Editing Krakatoa (section)

=== Dutch activity ===
In 1620, the Dutch set up a naval station on the islands and somewhat later a shipyard was built. Sometime in the late 17th century, an attempt was made to establish a [[Black pepper|pepper]] [[plantation]] on Krakatoa, but the islands were generally ignored by the [[Dutch East India Company]]. In 1809, a [[penal colony]] was established at an unspecified location, which was in operation for about a decade. By the 1880s, the islands were without permanent inhabitants; the nearest settlement was the nearby island of [[Sebesi]] (about {{cvt|12|km|disp=or||}} away) with a population of 3,000.

Several [[Surveying|surveys]] and [[Nautical chart|mariners' charts]] were made, and the islands were little explored or studied. An 1854 map of the islands was used in an English chart, which shows some difference from a Dutch chart made in 1874. In July 1880, [[Rogier Verbeek]] made an official survey of the islands, but was allowed to spend only a few hours there. He was able to collect samples from several places, and his investigation later proved important in judging the geological impact of the 1883 eruption.<ref name="Symons88">{{cite report | url=https://archive.org/stream/eruptionkrakato00whipgoog#page/n12/mode/2up |editor-last=Symons |editor-first=G. J. |title=The Eruption of Krakatoa and Subsequent Phenomena |publisher=Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society |location=London |year=1888 |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>{{rp|9}}