1740 Batavia massacre

The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese living in the port city of Batavia, the Dutch East Indies. The incident lasted for two weeks in October.

Up to 80,000 ethnic Chinese lived in Batavia in the early 18th century.

The cause of this pogrom was the fear in the highest ranks of the Dutch East India Company prevailed for some time that the continuous uprising unemployed Chinese workers on the sugar plantations in the districts of Batavia might spread to large groups of more affluent and better-organized Chinese traders and artisans within the walls of the city.

Most accounts of the massacre estimate that 10,000 people were killed within Batavia's city walls. Ultimately, only 3,000 Chinese around the city survived the extermination.