Panaitan (1450 m) is an island in the Sunda Strait

Sunda Strait

The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...

, between Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 and Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the westernmost tip of Java (Java Head

Java Head

Java Head is a prominent cape at the extreme western end of Java, at the Indian Ocean entrance to the Sunda Strait. Java Head is a bluff at the sea's edge with higher land beyond, visible from a significant distance at sea, with deep water close to the shore....

). Like the nearby Krakatoa

Krakatoa

Krakatoa is a volcanic island made of a'a lava in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole. The island exploded in 1883, killing approximately 40,000 people, although some estimates...

, it too is volcanic in origin, although there are no known historic eruptions. The name 'Prince's Island' apparently is because the island was considered the property of Javan princes. Administratively, the island is a part of Pandeglang Regency.

Panaitan did not suffer as badly from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa as many of the other islands in the area did, only the north and eastern parts of the island were hit by the tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

s, but only about 55 bodies were found later. These included a hajji

Hajji

Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...

with royal permission to cut wood and about 50 squatters.