BANTAM, a decayed town of Java, formerly capital of a district of the same name, at the north-western extremity of the island, situated on the Bay of Bantam, near the mouth of a river which falls into the bay. It was once a large, rich, and flourishing city, but is now mostly in ruins. It is about 61 miles W. of Batavia, and is situated on a low, swampy beach, surrounded by jungle, and intersected by stagnant streams, so that its climate is even more unhealthy than that of Batavia was in the last century. Prior to the Dutch conquest Bantam was a* powerful Mahometan state, whose sovereign extended his conquests in the neighbouring islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In 1595 the Dutch, under Houtmann, expelled the Portuguese, and formed their first settlement. An English factory was established in 1603, and continued to exist till the massacre of the agents in 1677. In 1683 the Dutch reduced the sultan to vassalage, built the fort of Spielwyk, and monopolized the port, which had previously been free to all comers; and for more than a century afterwards Bantam was one of the most important seats of commerce in the East Indies. In 1811 after Batavia had surrendered to the British, Bantam soon followed; but it was restored to the Dutch in 1814. Two years later, however, they removed their chief settlement to the more elevated station of Serang, or Ceram, seven miles inland, and in 1817 the ruin of Bantam was hastened by an extensive conflagration. The Bay of Bantam was formerly a commodious retreat for vessels; but it is now so choked up with daily accessions of soil washed down from the mountains, as well as by coral shoals extending a considerable way to the eastward, that it is inaccessible to vessels of any considerable burden. Long. 106° 3' E., lat. 6° 4' S.