Introduction to History of Indonesia
In the Mediterranean. Fossil remains of Java Man show that Java was inhabited by apelike humans about 500,000 years ago. Indonesia was later settled in successive waves of migration from the Asian mainland. Hinduism was introduced from India in the first century a.d. Later, Buddhism spread to the islands. The two religions existed together without persecution, and each adopted some of the other's rituals and philosophy.
Two great empires flourished before 1500. The Buddhist kingdom of Sri Vijaya (Srividjaja) arose on Sumatra by 600 a.d.The Hindu kingdom of Majapahit came to power on Java in the 1300's and at its height controlled many outlying islands. By 1500, however, most Indonesians were Muslims; many Hindus fled to Bali.
In 1511 Affonso de Albuquerque captured the port of Malacca, on the Malay Peninsula, for Portugal. Portugal sought to supplant the Chinese and Arabs in controlling the lucrative trade of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands. The Portuguese eventually lost the Moluccas to the Dutch, however, who organized the Dutch East India Company in 1602. The States-General (assembly) of the Dutch Republic granted the company full powers of government and a monopoly on trade. Governor General Jan Pieterszoon Coen conquered the Javanese city of Jacatra (Jakarta) in 1619. It was renamed Batavia and became Dutch headquarters in the area. Malacca was captured in 1641, ending Portuguese influence, except on the eastern half of Timor.
Dutch Rule
The Dutch East India Company made vassals of the native rulers. In the 18th century the company began to change from a trading to a farming enterprise. Cotton, sugar, coffee, and indigo were grown as export crops. The Netherlands abolished the company in 1799, assuming its assets and debts. Britain occupied the Dutch East Indies, 181116, during the period when the Netherlands was a French ally in the Napoleonic Wars. A native rebellion raged in Java from 1825 to 1830. To restore the economy, the Dutch forced Indonesian farmers to use a portion of their land to grow crops for export under government direction. After 1870 government control was relaxed and private enterprise encouraged.
In the early 1900's, a nationalist movement began to develop and steadily gained strength. A Communist rebellion was put down in 1926. Sukarno and other nationalist leaders were exiled or imprisoned in the 1930's. During World War II, the fall of Singapore made it impossible for Dutch forces to hold the East Indies, and they surrendered to the Japanese in March, 1942. An Indonesian army was established by the Japanese to aid their expansion throughout the archipelago.
Independence
After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Indonesian Republic, composed of Java, Madura, and Sumatra, was proclaimed, with Sukarno as president. The Dutch attempted to reimpose their rule over the colony, but after much fighting, Indonesia won its independence in 1949. A federation of 16 states was formed. The following year the federation was replaced by a republic.
Under Sukarno, Indonesia in the 1950's was a leading nation in the Afro-Asian bloc. The first meeting of Asian and African nations was held at Bandung in 1955.
Conflict with the Netherlands continued as Indonesia pressed claim to the Dutch possession of western New Guinea, of Irian Jaya. In 1957 Dutch property in Indonesia was nationalized and Dutch nationals were ordered expelled. When political and economic problems mounted in 1957, Sukarno imposed nationwide martial law. The resulting widespread unrest led to rebellions in Celebes, Borneo, and Sumatra in 1958. They lasted some three years; meanwhile Sukarno ruled by decree. In 1960 he replaced the elected parliament with one in which he appointed all the members.
Diplomatic relations with the Netherlands were broken in 1960, and in 1961 President Sukarno declared that Indonesia would take Irian Jaya by force. An agreement was reached in August, 1962; the UN administered the colony until May, 1963, when Indonesia assumed controland promised to hold a plebiscite in 1969 to determine Irian Jaya's political status.
Indonesia bitterly opposed the formation of Malaysia (1963), refused to recognize the new nation, and waged a guerrilla war against it. In 1965, when Malaysia was seated on the UN Security Council, Indonesia withdrew from the UN in protestthe first nation ever to withdraw.
Meanwhile, Indonesia was increasingly beset by economic difficulties as agricultural and industrial production output stagnated and inflation weakened the economy. The Communist party, with Sukarno's support, became Indonesia's largest party. However, some Indonesian leaders, particularly those in the army, strongly opposed Sukarno's backing of the Communists.
In 1965 the army thwarted an attempt by the Communists to seize control of the government. An estimated 300,000 Communists and dissidents were massacred in army reprisals. In 1966 Sukarno, accused by many Indonesian leaders of being linked with the attempted coup, was removed from effective control of the government by General Suharto and the army. Sukarno remained a figurehead president until forced to retire in 1967. Suharto assumed the presidency. Under his rule, inflation was checked and financial stability was attained. A peace agreement was reached with Malaysia in 1966, and Indonesia resumed its UN seat later that year. In 1971 the country held its first parliamentary election in 16 years. In 1973 Suharto was reelected president.
Indonesian troops entered Portugual's former colony of East Timor in 1975 to prevent independence-seeking rebels from gaining control of the territory. The troops killed some thirty per cent of the East Timorese population between 1975 and 1976, when they annexed the land. Clashes between rebels and Indonesian forces continued throughout the 1980's and 90's. In 1999, the East Timorese approved an independence referendum. About 2,000 people were killed by Indonesian militias following the vote. Indonesia withdrew its forces three months later.
Meanwhile, Suharto spent the 1970's and 80's modernizing the economy while imposing a repressive dictatorial regime. By the 1990's Indonesia had one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Positions of power were filled by Suharto's friends and family members, many of whom became very wealthy. When the economy fell into deep recession in 1997 and 1998, massive street protests disrupted Jakarta and several other cities. Suharto was accused of stealing close to $600 million from the state and forced to resign. He was replaced by Vice President B. J. Habibie.
In 1999, an influx of Muslim immigrants to the Moluccan islands (or Spice Islands) in eastern Indonesia led to fighting between Muslims and Christians in which more than 5,000 people were killed.
In late 1999, Abdurrahman Wahid became the country's first democratically elected president in forty years. However, he was impeached on charges of corruption in July 2001. Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri became president.
In 2002, more than 190 people were killed when a terrorist bomb was exploded in Bali.
In July and September 2004, Indonesia held its first direct presidential election. No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round. After a second round, Retired General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the election, defeating Megawati.
A major tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake off northern Sumatra killed more than 100,000 inhabitants of the island in December, 2004. After the tsunami, relations between Indonesian government forces and independence-seeking rebels began to calm in the region of Aceh. In August, 2005, the two groups signed a peace agreement. Aceh was granted more autonomy (self-rule) by parliament in July, 2006. Elections were held in the region in December of that same year.
In 2006, natural disasters killed a number of people in Indonesia. More than 5,800 people died on the island of Java when a major earthquake struck in May. In July, over 600 people were killed after a tsunami crashed into Java. In 2009, Yudhoyono was reelected.