Sunday, February 25, 2018, Cruising the Java Sea

-

The Java Sea is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf.  Interestingly the depth is a mere 70-80 feet on our route.  It lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east.  Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South China Sea.

Traversed by merchant ships from the Dutch East India Company throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the waters of the Java Sea witnessed one of the most economically successful trade relationships in history.  The cargo holds of Dutch ships carried countless crates of spices from these shores back to The Netherlands, bolstering a nation's wealth and contributing to the famed Dutch Golden Age.  

More recently, the Allied naval forces of World War II defended Java from a Japanese attack in these waters.  The Battle of the Java Sea from February to March 1942, was one of the costliest naval battles of World War II. The naval forces of the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, and the United States were nearly destroyed trying to defend Java from Japanese attack.  

Spread throughout the Java Sea and beyond, today's nation of Indonesia encompasses more than 13,000 islands, a vast archipelago of lush beauty.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 6 - Meteora, Greece

-
Image
  The  Meteora ,   pronounced   [meˈteora]  is a   rock formation   in the regional unit of   Trikala , in   Thessaly ,   Greece , hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of   Eastern Orthodox   monasteries , second in importance only to   Mount Athos .   The six (of an original twenty-four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the twenty-four monasteries were established atop the rocks.   Meteora is located near the town of   Kalabaka   at the northwestern edge of the   Plain of Thessaly   near the   Pineios   river and   Pindus Mountains . Meteora was added to the  UNESCO   World Heritage List  in 1988 because of the outstanding architecture and beauty of the complex, in addition to its religious and artistic significance. The n...
Read more

Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 75 Mar 24, 2024,Colono, Shri Lanka, Colombo City by Tuk-Tuk

-
Image
We docked overnight at Colombo Sri Lanka ,  historically known as  Ceylon  and officially the  Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an  island country  in  South Asia . It lies in the  Indian Ocean , southwest of the  Bay of Bengal , separated from the  Indian peninsula  by the  Gulf of Mannar  and the  Palk Strait . It shares a  maritime border  with the  Maldives  in the southwest and  India  in the northwest. Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. The  Sinhalese  people form the majority of the population, followed by the  Sri Lankan Tamils , who are the largest minority group and are concentrated in northern Sri Lanka; both groups have played an influential role in the island's history. Other long-established groups include the  Moors ,  Indian Tamils ,  Burghers ,  M...
Read more

Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 39 Feb 17, 2024, Sydney, AU, Sydney Panorama

-
Image
  Sydney  is the capital city of the  state  of  New South Wales , and the most populous city in  Australia . Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds  Sydney Harbor  and extends about 50 miles from the  Pacific Ocean  in the east to the  Blue Mountains  in the west, and about 50 miles from the  Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park  and the  Hawkesbury River  in the north and north-west, to the  Royal National Park  and  Macarthur  in the south and south-west. Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as "Sydneysiders." The estimated population in June 2022 was 5,297,089; the city is home to approximately 66% of the  state's  population. The city's nicknames include the "Emerald City" and the "Harbor City." Aboriginal Australians  have inhabited the Greater ...
Read more