Fort

Batavia, battery (Banda)

The Battery Batavia was one of the new defensive structures built hastily at the end of the eighteenth century to protect Banda from British invasion. The task of these batteries was to fire at approaching ships and prevent a landing ; they were not all-round defensible buildings like the larger forts. Batavia and the similar battery Sibergsburg were built on Gunung Api to cover the Lonthor strait between Lonthor and Gunung Api. Ultimately, these batteries did not much help the Dutch : when the British invaded in 1796, Banda quickly surrendered. In 1803, Banda was returned to the Dutch under the articles of the Treaty of Amiens. In 1810, when the conflict had resumed, the defenses once again quickly fell to the British.
Even in 1803, when the British had handed Banda back to the Dutch in 1803, the batteries were already in disrepair, and the battery quickly turned into a ruin. At present, there are some remnants present, but the basic shape of the battery could not be identified.

Images

Sources and literature

Wall, V.I. van de, De Nederlandsche oudheden in de Molukken (1928)

Pusat Dokumentasi Arsitektur, Inventory and identification of forts in Indonesia (2010)