Semarang's history dates back to the ninth century, when it was known as Bergota. By the end of fifteenth century, a Javanese Islamic missionary from nearby Sultanate of Demak with the name of Kyai Pandan Arang founded a village and an Islamic boarding school in this place. On 1 May 1547, after consulting Sunan Kalijaga, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Kyai Pandan Arang the first bupati (regent) of Semarang, thus culturally and politically, on this day Semarang was born.
In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On 5 October 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.
Even though in the Dutch East Indies Batavia was the political center of government and Surabaya became the center of commerce, the third largest city in Java was Semarang. As off VOC times Semarang had always been an important center of government for North Java, employing many Indo-European officials, until Daendels (1808�1811) simplified burocracy by eliminating this extra layer of officialdom. The city�s expansion declined until in 1830 the Java War ended and export commerce via the north of Java picked up again. Trade from the south and the middle of Java, where many Indo entrepreneurs rented and cultivated plantations, flourished. Soon the government invested in the establishment of a railway infrastructure which also employed many Indo people. The historic presence of a large Indo (Eurasian) community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called
