BANJARMASIN, a town and district of Borneo, on the south-eastern coast, situated on a river of the same name, which has a shallow bar at the entrance. Many Chinese reside in this place, and carry on a considerable trade with China, exporting pepper, camphor, gold dust, wax, rattans, edible birds' nests, biche-de-mer, and spices, and importing opium, piece goods, coarse cutlery, gunpowder, and fire-arms. The Dutch for a long time maintained a factory here for the collection of pepper and rough diamonds. In 1700 the English also established a factory here; but the place was found to be extremely unhealthy, and the company's servants were finally attacked by the natives, whom they repulsed with great difficulty. The settlement was afterwards abandoned.