Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia. Located in East Java Province and is the capital of the province. Surabaya has a city area of ±335.28 km2, is about 800 km from the national capital Jakarta to the east.
For Indonesia, Surabaya is an important city with high heroic value. Surabaya has real memories of the devastating war of independence, which is the reason for setting November 10 as National Hero's Day. Yes, in Surabaya on November 10, 1945, all the people of Surabaya united against the coming of the Allied troops represented by the British who were backed by the Dutch as colonialists. Regardless of their lives, people flocked from all over to help them fight to defend the newly independent nation in Surabaya. So for us, Surabaya is a city of heroes.
Etymology
Where did the name Surabaya come from? Surabaya comes from a combination of the words Sura and Baya, Sura is the same as a shark, and Baya is a crocodile in Javanese language. It is said that once upon a time in the past, there was a fight between a shark and a giant crocodile at the mouth of Kali Mas which flows around Surabaya. The battle lasted for days until both of them died. This location was later named Surabaya, and then developed into a big city with a population of around 10 million people today!
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| The Icon of Surabaya City |
Historical evidence shows that Surabaya existed long before the colonial era, as stated in the Trowulan I inscription, numbered 1358 AD. In this inscription it is revealed that Surabaya (Śūrabhaya) is still a village on the banks of the Brantas river and also one of the important crossing points throughout the area. the Brantas river. Surabaya is also listed in the poetry of Kakawin Nagarakretagama written by Empu Prapañca which tells about the voyage of King Hayam Wuruk in 1365 AD in stanza XVII (5th stanza, last line).
Although the oldest written evidence mentions the name Surabaya as 1358 AD (Trowulan Inscription) and 1365 AD (Nagarakretagama), experts suspect that the Surabaya area existed before those years. According to the opinion of the German humanist from Surabaya, Von Faber, the Surabaya area was founded in 1275 AD by King Kertanegara as a new settlement for his soldiers who succeeded in quelling the Kemuruhan rebellion in 1270 AD. Another opinion says that Surabaya used to be an area called Ujung Galuh ( Jung-Ya-Lu according to Chinese records).
Another version says that Surabaya originates from a story about a life-and-death fight between Adipati Jayengrono and Sawunggaling. That said, after defeating the Empire's army
The Mongolian envoy of Kublai Khan, known as the Tartar army, Raden Wijaya founded a palace in the Ujung Galuh area and placed Adipati Jayengrono to lead the area. Over time, because he mastered the science of crocodiles, Jayengrono became stronger and more independent, thus threatening the sovereignty of the Majapahit Kingdom. To conquer Jayengrono, Sawunggaling was sent who mastered the science of sura.
The magic battle was carried out on the edge of Kali Mas, in the Peneleh area. The fight lasted for seven days and seven nights and ended tragically, as both of them died after losing their strength.
The name Śūrabhaya itself was confirmed as the official name in the 14th century by the ruler of Ujung Galuh, Arya Lêmbu Sora.
Precolonial era
The Surabaya area used to be the main gate to enter the capital city of the Majapahit Kingdom from the sea, namely at the mouth of Kali Mas. In fact, the anniversary of the city of Surabaya was set on May 31, 1293. That day was actually the day of victory for the Majapahit troops led by Raden Wijaya against the attack by the Mongol troops. The Mongolian troops coming from the sea are described as SURA (shark / brave) and Raden Wijaya's troops coming from the land are described as BAYA (crocodiles / danger), so literally it means brave in the face of threatening danger. So the day of victory is commemorated as the anniversary of Surabaya.
In the 15th century, Islam began to spread rapidly in the Surabaya area. One member of the Wali Sanga, Sunan Ampel, founded a mosque and Islamic boarding school in the Ampel area. In 1530, Surabaya became part of the Kingdom of Demak.
Following the fall of Demak, Surabaya became the target of the conquest of the Mataram Sultanate, was invaded by Panembahan Senapati (King of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom) in 1598, was heavily attacked by Panembahan Seda ing Krapyak in 1610, and was attacked by Sultan Agung in 1614. Blocking of the Brantas River by.
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| Jalesveva Jayamahe Statue |
In 1675, Raden Trunajaya from Madura captured Surabaya, but was finally expelled by the VOC in 1677.
In the agreement between Pakubuwono II and the VOC on 11 November 1743, Surabaya was handed over to the VOC. The Surabaya Residency government center building is at the west mouth of Jembatan Merah. It was this bridge that bordered the settlements of the Europeans (Europeesche Wijk) at that time, which were to the west of the bridge with the settlements of the Chinese; Malay; Arab; and so on (Vremde Oosterlingen), which is to the east of the bridge. Until the 1900s, the city center of Surabaya was only around the Jembatan Merah (Red Bridge).
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| Jembatan Merah (Red Bridge) |
During the Dutch East Indies era, Surabaya had the status of the capital of the Surabaya Residency, whose territory also included the area that is now the Gresik Regency; Sidoarjo; Mojokerto; and Jombang. In 1905, Surabaya received the status of a municipality (gemeente). In 1926, Surabaya was designated as the capital of the province of East Java. Since then Surabaya has developed into the second largest modern city in the Dutch East Indies after Batavia.
Before 1900, the city center of Surabaya was only around the Red Bridge. In 1910, modern port facilities were built in Surabaya, which is now known as the Port of Tanjung Perak. Until the 1920s, new settlements grew, such as the Darmo area; Gubeng; Pesawahan; and Ketabang.
On February 3, 1942, Japan dropped a bomb on Surabaya. In March 1942, Japan succeeded in capturing Surabaya. Surabaya then became the target of Allied air attacks on May 17, 1944.
The Era of the Struggle for Independence
After World War II ended, on October 25, 1945, 6,000 troops British-Indian namely Brigade 49, Division 23 led by Brigadier General Aulbertin Walter Sothern Mallaby landed in Surabaya with the main order to disarm the Japanese army, Indonesian soldiers and militia. They were also tasked with taking care of former prisoners of war and repatriating Japanese troops. The Japanese troops surrendered all their weapons, but the militia and over 20,000 Indonesian troops refused.
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| Tugu Pahlawan (Heroic Monument) |
On October 27, 1945, at 11:00 am, a British Air Force Dakota plane from Jakarta dropped leaflets over Surabaya ordering all Indonesian soldiers and militia to surrender their weapons. Indonesian army and militia leaders became angry when they read this leaflet and thought that Brigadier General Mallaby had not kept the agreement signed the day before. On 28 October 1945, Indonesian troops and militia attacked British troops in Surabaya. To avoid defeat in Surabaya, Brigadier General Mallaby asked Indonesian President Soekarno and the commander of the British 23rd Division, Major General Douglas Cyril Hawthorn to go to Surabaya and work for peace.
October 29, 1945, President Soekarno; Vice President Mohammad Hatta; and Minister of Information Amir Syarifuddin together with Major General Hawthorn went to Surabaya for negotiations.
At noon, 30 October 1945, an agreement was reached which was signed by President Soekarno and the Commander of the 23rd Division Major General Hawthorn. The contents of the agreement were to hold a shooting stop and the British troops would withdraw from Surabaya as soon as possible. Major General Hawthorn and the Indonesian leaders left Surabaya and returned to Jakarta.
On the afternoon of 30 October 1945, Brigadier General Mallaby toured various British troops' posts in Surabaya to notify him of the agreement. As they approached the British troop post at the Internatio building, near the Red Bridge, Brigadier General Mallaby's car was surrounded by militia who had previously surrounded the Internatio building.
Thinking that their commander was about to be attacked by the militia, British troops from Company D, led by Major Venu K. Gopal, opened fire in the air to disperse the militia. The militia thought they were being attacked/ fired on by British soldiers from inside the Internatio building and fired back. A British officer, Captain R.C. Smith threw a grenade at the Indonesian militia, but missed and landed on Brigadier General Mallaby's car. Grenade exploded and burned cars. As a result, Brigadier General Mallaby and his driver were killed.
The initial report provided by the British troops in Surabaya to the British troops headquarters in Jakarta stated that Brigadier General Mallaby was shot dead by Indonesian militia.
Lt. Gen. Philip Christison was furious to hear the news of Brigadier General Mallaby's death and deployed 24,000 additional troops to control Surabaya.
November 9, 1945, the British issued an ultimatum so that all weapons from the Indonesian army and militia were immediately handed over to the British army, but this ultimatum was ignored.
November 10, 1945, the British started bombing Surabaya, and the fierce war continued for 10 days. Indonesian troops shot down two British planes and one of the passengers, Brigadier General Robert Guy Loder-Symonds, was seriously injured and died the next day.
November 20, 1945, the British succeeded in controlling Surabaya with thousands of soldiers killed. More than 20,000 Indonesian troops, militia, and residents of Surabaya were killed. The whole city of Surabaya was destroyed.
This battle was one of the bloodiest battles that British troops experienced in the 1940s. this battle shows the seriousness of the Indonesian people to defend independence and expel invaders.
Due to the fierceness of the battle and the large number of casualties, after this battle, the number of British troops in Indonesia began to be gradually reduced and replaced by Dutch troops. The battle on November 10, 1945, is still remembered and commemorated as Heroes' Day.
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| Suramadu Bridge |
The city, whose main road used to be almost shaped like a ribbon from the Wonokromo bridge in the south to the Red Bridge in the north for about 13 km, at the end of the 1980s began to change completely. Population growth and rapid urbanization forced Surabaya to develop towards the East and West as it is now.
The increase in motorized vehicles, the growth of new industries and the proliferation of housing being worked on by real estate companies that occupy the suburbs have resulted not only in the occurrence of traffic jams in the city center but also in the suburbs. Surabaya has grown far from being a relatively small and slum city in the late 19th century, to a metropolitan city in the late 20th century and in the 21st century to become one of the fastest-growing metropolises in Southeast Asia. The city which in the 20th and early 21st centuries was considered hot and dirty has also succeeded in turning into one of the most organized metropolitan cities in Indonesia with the cleanest air quality.
The most phenomenal mayor of this city so far is Mrs. Tri Rismaharini, she served from 17 February 2016 – 23 December 2020, brought many innovations and made this city becoming a more enjoyable city.
