Banjarmasin or
Bandjarmasin
[key], city, capital of Kalimantan Seletan prov., S Borneo (Kalimantan),
Indonesia, on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura
rivers. An important deepwater port, it is the trade center of the rich
Barito basin; exports include rubber, pepper, timber, oil, coal, gold, and
diamonds. There is a large oil refinery, and coal mines and sawmills are in
the vicinity. In the 14th cent. Banjarmasin was part of the Hindu kingdom of
Madjapahit, but it passed to Muslim rulers in the late 15th cent. The Dutch
opened trade there in 1606. The British controlled the city for several
brief periods, and in 1787 it became a Dutch protectorate. There is much
flooding, and many of the inhabitants live on raftlike dwellings. A state
university is in the town.
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