Eyewitness History of the World 2.0

INDONESIA

Indonesia was one of the first places to be inhabited by humans 
 remains over 500,000 years old have been found on Java. Bronze 
and ironworking and rice cultivation were practiced from about 
300 BC.
INDONESIAN EMPIRES
Indian traders arrived in Indonesia in about 100 AD. The Indonesians 
adopted the Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, and Indonesian 
students traveled to India to study. Indonesian traders sailed 
to China, Japan, and east Africa. In the 600s the Buddhist Srivijaya 
Empire arose on Sumatra. At its peak it controlled much of Malaysia 
and southern Thailand. In 1293, after a failed Mongol invasion, 
Srivijaya was succeeded by the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit Empire. 
This Javanese dynasty ruled much of Indonesia until the mid-1400s. 
Islam reached Indonesia around this time.
SPICE TRADE
The wealth of the Indonesian islands was known in Europe from 
Greek and Roman times. In the 1500s spices from the region were 
important to European cuisine and medicine. The first Europeans 
to reach Indonesia were the Portuguese. In the early 1500s they 
settled in the Moluccas (known as the Spice Islands) and gained 
control of the clove trade. By this time, many Indonesian states 
had converted to Islam and they began to compete against the 
Portuguese and each other.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
The Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602 to manage trade 
and extend Dutch influence. By the mid-1600s the Netherlands 
had gained control of Indonesia. Although the British occupied 
the islands for a brief period in the 1800s, they recognized 
Dutch interests in Indonesia from 1824. In return, Britain was 
assured of its interests in Malaysia and Singapore.
CULTURE SYSTEM
In 1830 the Dutch imposed a system of forced labor, called the 
culture system,. upon Java. Under it, Javanese farmers were 
forced to grow commercial crops such as coffee for the Dutch, 
who shipped the goods to Europe for sale. The system was extremely 
profitable for the Dutch, who built up their railroad network 
and reduced their national debt from the proceeds, but, by causing 
neglect of food crops, it brought famine and poverty to the Javanese.
NATIONALISM
In the late 1800s, the nationalist movement grew. There had always 
been resistance to the Dutch occupation, which flared up in peasant 
risings and wars, such as that on Java from 1825 to 1830. Islam 
was a convenient symbol for resistance and nationalism. The Sarekat 
Islam began as an organization of Muslim traders, but after 1912 
it became a mass movement, with millions of followers. In 1926 
and 1927, communists attempted a revolution, but it was soon 
crushed. Sukarno (19011970) and other nationalist leaders were 
arrested and sent into exile during the 1930s, and many political 
parties were banned.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION
In 1942 the Japanese occupied Indonesia, overwhelming the Dutch 
with humiliating ease. For the Indonesians, the occupation had 
positive and negative features. On the one hand, they were allowed 
use of the national anthem, language, and flag, and given military 
training by the Japanese. On the other, countless thousands were 
recruited for slave labor on such infamous projects as the Burma 
Road. For those who remained in Indonesia, Japanese rule quickly 
revealed itself as even more oppressive than that of the Dutch. 
However, the Japanese did make efforts to improve rice production 
and to stimulate a local textile industry. Late on in the occupation 
the Japanese made concessions to Indonesian self-government.
INDEPENDENCE
In 1945, three days after the Japanese surrendered, Indonesia 
declared independence. However, the Dutch were not willing to 
lose control of the colony, and launched into war. By the end 
of 1949 the Dutch withdrew, and the new Republic of Indonesia 
was proclaimed in 1950. West New Guinea remained under Dutch 
control until 1963, when it became Irian Jaya.
GUIDED DEMOCRACY
Elections in 1955 failed to give any one party a clear majority, 
and the following year President Sukarno announced his plan for 
Guided Democracy, which would significantly increase presidential 
powers. Attempted coups (seizures of power) in Sumatra and Sulawesi 
were put down by the government, and in 1959 Guided Democracy 
was introduced by presidential decree. From that point, Indonesia 
pursued anti-imperialist and nationalist policies, aligning with 
China in foreign affairs, and nationalizing foreign enterprises. 
Economic decline and growing competition between the army and 
the communists led to a military coup in 1965. General Suharto 
(born 1921) quickly defeated the rebellion and assumed power 
himself.
THE NEW ORDER
Suharto immediately launched an assault on the communists, during 
which over half a million people died. Under the New Order 
Sukarnos policies were reversed. Nationalized assets were restored 
to their owners, and foreign companies were compensated for losses 
suffered. Indonesia became a paradise for foreign businesses, 
with generous terms offered to investors in oil, timber, and 
metals. This brought little benefit to ordinary Indonesians, 
and resentment grew. The communists and Muslim groups continued 
to resist the Suharto regime. In 1976 the former Portuguese colony 
of East Timor was incorporated into Indonesia, this action being 
condemned by the United Nations. Since that time, the Indonesian 
government has brutally suppressed the independence movement 
there. General Suharto stood unopposed in elections during the 
1980s and early 1990s.

Copyright 1995, 1998 Dorling Kindersley
