Dutch East Indies Company
In 1749 under the terms of a peace treaty between the Sultan of Johor and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) Siak was put under Dutch administration. The Sultan moved residence to a palace in Senapelan built in 1760.
At Senapelan Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Alamudin unsuccessfully tried to organize a major regional fair. In the early 1780s his son, Sultan Muhammad Ali managed to establish the grand fair. Due to the important commercial value for this part of Sumatra the settlement itself was renamed Pakanbaru by the local council of tribal elders on 23 June 1784. Translated Pekan Baru, literally means New Fair. Today June 23 is officially celebrated as the founding day of Pakanbaru.
Dutch East Indies
Mayor's Pekanbaru Office 1899
Following the collapse of the VOC all company ownership of Pakanbaru was transferred to the Dutch crown. During the colonial Dutch East Indies era in the 19th and early 20th century the city remained important, especially as a major trading point: Siak river navigation conditions provide a stable relationship with shipping from the Malacca Strait. Additionally the city became a major center of the coffee industry and coal industry. The urban influence of the sultans gradually became more and more nominal, especially after the capital of the Sultanate moved to Sri Indrapura in 1830. Actual management functions were carried out by representatives of the Dutch colonial administration i.e. via the post of assistant-resident and controller.
WWII
During the Second World War from February 1942 to August 1945 the city was occupied by the armed forces of Japan. In an effort to strengthen the military and logistical infrastructure in this part of Sumatra, the Japanese launched the construction of a 220 kilometers long railway, connecting Pakanbaru to the coast of Malacca Straits.
The Pakanbaru Railway was constructed under harsh conditions by forced
