structural:expansion
History

Demak Sultanate (1547–1554) Kingdom of Pajang (1568–1587) Mataram Sultanate (1587–1705) Dutch East India Company (1705–1799) Dutch East Indies (1800–1942) Empire of Japan (1942–1945) Dutch East Indies (1945–1949) United States of Indonesia (1949–1950) Indonesia (1950–present)

The history of Semarang goes back to the 9th century, when it was known as Bergota. At the end of the 15th century, an Arab named Ki Ageng Pandan Arang founded a village and an Islamic school in this fishing village. On 2 May 1547, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Pandan Arang as the first bupati (mayor) of Semarang, thus creating Semarang administratively and politically.

In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On 5 October 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out Mataram 's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.

The historic presence of a large Indo (Eurasian) community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called Javindo existed there.