presence. Although non-company ships were welcome to use the station, they were charged exorbitantly. This post later became a full-fledged colony, the Cape Colony , when more Dutch and other Europeans started to settle there. Through the seventeenth century VOC trading posts were also established in Persia , Bengal , Malacca , Siam , Formosa (now Taiwan), as well as

14160-478: Was no longer worth the trouble to try to dominate the Malabar pepper and spice trade. A strategic decision was taken to scale down the Dutch military presence and in effect yield the area to EIC influence. In the 1741 Battle of Colachel , warriors of Travancore under Raja Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch. The Dutch commander Captain Eustachius De Lannoy was captured. Marthanda Varma agreed to spare

14280-623: Was renewed several times, but was allowed to expire on 31 December 1799. Most of the possessions of the former VOC were subsequently occupied by Great Britain during the Napoleonic wars , but after the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created by the Congress of Vienna , some of these were restored to this successor state of the Dutch Republic by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . While

14400-670: Was the Vereenigde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde Oostindische Compagnie (abbreviated as the VOC), literally the 'United Dutch Chartered East India Company' (the United East India Company). The company's monogram logo consisted of a large capital 'V' with an O on the left and a C on the right half and was possibly the first globally recognised corporate logo . It appeared on various corporate items, such as cannons and coins. The first letter of

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