On this day, British forces comprising mainly Indian sepoys, mostly from Bengal, invaded Java to stop Napoleon from expanding further.
In 1810 Governor-General of Bengal Lord Minto had planned the British invasion of Java, which was at that time under Franco-Dutch control.
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On August 4, 1811, the British forces landed at Cilincing in Java. On August 8, the city of Batavia fell.
The British conquered the entire island of Java in six weeks.
A proclamation in Malay announcing the capture of Batavia, the capital of Dutch East Indies, which corresponds to the area of Jakarta, is dated August 11, 1811.
