Kupang - History

History

Kupang was an important port and trading point during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial eras. There are ruins and remnant signs of the colonial presence in the city.

Representatives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) approached Kupang in 1613 after having conquered the Portuguese fort on Solor. At this time the place and its hinterland was governed by a raja of the Helong tribe which claimed descent from Ceram in Maluku. Kupang was well situated for strategic control over parts of Timor, since it was possible to monitor shipping activities to the south coast of the island. Moreover, the Koinino River provided fresh water for the inhabitants. A VOC-Helong agreement was made, but due to the lack of VOC commitment on Timor, Kupang was later influenced by the Portuguese mestizo population of Flores, the Topasses. A Portuguese stronghold was established by the 1640s. However, the VOC was firmly established on Solor in 1646, and renewed contacts with the local raja. In January 1653 a Dutch fortification, Fort Concordia, was built on a height to the left of the river estuary. Kupang became the base of the Dutch struggle against the Portuguese. After a series of Dutch defeats in 1655, 1656 and 1657, large refugee groups from the VOC allies Sonbai and Amabi settled in the vicinity of Kupang in 1658 and formed small kingdoms on land that traditionally belonged to the Helong. They were followed by two other groups, Amfoan (1683) and Taebenu (1688). The Helong raja remained the "lord of the land" (tuan tanah) but was closely dependent on the VOC authorities. Apart from the old Helong territory, Timor was largely dominated by the Portuguese up to 1749.

The Dutch set up a European administration with a chief executive (opperhoofd) and a council. Affairs with the indigenous populations were regulated through regular meetings (vergaderingen). The Kupang administration handled affairs with the VOC-allied islands Rote, Savu and Solor. Chinese traders and artisans settled by the early 18th century and soon became indispensable for the economic life. The town area was also settled by various indigenous groups from the region, and by mardijkers who were non-whites under Dutch jurisdiction. In 1752 the population was 827 Christians and an unspecified number of non-Christians. The political importance of Kupang on a Timor-wide level increased greatly in 1749 when the Topasses were decisively defeated by the Dutch and their allies, which led to the extension of VOC influence over wide areas of western and central Timor. Nevertheless, some of this influence contracted after 1761 due to incompetence and inaction on the part of the colonial administration.

Kupang was the final destination of William Bligh who was set adrift in an open boat during the Mutiny on the Bounty (1789). The Mutiny on the Bounty took place about 30 nautical miles (56 km) from Tofua. Lt William Bligh navigated the overcrowded 23 foot (7 m) open launch on an epic 41-day voyage first to Tofua and then to the West Timor city of Kupang equipped only with a sextant and a pocket watch— no charts or compass. He recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles (6710 km). He passed through the difficult Torres Strait along the way and landed on 14 June. The only casualty of his voyage was a crewman named John Norton who was stoned to death by the natives of Tofua, the first island they tried to land on. News of the journey of Captain Bligh inspired the escape of a party of convicts from the penal colony at Sydney Cove, Australia. A group of nine convicts and two children, led by William Bryant, stole a small uncovered government boat and escaped from Port Jackson, Australia. Ten weeks later, they arrived at Kupang, having covered 3,254 nautical miles (6,026 km).

As a consequence of the occupation of the Netherlands at the hands of the French revolutionary armies in 1795, the VOC possessions in East India were attacked by British forces. Kupang was assaulted in 1797. The British were eventually expelled although the town was reduced to rubble. A new British attack was likewise defeated in 1811. After the British occupation of Java, Kupang finally surrendered in January 1812. The British returned the town to the Dutch in 1816. The political strongman in the early 19th century was Jacobus Arnoldus Hazaart who governed Dutch Timor as Resident in 1810-12, 1814–18 and 1819–32 and handled matters without much interference from the colonial government in Batavia. During his time the Christian mission made a deeper impact through the efforts of the missionary Reint LeBruyn (1799-1829). The town was opened to foreign trade in 1825 and fees were abolished three years later. Kupang was often visited by whalers from Britain and North America. However, the relocation of whale hunting areas made Kupang a less lively place in the late 19th century, although it was a free port after 1866. The five small kingdoms that surrounded the town area (the Helong kingdom of Kupang, Sonbai Kecil, Amabi, Taebenu and Funai) were merged into the zelfbesturend landschap (self-ruling territory) Kupang in 1917, but in spite of the name it did not include the town itself. From 1918 to 1955 it was governed by the Nisnoni family, a branch of the Sonbai Dynasty.

In the early twentieth century, the city was used for landing and refueling by long distance airplane flights between Europe and Australia. It was occupied by the Japanese in 1942-1945, and much of the old town was destroyed by allied bombing. During the time of the Indonesian revolution 1945-1949 there was nationalist agitation in Kupang, but no actual fighting. Kupang was part of the colonial pseudo-state East Indonesia that was set up by the Dutch, and the town area was included in the zelfbesturend landschap Kupang. The latter was phased out after the achievement of independence. Kupang was an important location during the conflict in East Timor, for the Indonesian military, as well as the militias. The camps around Kupang were also of significant impact on the city. In 1967, the city was made the seat of the Diocese of Kupang. In 1989 the diocese was elevated to become the Archdiocese of Kupang.