JAKARTA: Portraits of a Capital 1950-1980 shows the evolution of Jakarta during the first three decades after Indonesian independence had been achieved in 1945 and after national sovereignty had finally been recognised by the Netherlands in 1949.  It reveals the capital city of a newly independent nation throwing off its colonial inheritance to build a bold new capital that for President Sukarno would not only unite his people and his country, but would also be a ‘beacon’ for developing nations around the world.  The period 1950-1980 gave Jakarta many of its most famous and iconic landmarks including the National Monument (MONAS), Hotel Indonesia, Gelora Bung Karno (the Senayan sports complex), the Istiqlal Mosque, the Semanggi cloverleaf bridge, the Sarinah department store, the Bank Indonesia headquarters as well as Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Jendral Sudirman.

This book is the continuation of Scott Merrillees’ first two books that trace the development of Jakarta from the middle of the nineteenth century: BATAVIA in Nineteenth Century Photographs and Greetings from JAKARTA: Postcards of a Capital 1900-1950. Together, the three books give readers a fascinating picture of how one of Asia’s great cities has evolved from much humbler origins.