Souw Beng Kong

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Souw Beng Kong (蘇鳴崗), also known as Bencon, was the first Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia, the top Chinese official in the Dutch colonial administration. He served from 1619 to 1636. Born about 1580 in Tong’an, Fujian, he became a prominent merchant in Banten on Java’s north coast and was made Kapitan Cina there by the Sultan of Banten, though he sided with the Dutch in their conflict with the Sultan.

He built a strong tie with Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the Dutch Governor-General. When Coen moved the Dutch headquarters to Jayakarta (Batavia), Souw followed and helped settle about 170 Chinese families in the new capital. As Kapitein der Chinezen, he had legal and political authority over Batavia’s Chinese community, part of the Dutch system of indirect rule. He also minted coins, taxed gambling, and developed trade links, including with Dutch Formosa (Taiwan). He reportedly had two Balinese wives and two sons.

Souw resigned in 1636 after 17 years in office and died in 1644 in Batavia. His Ming loyalty is shown on his tomb, located in Mangga Dua Selatan, Central Jakarta, one of the oldest colonial-era sites there. The tomb has been restored several times, most recently in 2006–2008 by MATAKIN and Trisakti University, after earlier work and a commemorative plaque added during the era of Majoor Khouw Kim An.