Professional Documents
Culture Documents
0 ANCIENT INDONESIA
The first people in Indonesia arrived about 40,000 years ago when sea level was lower
and it was joined to Asia by a land bridge. Then at the end of the last ice age about
10,000 BC a new wave of people came. At first they hunted animals, collected shellfish
and gathered plants for food. By about 2,500 BC they learned to grow crops such as
taro, bananas, millet and rice. The early farmers also made pottery but all their tools
were made of stone.
However by 700 BC the Indonesians had learned to make bronze and iron.
Furthermore at that time wet rice cultivation was introduced. Indonesian villages were
forced to co-operate to regulate the supply of water to their fields. In time organized
kingdoms emerged. From about 400 BC Indonesians traded with other nations such as
China and India. Hinduism and Buddhism were also introduced to Indonesia and they
took route.
In the early 16th century the Portuguese arrived in Indonesia and at that time
there was a huge demand in Europe for spices such as nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon,
cloves and mace. Huge profits could be made by transporting them to Europe and
selling them. The Portuguese therefore decided to seize the Moluccas, the chief source
of spices. In 1511 they captured Melaka, an important port. They also captured the
Moluccas.
However in the early 17th century the Portuguese lost their position to the Dutch.
The first Dutch fleet sailed from Holland in 1595 under Cornelis de Houtman. In 1602
the Dutch East India Company was formed to control trade with Indonesia. In 1605 they
took Tidore and Ambon from the Dutch. In 1619 the company captured Batavia. In
1641 they took Melaka. During the 17th century the Dutch gradually extended their
power of Java and the Moluccas. However they had little influence in the rest of
Indonesia. Moreover during the 18th century the Dutch East India Company slipped into
debt. Finally in 1799 the Dutch government took over its territories.
Cornelis de Houtman.
Tindore map.
Ambon map.
In 1806 the British and Dutch went to war. In 1811 the British under Lord Minto
sailed to Batavia. The British soon captured all the Dutch possessions in Indonesia. The
British abolished slavery and they also divided the country into areas called residencies
for administration. However in 1816 the British handed Indonesia back to the Dutch.
Many Indonesians resisted the return of the Dutch. However the Dutch eventually
defeated them and regained control. However in 1825 the Javanese War, in central
Java, began. It was led by Prince Diponegoro. However the war ended with Dutch
victory in 1830. Diponegoro went into exile and died in 1855.
Lord Minto.
However in 1870 the Dutch switched to a free market system. The Dutch
government's monopoly on sugar and other commodities was ended. Private
plantations were created. However the Indonesians were not necessarily better off. Now
they were employed as coolies on the great plantations. In the early 20th century the
Dutch decided to treat the Indonesians more fairly. They introduced what they called the
ethical policy. This meant building schools and spending money on health care,
sanitation and irrigation. However the new policy had little effect on the lives of most
Indonesians.
It did however mean that a least some Indonesians became highly educated and
familiar with western ideas such as liberalism and socialism. As a result in the early 20th
century nationalist movements were formed in Indonesia. They began clamouring for
independence. Then in 1940 the Germans occupied Holland. In 1942 the Japanese
invaded Indonesia. The last Dutch troops surrendered on 8 March 1942. At first the
Indonesians welcomed the Japanese as liberators. However they soon grew
disillusioned. The Japanese were brutal and they ruthlessly exploited Indonesia's
resources. Yet when the Japanese were losing the war they started to favour
Indonesian independence, hoping to make the Indonesians their allies.
Mohammad Hatta was Indonesia's first vice president, later also serving as the
country's prime minister
However by November 1946 the British were gone and the Dutch had landed
many men in Indonesia. In November the Indonesians and Dutch signed the
Linggadjati agreement. The Dutch recognized the new republic, but only in Java and
Sumatra. They still claimed the rest of Indonesia. Furthermore the agreement stated
that the republic would join a federal union with Holland in 1949. Not surprisingly neither
side were happy with the agreement. The Dutch built up their strength in an attempt to
retake all of Indonesia. In the summer of 1947 they invaded the independent areas.
However they were forced to withdraw, partly because of Indonesian resistance and
partly because of strong international condemnation (especially by the USA).
From the 1960s reserves of oil in Indonesia were exploited. After 1973
Indonesians benefited from the high price of oil. Agriculture also became far more
productive. However many Indonesians remained poor and in 1997 Indonesia was hit
by a financial crisis. As a result the economy contracted. Indonesia was hit by riots and
Suharto resigned in May 1998. Democracy returned to Indonesia with elections, which
were held in 1999. At the beginning of the 21st century the Indonesian economy began
to recover. Today the economy of Indonesia is growing steadily. Today the population of
Indonesia is 258 million.
4.0 REFERENCE
5.0 ATTACHMENT
The region that is today identified as Indonesia has carried different names, such
as "East Indies" in this 1855 map.
Map of Indonesia.