Leiden University Libraries Digital Collections

The archival deposits contain the administrative documents of the Chinese Council (the Kong Koan, 吧城公館) of Batavia (Jakarta). The Chinese Council of Batavia arose as a representative body of Chinese autonomy under Dutch authority in the second half of the seventeenth century. This council was responsible for handling minor criminal and civil lawsuits among the Chinese citizens, registration of marriages between Chinese subjects, and management of the Chinese cemeteries, schools and temples.