"Bencoolen" and "Benkoelen" redirect here. For the city, seeBengkulu (city). For other uses of "Benkulu", "Bencoolen" or "Benkoelen", seeBengkulu (disambiguation).
Bengkulu (Indonesian pronunciation:[bəŋˈkulu]), historically known asBencoolen, is aprovince ofIndonesia. It is located on the southwest coast ofSumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historicBencoolen Residency from the province ofSouth Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was finalized by Government Regulation No. 20 of 1968. Spread over 20,130.21 km2, its area is comparable to the European country ofSlovenia and it is bordered by the provinces ofWest Sumatra to the north,Jambi to the northeast,Lampung to the southeast, andSouth Sumatra to the east, and by theIndian Ocean to the northwest, south, southwest, and west.
Bengkulu is the 28th largest province by area; it is divided into nine regencies and the city ofBengkulu, the capital and the only independent city. Bengkulu is also the 26th largest province by population in Indonesia, with 1,715,518 inhabitants at the 2010 Census[4] and 2,010,670 at the 2020 Census;[5] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 2,086,006 (comprising 1,065,992 males and 1,020,014 females).[1] According to a release byBadan Pusat Statistik, it has the eleventh highest Human Development Index among the provinces, with a score of about 0.744 in 2013. By 2014, the province is positioned 28th highest ingross domestic product and 20th highest in life expectancy, 70.35 years.
Bengkulu also includes offshore Mega Island andEnggano Island in the Indian Ocean. Bengkulu has 525 kilometres of coastline along the Indian Ocean on its western side, from Dusun Baru Pelokan in Mukomuko Regency to Tebing Nasal in Kaur Regency. Bengkulu has many natural resources such as coal and gold, and has big and potential geothermal resources.[6][7] However, it is less developed than other provinces in Sumatra.
Traditional sources suggest that the name Bengkulu or Bangkahulu derived from the wordbangkai andhulu which means 'carcasses located in a stream'. According to the story, there was once a war between small kingdoms in Bengkulu, resulting in many casualties from both sides in the streams of Bengkulu. These casualties soon rotted as they were not buried, lying in river streams. This etymology is similar to the story of a war between theMajapahit Empire and thePagaruyung Kingdom in Padang Sibusuk, an area once ruled by theDharmasraya empire, which also derives the name Padang Sibusuk from casualties rotting on the battlefield. During the European colonial era, the region was known asBencoolen orBritish Bencoolen.[8][9]
European women dressed in sarongs in front ofFort Marlborough (early 20th century)
The region was subject to the Buddhist Srivijaya empire in the 8th century. The Shailendra Kingdom and Singosari Kingdom succeeded the Srivijaya but it is unclear whether they spread their influence over Bengkulu. The Majapahit also had little influence over Bengkulu.[10] There were only few smalls 'kedatuan' based on ethnicity such as in Sungai Serut, Selebar, Pat Petulai, Balai Buntar, Sungai Lemau, Sekiris, Gedung Agung and Marau Riang. It became a vassal region of the Banten Sultanate (from Western Java) in the early 15th century[10] and since the 17th century was ruled by Minangkabau's Inderapura Sultanate (today's in Pesisir Selatan, West Sumatra Province).
The first European visitors to the area were the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in 1596. The BritishEast India Company established apepper-trading center and garrison at Bengkulu (Bencoolen) in 1685.[11] In 1714 theBritish builtFort Marlborough, which still stands. The trading post was never profitable for the British, being hampered by a location which Europeans found unpleasant, and by an inability to find sufficient pepper to buy.[citation needed] It became an occasionalport of call for the EIC'sEast Indiamen.
In 1785, the area was integrated intoBritish Empire asBencoolen, while the rest of Sumatra and most of theIndonesian archipelago was part of theDutch East Indies.Sir Stamford Raffles was stationed asLieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen (the colony was subordinate at the time to theBengal Presidency) from 1818 to 1824, enacting a number of reforms including the abolition of slavery, and the British presence left a number of monuments and forts in the area. Despite the difficulties of keeping control of the area while Dutch colonial power dominated the rest of Sumatra, the British persisted, maintaining their presence for roughly 140 years before ceding Bengkulu to theDutch as part of theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange forMalacca.[12] Bengkulu then remained part of theDutch East Indies until theJapanese occupation in World War 2.
Sukarno's exile house in Bengkulu
During the early 1930s,Sukarno, the future first president of Indonesia, was imprisoned by the Dutch and briefly resided in Bengkulu,[13] where he met his wife,Fatmawati. The couple had several children, includingMegawati Sukarnoputri, who later became Indonesia's first female President.
After independence, Bengkulu was initially part of the 'South Sumatra' Province, which also includedLampung, theBangka-Belitung Islands, and what is now South Sumatra itself, as a Residency. In 1968, Bengkulu gained provincial status, becoming the 26th province of Indonesia, precedingEast Timor.
Swordsmen atBenkoelen (Circa 1916–1919).
Bengkulu lies near the Sunda Fault and is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. The June2000 Enggano earthquake killed at least 100 people. A recent report predicts that Bengkulu is "at risk of inundation over the next few decades from undersea earthquakes predicted along the coast of Sumatra"[14]A series of earthquakes struck Bengkulu during September 2007, killing 13 people.[15]
The western part of Bengkulu province, bordering the Indian Ocean coast, is about 576 km along, and the eastern part of the condition is hilly with a plateau that is prone to erosion. Bengkulu Province is on the west side of the Bukit Barisan mountains. The province's area is about 20,130.21 square kilometres,or slightly smaller than theEuropean country,Slovenia.The province extends from the border province of West Sumatra to the border province of Lampung; the distance is about 567 kilometres. Bengkulu Province lies between 2° 16' S and 03° 31' S latitude and 101° 01'-103° 41'E longitude.[16] Bengkulu province in the north borders the province of West Sumatra, in the southern the Indian Ocean and Lampung province, in the west it borders the Indian Ocean and in the east the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra. Bengkulu province is also bordered by the Indian Ocean coastline of approximately 525 kilometres to the west. Its western part is hilly with fertile plateaus, while the western part is lowland relatively narrow, elongated from north to south and punctuated bumpy areas.
Bengkulu's climate is classified as tropical. Bengkulu has a large amount of rainfall throughout the year, even in the driest month. The climate here is classified as Af by the Köppen-Geiger system. The annual average temperature is 26.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 3360 mm.
The total area of Bengkulu province is 20,130.21 km2. For administrative purposes, the province is divided into nine regencies and one city, together sub-divided into 93 districts.[17]
The 2010 census reported a population of 1,715,518[4] including 875,663 males and 837,730 females;[19] by the 2020 Census this had risen to 2,010,670,[5] and the official estimate for mid 2023 was 2,086,006.[1]
Bengkulu is home to various indigenous ethnic groups. TheRejangs form the majority of the province with 60,4% of the population. The second largest ethnic group is theJavanese forming around 24%. Other minority indigenous ethnic groups includesLembak,Serawai,Pekal,Enggano,Pasemah,Minangkabau andBengkulu Malays. There is also non-indigenous ethnic groups that mostly came from other parts of Indonesia such asSundanese, Javanese,Acehnese,Madurese,Batak,Chinese and others.
The 2022 data of Ministry of Religious Affairs found 97.69% of the population as adherents toIslam and 2% asChristian. The remainder includesHindus (0.20%) who are mostlyBalinese migrants,Buddhists (0.1%), and "other" including traditional beliefs (0.004%).[20]
Like the rest of Indonesia,Indonesian is the official language for formal occasions, institutions, and government affairs while local languages are widely used in daily life.
Engganese is classified as a highly divergent branch ofMalayo-Polynesian, however, this is still debated.[citation needed][who?]. A less-studied language isNasal language, which may be related to Rejang or form its own branch of Malayo-Polynesian. Non-indigenous ethnic groups also speak their own language/dialects.
When it was formed in 1967 from the western parts of South Sumatra province, Bengkulu Province consisted of threeregencies -Bengkulu Selatan,Bengkulu Utara andRejang Lebong - together with the independent city of Bengkulu, which lies outside any regency. Five additional regencies were established on 25 February 2003 -Kaur Regency andSeluma Regency from parts of Bengkulu Selatan,Kepahiang Regency andLebong Regency from parts of Rejand Lrbong Regency, andMukomuko Regency from part of Bengkulu Utara. A ninth regency (Bengkulu Tengah) was formed on 24 June 2008 from another part of Bengkulu Utara. The regencies and city are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010[4] and 2020[5] Censuses, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023 (rounded to the nearest 100 persons).[1]
Note: (a) includesEnggano Island and neighbouring small islands in the Indian Ocean.
The province forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to thePeople's Representative Council. TheBengkulu Electoral District consists of all of the 9 regencies in the province, together with the city of Bengkulu, and elects 4 members to the People's Representative Council.[22]
Three active coal mining companies produce between 200,000 and 400,000tons ofcoal per year, which is exported to Malaysia, Singapore, South Asia, and East Asia.[citation needed] Fishing, particularly tuna and mackerel, is an important activity.[citation needed] Agricultural products exported by the province include ginger, bamboo shoots, and rubber.[citation needed]
^Law No. 7/2017 (UU No. 7 Tahun 2017) as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1/2022 and Regulation of General Elections Commission No. 6/2023.
