Padang, city in western Indonesia, on the western coast of the island of Sumatra, at the base of the Padang highlands, near the port of Telukbayur (formerly Emmahaven). It is a shipping center of a region in which coal, rubber, copra, coffee, spices, tobacco, resins, cinchona bark, rattan, and tea are produced. The city has an airport and is the site of Andalas University (1956). Dutch traders established a trading post at Padang about 1680. It was largely under British control from 1781 to 1819, when the Dutch regained possession. The Japanese occupied the city during World War II. Population (1997 estimate) 757,600.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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