Bangka

Bangka or Banka (both: bäng`kä, băng`kə), island (1990 pop. 626,955), c.4,600 sq mi (11,910 sq km), Indonesia, in the Java Sea, SE of Sumatra, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Bangka. Pangkalpinang is the largest town; Muntok is the principal port. Since c.1710, Bangka has been one of the world's principal tin-producing centers. Pepper is also produced on the island. The majority of the inhabitants are Chinese; they are mostly employed as mine laborers. Bangka was ceded to Britain by the sultan of Palembang in 1812, but in 1814 it was exchanged with the Dutch for Cochin in India. The island fell under Japanese control from 1942 to 1945. It became part of independent Indonesia in 1949.

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Bangka

 or Banka

Island, Bangka-Belitung province, west-central Indonesia. Located off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, it is separated from Billiton (Belitung) island by Gaspar Strait. Its area is 4,375 sq mi (11,330 sq km); the chief town is Pangkalpinang. The sultan of Palembang ceded Bangka to the British in 1812; they in turn exchanged it with the Dutch in 1814 for property in India. Occupied by Japan during World War II, it became part of Indonesia in 1949. Bangka is one of the world's chief tin-producing centres.