Solo
(1999 est. pop. 590,000). Solo (Surakarta in Indonesian; Soerakarta in Dutch) is a city on the Solo River in Central Java Province, Java, Indonesia. An important historical and cultural center in Indonesia, Solo was the capital of the powerful Surakarta principality under the Dutch, which in the eighteenth century controlled a significant part of Java.
The area of Central Java was one of the most significant political and cultural centers in the history of Javanese civilization. The history of Solo began when Sunan Paku Buwana II, the king of Mataram, gave orders that a location be found to set up a new capital city of the Mataram kingdom. In 1746, a village on the Solo River was chosen for development. The power of Mataram, however, was weakened by internal political instability and rivalry between traditional rulers. Under the Giyanti Treaty, on 13 February 1755, the Mataram kingdom was divided into two parts, Surakarta and Yogyakarta. The Dutch East India Company established control over both principalities. When in 1949 Indonesia won its independence from the Dutch, the Surakarta principality was incorporated into Central Java Province. It became a commercial center for this region, relying on agriculture and small-scale manufacturing—of goods such as batik cloth, fine metal products, woodcarvings, and traditional musical instruments—as well as tourism.
Further Reading
Florida, Nancy. (2000) Javanese Literature in Surakarta Manuscripts. 2 vols. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University.
Van Groenendael, Victoria M. Clara. (1985) The Dalang behind the Wayang: The Role of the Surakarta and the Yogyakarta Dalang in Indonesian-Javanese Society. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Floris.
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