page_title: Battle of Surabaya (1677)
section_title: VOC arrival off Surabaya
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Surabaya (1677) / Background / VOC arrival off Surabaya
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of Cornelis Speelman, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1681 to 1684. Part of the Governors-general series.
context_page_description: The Battle of Surabaya was fought in May 1677 during the Trunajaya rebellion, in which the Dutch East India Company defeated the forces of Trunajaya and took Surabaya on behalf of its ally, the Mataram Sultanate.
context_section_description: Speelman's fleet left Jepara, anchored off Surabaya in early April and tried to start negotiations with Trunajaya. Trunajaya was initially friendly towards the VOC, but he refused to meet Speelman on board a VOC ship. The VOC's impression of Trunajaya declined after he failed to keep an appointment on neutral waters, and after emissaries reported that he was a drunkard. By the end of April, Speelman had decided to attack Surabaya over negotiations.
caption: Cornelis Speelman, the VOC commander in Java's north coast, who led the attack on Surabaya. Portrait from 1680s when he was Governor-General of the VOC.
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