Map of Medan city. According to the record it was built by king of Raja Guru Patimpus in 1590, and a record says that British government official found the village had only 200 persons in 1823. Multiple growth of population in Medan started in 1865 when Dutch colonized the area and found their land so promising for big project of plantations estates. First the Dutch developed tobacco, then rubber, palm oil, coffee and cacao.