Bencoo'len

Bencoo'len, capital of a Dutch residency on the SW. coast of Sumatra. Owing to the surf and coral reefs, landing here is difficult; the site is low and swampy, and the houses are mostly built on bamboo piles. A lighthouse has been erected; and the town is defended by a fort. Rice, coffee, maize, sugar-cane, the cocoa-nut, and other fruits are grown; pepper and camphor are the chief exports, but trade has declined. Bencoolen was founded by the English (1686), but was ceded to the Dutch by the London treaty of 1825. Pop. of town, 12,000; of residency, with an area of 9682 sq. m., 158,200.