Banten, also written as Bantam, is a port town near the western end of Java, Indonesia. It has a secure harbour at the mouth of Banten River, a navigable passage for light craft into the island's interior. The town is close to the Sunda Strait through which important ocean-going traffic passes between Java and Sumatra. Formerly Old Banten was the capital of a sultanate in the area, was strategically important and a major centre for trade.

The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and coastlands found in and around the Indian Ocean by Portuguese explorers after the Cape route was discovered. As the name suggests, east of the Indian subcontinent, most particularly Maritime Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. In a more strict sense, the Indies were used from a European perspective to refer to the islands of Southeast Asia (Malay Archipelago), that today comprise Malaysia, the Indonesian Archipelago, and the Philippine Archipelago.