Prehistory In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the area of Preanger (
Parahyangan) had belonged to the
Mataram Sultanate. In the late seventeenth century, the
Dutch East India Company allied itself with Mataram, but demanded territorial and trade concessions.
Residency In 1818, after the short
French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies, the territory was reestablished by the Dutch as the Preanger Regencies Residency. It was also one of the earliest areas in the Indies to industrialize significantly. During this time, Bandung was also the location of the first university in the Indies and the place where a number of important printing presses were located, including the popular newspaper
De Preangerbode. In 1915,
Garut Regency was transferred from the
Cheribon Residency to Preanger. In 1925, the four residencies of western Java were subdivided into nine new residencies. The former Preanger Regencies Residency was broken up into three smaller residencies: , en . However, in 1931 they were reorganized once again, with parts of the former residency now being divided between
Buitzenzorg Residency and the renamed Priangan Residency. Those borders were kept by the Japanese during their occupation of Java during
World War II, and for a short time by the Republic of Indonesia after 1945. ==List of residents==