Karawang or known as the city of rice are located at the west java. The beginning of the existence of the Karawang region dates back to the XV century. At that time, Karawang was still a forest area and swamps. This makes Karawang come from Sundanese. Ke-rawa means a swampy place. The name is in accordance with the geographical condition of Karawang which is swampy, another piece of evidence that can strengthen this opinion.
Then, during the Pakuan Pajajaran Kingdom, which was centered in Bogor, Karawang was an area that became an important traffic lane for the royal line. Karawang is an important area that connects the Kingdom of Pakuan Pajajaran with Galuh Pakuan in the Ciamis area.
When it was still a traffic lane between the Kingdom of Pakuan Pajajaran and Galuh Pakuan, the area of Karawang covered the areas of Bekasi, Subang, Purwakarta, and Karawang itself. Until 1579 AD, the Kingdom of Pakuan Pajajaran collapsed. Then in 1580 a new kingdom was established that raised Islamic teachings in the land of Pajajaran, the kingdom was known as the Sumedanglarang Kingdom.
then, how is karawang formed? it started during the Rebellion period carried out by the son of Ranggagempol who was the son of the king of the Sumedanglarang Kingdom, the rebellion was by asking for help from the Sultan of Banten to conquer the Sumedanglarang Kingdom. In return, this son of Ranggagempol promised to give all the powers of the Sumedanglarang Kingdom to the government of the Banten Kingdom at that time.
At that time, Banten then sent its troops to fulfill the request of Ranggagempol's son and also to reclaim the port of Sunda Kelapa which had been controlled by the Dutch. This is what later became the starting point of Karawang's history.
The entry of the Banten army into Karawang was heard by Sultan Agung as the leader of the Mataram Kingdom. As a follow-up to the movement of the Banten army, in 1624 Sultan Agung sent Aria Wirasaba from Mojo Agung, East Java with 1000 soldiers to liberate Karawang from Banten and also prepared logistics by building rice warehouses. Apart from that, Sultan Agung also sent Aria Wirasaba to research the Mataram attack route to Batavia via the Banyumas route.
Was sent by Sultan Agung to sort out all matters in Karawang by establishing 3 villages in Karawang, namely Waringinpitu which is now better known as Teluk Jambe, Parakansapi Village or Jatiluhur Reservoir, and Adiarsa Village which is now known as West Karawang District. However, due to the lack of communication between Aria Wirasaba and the Mataram Kingdom, Sultan Agung then considered that Aria Wirasaba's task had failed to be carried out.
To maintain the security of the Mataram Kingdom's territory to the west, in 1628-1629 Sultan Agung ordered his troops to attack the VOC (Dutch side) in Batavia. However, this attack failed because the terrain was too heavy.
Sultan Agung then made the Karawang region a logistics center that had capable and expert leaders and was able to mobilize the community to build rice fields there. For this reason, Sultan Agung then ordered Wiraperbangsa Sari Galuh with 1,000 soldiers to liberate Karawang from Banten influence and make the Karawang area a logistics center. Wiraperbangsa was also sent to prepare an attack on the VOC in Batavia.
The task given by Sultan Agung to Wiraperbangsa turned out to be successful, so that the king of the Mataram Kingdom also rewarded his success by conferring the position of Wedana or the equivalent of Regent in Karawang. In addition, Wiraperbangsa was also given the title of Duke Kertabumi III.
After being rewarded and intending to return to Karawang to carry out his duties as Regent of Karawang, Wiraperbangsa stopped first in Galuh to visit his family. When Wiraperbangsa was in Galuh, he died before returning to Karawang. And his position as Regent of Karawang was continued by his son, namely Raden Singaperbangsa. Raden Singaperbangsa had the title of Duke Kertabumi IV who ruled Karawang from 1633-1677.
Until the XVII century, Mataram succeeded in occupying the peak of its power as the largest kingdom on the island of Java. With the leadership of Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo, the Mataram Kingdom insisted on uniting the archipelago and expelling the Dutch troops from their homeland. To expel the Dutch, who at that time was known as the VOC, Sultan Agung first controlled Karawang and made it the center of the struggle against the VOC.
at that time Sultan Agung to prepare troops and logistics by opening agricultural land in Karawang, it worked perfectly. The Karawang area succeeded in developing all of the existing agricultural land, so that at that time Karawang was known as a rice barn area. This is where the history of Karawang got its nickname as the city of origin of struggle and also the rice barn of West Java.
To make Karawang part of the government of the Mataram Kingdom, on 14 September 1633 or to coincide with 10 Maulud 1043 Hijriah, Sultan Agung appointed Singaperbangsa as the first Regent of Karawang. This aims to facilitate communication between regions under the Mataram Kingdom. The day Singaperbangsa was established later became a day of remembrance as the current Karawang Regency Anniversary.
