During the Dutch colonial period, the area was renamed Meester Cornelis, after Cornelis Senen. He was one of the most celebrated Malay-speaking (Calvinist) preachers and schoolmasters of his time. He was the son of an indigenous Christian who had been resettled by the Company in Lontor, one of the (Banda Islands). In 1656, Senen was granted a private estate ("particuliere land") to the east of Ciliwung, with total area of 5 square kilometers, about 12 km southeast of the fort of Batavia. As a landlord ("Landheer"), he was addressed by the old Dutch honorific "Meester" or master. The land was harvested for timber and used mainly for agriculture. Cornelis Senen died in 1661, and gave his name to his old estate until it was renamed after Indonesian independence.