West Java (Indonesian: Jawa Barat), with population around 35.72 million, is the most populous province of Indonesia, located on Java Island. Its capital city is Bandung. In the sixteenth century, the Dutch and the British trading companies established their trading ships in West Java after the fall down of the Sultanate of Banten.  For the next three hundred years, West Java fell under the Dutch East Indies’ administration.
The history of West Java is a story of trade, spices, and the rise and fall of powerful kingdoms. In the late 1500's

the region was ruled from mighty Cirebon, which still survives as a sultanate today, although a shadow of its former glory. West Java was one of the first contact points in Indonesia for Indian traders and their cultural influences, and it was here that the Dutch and British first set foot in the archipelago.