Notes on Conference Tracing Banten in South Africa

Abstract

Banten was a cosmopolitan city as many studies suggest. Merchants from the Netherlands, England, France, and Arabia came to and resided in Banten to trade with the sultans of Banten. The Bantenese also went abroad to many places in Southeast Asia and other places. One of the many reasons why the Bantenese lived in foreign lands was due to the banishment policy of the Dutch. They, among other things, were exiled to Ceylon and South Africa. Nowadays, despite the long history, a number of Bantenese who live in foreign lands still have a strong desire to trace their identities to their ancestors.