Island in Indonesia
Bangka
??? (
Jawi
)
邦加島 (
Chinese
)
Topography of Bangka island
|
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Location
| Southeast Asia
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Coordinates
| 2°15′S
106°00′E
/
2.250°S 106.000°E
/
-2.250; 106.000
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Area
| 11,831.02 km
2
(4,567.98 sq mi)
|
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Area rank
| 68th
|
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Highest elevation
| 665 m (2182 ft)
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Highest point
| Gunung Bui
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Provinces
| Pangkal Pinang
,
Bangka Regency
,
Central Bangka
,
South Bangka
,
West Bangka
|
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Largest settlement
| Pangkal Pinang
(pop. 227,300)
|
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|
Demonym
| Bangkan
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Population
| 1,191,300 (mid 2023 estimate)
|
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Pop. density
| 100.7/km
2
(260.8/sq mi)
|
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Ethnic groups
| Malay Indonesians
and
Chinese
, mostly
Hakkas
|
---|
Bangka
is an island lying east of
Sumatra
,
Indonesia
. It is administered under the province of the
Bangka Belitung Islands
, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of
Belitung
across the
Gaspar Strait
. The 9th largest island in Indonesia,
[1]
it had a population of 1,146,581 at the 2020 census;
[2]
the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,191,300.
[3]
It is the location of the provincial capital of
Pangkal Pinang
, and is administratively divided into four regencies and a city. The island itself and the surrounding sea suffers considerable
environmental damage
from its thriving
tin mining industry
which operates on- and offshore.
Geography
[
edit
]
Bangka is the largest landmass of the province of the
Bangka Belitung Islands
. It lies just east of
Sumatra
, separated by the
Bangka Strait
; to the north lies the
South China Sea
, to the east, across the
Gaspar Strait
, is the island of
Belitung
, and to the south is the
Java Sea
. It is about 11,831 km
2
in area (including offshore islands). Most of its geography consists of lower plains, swamps, small hills, and beautiful beaches. It has
white pepper
fields, many palm trees and rubber trees, and well-known
tin mines
.
The island's largest city,
Pangkal Pinang
, is also the capital and largest city of the province. The town of
Sungai Liat
is its second-largest settlement.
Mentok
(formerly Muntok) is the principal port in the west. Other important towns are
Toboali
in the southern region;
Koba
, an important tin-mining town, also in the southern part of the island; and
Belinyu
, which is famous for its seafood products. Bangka has four seaports:
Mentok
, in the far west;
Belinyu
, in the far north;
Sadai
, in the far south; and
Pangkal Balam
, in
Pangkal Pinang
, where the government is contemplating the construction of a
nuclear power station
.
[4]
The population was 626,955 in 1990,
[5]
960,692 at the 2010 census and 1,146,581 at the 2020 census;
[6]
the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,191,300. The area is 11,831 square kilometres (4,568 square miles) (including smaller offshore islands).
History
[
edit
]
During the
glacial periods
, Bangka was connected to mainland Asia similarly with the larger islands of
Java
,
Sumatra
, and
Borneo
as part of the
Sunda Shelf
, and got separated once the sea level rose.
The
Kota Kapur inscription
, dated from 686 CE, was found in Bangka in 1920, showed
Srivijayan
influence on the island around the 7th century.
[7]
Later, the island was conquered by an expedition from
Majapahit
, led by
Gajah Mada
, which appointed local rulers and established social structures. As the empire declined, Bangka fell into neglect.
Bangka was recorded as Peng-ka hill (彭加山) in the 1436
Xingcha Shenglan
, compiled by the
Chinese
soldier
Fei Xin
during the
treasure voyages
of Admiral
Zheng He
. Contemporary records show that the area ? close to the busy
Strait of Malacca
and waters of the
Musi River
? had significant presence of Chinese traders.
[8]
Later on, the island was taken over by the
Johor
and
Minangkabau
Sultanates which introduced
Islam
to the island. It continued to pass to the
Banten Sultanate
before it was then inherited by the nearby
Palembang Sultanate
sometime in the late 17th century. Soon after, around 1710, tin was discovered on the island which attracted migrants from across the archipelago and beyond.
[9]
Descendants of the Chinese immigrants, mainly from
Guangdong
, still form a large portion of modern Bangka's inhabitants.
As tin mining developed further, the Palembang Sultanate sent for experts in
Malay Peninsula
and
China
. The
Dutch East India Company
managed to secure a monopolistic tin purchase agreement in 1722, but hostilities began to develop between the Sultan and the Dutch. During the
British invasion of Java in 1811
, then-Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin attacked and massacred the staff of the Dutch post on the island. He was later deposed and executed by the British.
[9]
His successor ceded Bangka to
Britain
in 1812, but in 1814 Britain exchanged it with the
Dutch
for
Cochin
in
India
following the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814
.
Around the late years of the 18th century, Bangka was an important production center of tin in Asia, with annual outputs hovering around 1,250 tons.
[8]
In 1930 Bangka had a population of 205,363.
[10]
Japan occupied the island
from February 1942 to August 1945 during
World War II
. The Japanese military perpetrated the
Bangka Island massacre
against
Australian
nurses and British and Australian servicemen and civilians.
During the
Indonesian National Revolution
, republican leaders
Sukarno
and
Hatta
were exiled in Bangka in the aftermath of
Operation Kraai
. Bangka became part of independent Indonesia in 1949. The island, together with neighboring
Belitung
, was formerly part of
South Sumatra
(Sumatera Selatan) province, but in 2000 the two islands became the new province of Bangka-Belitung. In the recent years, tin mining has declined notedly, although it is still a major part of the island's economy.
Bangka is also home to a number of
communist
Indonesians who have been under house arrest since the 1960s
anti-Communist purge
and are not permitted to leave the island.
[
citation needed
]
Economy
[
edit
]
Tin and environmental issues
[
edit
]
Since circa 1710, Bangka has been one of the world's main
tin-producing
centers. Tin production is a government
monopoly
in Indonesia. There is a tin smelter at
Muntok
.
[5]
Indonesia is the second-largest tin producer and exporter in the world. Indonesia's largest tin production is produced on Bangka Island which makes it a strategic area for Indonesia in terms of world tin trade. But
heavy tin exploitation
caused
environmental damage
and much of the land suffers from
infertility
after being turned into (often
illegal
)
tin mine
. Irresponsible miners let the mine land become trenches filled with water and the surrounding land becomes
arid
with nothing to grow. This is a critical environmental issue.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Other
[
edit
]
White pepper
is also produced on the island.
Demographics
[
edit
]
The majority of the inhabitants are
Malays
and
Chinese
, mostly
Hakkas
. The population is split between those work on the
tin mines
,
palm oil
plantations,
rubber
plantations,
fisherman
and those who work on pepper farms.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Bangka
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Largest Islands of Indonesia"
. Retrieved
4 August
2017
.
- ^
Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
- ^
Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024,
Provinsi Kepulauan Bangka Belitung Dalam Angka 2024
(Katalog-BPS 1102001.19)
- ^
"Indonesian Government Eyeing Bangka Island for 2 Nuclear Power Plants"
.
Jakarta Globe
. 2010
. Retrieved
2013-11-03
.
- ^
a
b
"Bangka." Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2013. Columbia University Press. 01 Nov. 2013.
[1]
- ^
Badan Pusaty Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
- ^
Sujitno, Sutedjo (2011).
Legenda dalam sejarah Bangka
. Jakarta: Cempaka Publishing. p. 281.
OCLC
958845419
.
- ^
a
b
Utomo, Bambang Budi.
"Bangka-Belitung dalam Lintas Niaga"
(PDF)
(in Indonesian). Indonesian Ministry of Education
. Retrieved
4 August
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Abdullah, Husnial Husin (1983).
Sejarah Perjuangan Kemerdekaan R.I. Di Bangka Belitung
. Karya Unipress. p. 393.
- ^
Columbia-Lippincott Gazetter
- ^
Hodal, Kate (2012-11-23).
"Death metal: tin mining in Indonesia"
.
the Guardian
. Retrieved
2023-02-25
.
If you own a mobile, it's probably held together by tin from the Indonesian island of Bangka. Mining is wrecking the environment and every year it claims dozens more lives
- ^
"Illegal mining fuels social conflict in Indonesian tin hub of Bangka-Belitung"
.
Mongabay Environmental News
. 2022-02-24
. Retrieved
2023-02-25
.
Tin mining is the backbone of the Bangka Belitung economy, but has also proven deadly for workers and damaging to coral reefs, mangrove forests and local fisheries.
- ^
Sulista (1 October 2019).
"Net Social Impact of Illegal Unconventional Onshore Tin Mining in South Bangka, Bangka Island"
.
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
.
353
(1): 012026.
Bibcode
:
2019E&ES..353a2026S
.
doi
:
10.1088/1755-1315/353/1/012026
.
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Antarctica and the South Atlantic
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- 23. Since 2009 part of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
; Ascension Island (1922?) and Tristan da Cunha (1938?) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
- 24. Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the
Antarctic Treaty
.
- 25. Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1985
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