bantam

Small ornamental variety of domestic chicken weighing about 0.5–1 kg/1–2 lb. Bantams can either be a small version of one of the larger breeds, or a separate type. Some are prolific egg layers. Bantam cocks have a reputation as spirited fighters.

Bantam

Port in west Java, Indonesia; population (1990 est) 105,800. Cattle are raised, although the Bantam region is relatively poor. The bantam fowl derives its name from a local domesticated breed of ayam hutan, or wild chicken.

Bantam was the centre of the Muslim Bantam sultanate, which held considerable influence in Java from the 16th to the end of the 17th centuries. Bantam was used first as a fortified trading post by the Portuguese, then in the 17th century, it became the leading Javanese port for the export of spices to Europe until its harbour silted up in the 18th century. It was, with Mataram, one of the two most powerful sultanates of 17th-century Java, but declined under pressure from the Dutch East India Company, and the sultanate had abdicated its powers completely by 1813.

The town is now over 1.6 km/1 mi from the sea and much of it is in ruins, including the Pakuwonan palace (1680), Fort Speelwijk (1682), and a number of mosques, the oldest dating from 1562.