The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics.
ethnicities, and languages. The archipelago's landforms and climate significantly influenced agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of the state of Indonesia match the 20th-century borders of the Dutch East Indies
.
Fossilised remains of
Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia. The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra; other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, which became the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century.[3]
For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences.
Europeans such as the Portuguese arrived in Indonesia from the 16th century seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable
cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies under government control. By the early 20th century, Dutch dominance extended to the current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and occupation in 1942–1945 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader Sukarno declared independence and became president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish its rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle
ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.
Reformasi era following Suharto's resignation has led to a strengthening of democratic processes, including a regional autonomy program, the secession of East Timor, and the first direct presidential election in 2004
. Political instability, social unrest, corruption, natural disasters, and terrorism remained problems in the 2000s, but the economy has performed strongly since 2007. Although relations between different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute sectarian discontent and violence remain problems in some areas.
Today, Indonesia is a diverse and multicultural nation with a population of over 270 million people. The country is known for its natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and significant contributions to global art, music, and cuisine. It is also one of the world's fastest-growing economies and a major player in the Southeast Asian region.
In 2007, an analysis of cut marks on two bovid bones found in
Ngandong alongside more advanced tools, re-dated in 2011 to between 550,000 and 143,000 years old.[4][5][6][7] In 1977 another H. erectus skull was discovered at Sambungmacan.[8] In 2010, stone tools were discovered on Flores, dating from 1 million years ago. These are the earliest remains implying human seafaring technology.[9] The earliest evidence of artistic activity ever found, in the form of diagonal etchings made with the use of a shark's tooth, was detected in 2014 on a 500,000-year-old fossil of a clam found in Java in the 1890s, associated with H. erectus.[10]
In 2003, on the island of
archaeological horizons ranging from 50,000 to 190,000 years ago.[14]
Megalithic statue found in Tegurwangi, Sumatra, Indonesia, 1500 CE
The Indonesian archipelago was formed during the thaw after the
Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago.[15] In 2011, evidence was uncovered in neighbouring East Timor, showing that 42,000 years ago, these early settlers had high-level maritime skills, and by implication the technology needed to make ocean crossings to reach Australia and other islands, as they were catching and consuming large numbers of big deep sea fish such as tuna.[16]
An elaborate 4.5 m long rock art panel in a limestone cave at Leang Bulu' in Sulawesi is currently considered the earliest figurative artwork in the world.[17] It portrays several figures hunting wild pigs and dwarf bovids. This rock art was dated to at least 43,900 years ago on the basis of uranium-series analysis of overlying speleothems. A painted hand stencil from Leang Timpuseng, which has a minimum age of 39,900 years, is now the oldest known hand stencil in the world.[18]
Nusa Tenggara
. Early Indonesians were animists who honoured the spirits of the dead believing their souls or life force could still help the living.
Example of rice terraces in Indonesia
Ideal agricultural conditions, and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the 8th century BCE,[24] allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century CE. These kingdoms (little more than collections of villages subservient to petty chieftains) evolved with their own ethnic and tribal religions. Java's hot and even temperature, abundant rain and volcanic soil, was perfect for wet rice cultivation. Such agriculture required a well-organized society, in contrast to the society based on dry-field rice, which is a much simpler form of cultivation that does not require an elaborate social structure to support it.
Buni culture clay pottery flourished in coastal northern West Java and Banten around 400 BCE to 100 CE.[25] The Buni culture was probably the predecessor of the Tarumanagara kingdom, one of the earliest Hindu kingdoms in Indonesia, producing numerous inscriptions and marking the beginning of the historical period in Java.
On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world which is more than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu' Sipong 4. Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks to the calcite 'popcorn', different isotope levels of radioactive uranium and thorium.[26][27][28]
Hindu-Buddhist civilizations
Early kingdom
1600-year-old stone inscription from the era of Purnawarman, king of Tarumanagara, founded in Tugu sub-district of Jakarta
Indonesia like much of Southeast Asia was influenced by
Indian culture.[29] From the 2nd century, through the Indian dynasties like the Pallava, Gupta, Pala and Chola in the succeeding centuries up to the 12th century, Indian culture spread across all of Southeast Asia.[29]
References to the Dvipantara or
Batujaya, Karawang, West Java was probably built around this time. South Indian culture was spread to Southeast Asia by the south Indian Pallava dynasty in the 4th and 5th centuries.[34]
and by the 5th century, stone inscriptions written in Pallava scripts were found in Java and Borneo.
A number of
Brahmins in the Sanskrit language using the Pallava script of India recalling of a generous king by the name of Mulavarman who donated a huge amount of alms to Brahmin priests in his kingdom, the kingdom was known as the Kutai Martadipura Kingdom located in present East Kalimantan Province, believed to be the oldest and first Hindu kingdom of Indonesia.[35]
Java, the Ciaruteun inscription located near Bogor. And other inscriptions called the Pasir Awi inscription and the Muncul inscription. On this monument, King Purnawarman inscribed his name and made an imprint of his footprints, as well as his elephant's footprints. The accompanying inscription reads, "Here are the footprints of King Purnavarman, the heroic conqueror of the world". This inscription is written in Pallava script and in Sanskrit and is still clear after 1500 years. Purnawarman apparently built a canal that changed the course of the Cakung River, and drained a coastal area for agriculture and settlement purpose. In his stone inscriptions, Purnawarman associated himself with Vishnu, and Brahmins ritually secured the hydraulic project.[36]
Around the same period, in the 6th to 7th centuries (501–700 CE), the
Kalinga
, which suggest the ancient link between India and Indonesia.
The political history of Indonesian archipelago during the 7th to 11th (601–1100 CE) around centuries was dominated by
Sailendra that dominated southeast Asia based in Java and constructed Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world. The history prior of the 14th and 15th centuries (1301–1500 CE) is not well known due to the scarcity of evidence. By the 15th century (1401–1500 CE), two major states dominated this period; Majapahit in East Java, the greatest of the pre-Islamic Indonesian states, and Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, arguably one of the greatest of the Muslim trading empires,[38]
this marked the rise of Muslim states in the Indonesian archipelago.
Later in its history, the dynasty divided into two dynasties based on their own religion, the
Balaputradewa. The hostility between them didn't end until in 1006 when the Sailendran based in Srivijaya kingdom incited rebellion by Wurawari, vassal of Mataram kingdom and sacked Shivaist dynasty's capital in Watugaluh, Java. Srivijaya kingdom rose into undisputed hegemonic Empire in the era as the result. Yet the Shivaist dynasty survived and successfully reclaimed the east Java in 1019 then descended to Kahuripan kingdom led by Airlangga son of Udayana of Bali.[42]
Srivijaya was a kingdom on Sumatra which influenced much of the Maritime Southeast Asia. From the 7th century, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism that were imported with it.[43][44]
Srivijaya was centred in the coastal trading centre of present-day Palembang. Srivijaya was not a "state" in the modern sense with defined boundaries and a centralised government to which the citizens own allegiance.[45] Rather Srivijaya was a confederacy form of society centred on a royal heartland.[45] It was a thalassocracy and did not extend its influence far beyond the coastal areas of the islands of Southeast Asia. Trade was the driving force of Srivijaya just as it is for most societies throughout history.[46] The Srivijayan navy controlled the trade that made its way through the Strait of Malacca.[46]
The territory of the Srivijaya empire. Historically, Srivijaya was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
By the 7th century, the harbours of various vassal states of Srivijaya lined both coasts of the Straits of Melaka.
Spice Route traffic and local trade.[47] It remained a formidable sea power until the 13th century.[47] This spread the ethnic Malay culture throughout Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo.[48] A stronghold of Mahayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia.[47]
The relation between Srivijaya and the
Sultanate of Malacca
on the Malay peninsula.
Singhasari and Majapahit
Archaeological remains in Trowulan, the capital city of the Majapahit
Expansion of the Majapahit empire extended to much of the Indonesian archipelago until it receded and fell in the early 16th century.
Majapahit was the most dominant of Indonesia's pre-Islamic states.[38] The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada it experienced what is often referred to as a golden age in Indonesian history,[50] when its influence extended to much of southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali[51] from about 1293 to around 1500.
The founder of the Majapahit Empire,
Kediri, Jayakatwang, had killed Kertanagara. The Majapahit founder allied himself with the Mongols
against Jayakatwang and, once the Singhasari kingdom was destroyed, turned and forced his Mongol allies to withdraw in confusion.
Sultanate of Malacca. Dates for the end of the Majapahit Empire range from 1478 to 1520. A large number of courtiers, artisans, priests, and members of the royal family moved east to the island of Bali
at the end of Majapahit power.
Age of Islamic states
Spread of Islam
Main article:
The spread of Islam in Indonesia
Map of Indonesia; 1674–1745 by Khatib Çelebi, a geographer from the Ottoman Turks.
The earliest accounts of the Indonesian archipelago date from the
Although Muslim traders first travelled through South East Asia early in the Islamic era, the
spread of Islam among the inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra.[53][54]
Although it is known that the spread of Islam began in the west of the archipelago, the fragmentary evidence does not suggest a rolling wave of conversion through adjacent areas; rather, it suggests the process was complicated and slow.[53] The spread of Islam was driven by increasing trade links outside of the archipelago; in general, traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were the first to adopt the new religion.[55]
Other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, making it the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 7th until 13th century.[3] For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java.[55] Only Bali retained a Hindu majority. In the eastern archipelago, both Christian and Islamic missionaries were active in the 16th and 17th centuries, and, currently, there are large communities of both religions on these islands.[55]
The Sultanate of Mataram was the third Sultanate in Java, after the
Sultanate of Demak Bintoro and the Sultanate of Pajang.[56]
According to Javanese records, Kyai
Pajang to the east, near the current site of Surakarta (Solo). Pamanahan was often referred to as Kyai Gedhe Mataram after his ascension.[57]
Pamanahan's son, Panembahan Senapati, replaced his father on the throne around 1584. Under Senapati the kingdom grew substantially through regular military campaigns against Mataram's neighbours. Shortly after his accession, for example, he conquered his father's patrons in Pajang.[56]
The reign of Panembahan Seda ing Krapyak (Suhusunan Anyakrawati) (c. 1601–1613), the son of Senapati, was dominated by further warfare, especially against powerful Surabaya, already a major centre in East Java. The first contact between Mataram and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) occurred under Krapyak. Dutch activities at the time were limited to trading from limited coastal settlements, so their interactions with the inland Mataram kingdom were limited, although they did form an alliance against Surabaya in 1613. Krapyak died that year.[58]
Ruins of the Sultanate of Banten Palace in 1859
Krapyak was succeeded by his son, who is known simply as Sultan Agung ("Great Sultan") in Javanese records. Agung was responsible for the great expansion and lasting historical legacy of Mataram due to the extensive military conquests of his long reign from 1613 to 1646.
Sultanate of Banten
Main article:
The Sultanate of Banten
In 1524–25, Sunan Gunung Jati from Cirebon, together with the armies of
The Sultanate of Banten. This was accompanied by Muslim preachers and the adoption of Islam amongst the local population. At its peak in the first half of the 17th century, the Sultanate lasted from 1526 to 1813 AD. The Sultanate left many archaeological remains and historical records.[59]
Colonial era
Dutch settlement in the East Indies. Batavia (now Jakarta), Java, c. 1665 CE.
Beginning in the 16th century, successive waves of Europeans—the
Mediterranean, monopolised spice imports to Europe. Astronomically priced at the time, spices were highly coveted not only to preserve and make poorly preserved meat palatable, but also as medicines and magic potions.[60]
The arrival of Europeans in South East Asia is often regarded as the watershed moment in its history. Other scholars consider this view untenable,[61] arguing that European influence during the times of the early arrivals of the 16th and 17th centuries was limited in both area and depth. This is in part due to Europe not being the most advanced or dynamic area of the world in the early 15th century. Rather, the major expansionist force of this time was Islam; in 1453, for example, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, while Islam continued to spread through Indonesia and the Philippines. European influence, particularly that of the Dutch, would not have its greatest impact on Indonesia until the 18th and 19th centuries.
The nutmeg plant is native to Indonesia's Banda Islands. Once one of the world's most valuable commodities, it drew the first European colonial powers to Indonesia.
Newfound Portuguese expertise in navigation, shipbuilding and weaponry allowed them to make daring expeditions of exploration and expansion. Starting with the first exploratory expeditions sent from newly conquered
keroncong guitar ballads; a number of Indonesian words which reflect Portuguese's role as the lingua franca of the archipelago alongside Malay; and many family names in eastern Indonesia such as da Costa, Dias, de Fretes, Gonsalves, etc. The most significant impacts of the Portuguese arrival were the disruption and disorganisation of the trade network mostly as a result of their conquest of Malacca, and the first significant plantings of Christianity in Indonesia. There have continued to be Christian communities in eastern Indonesia through to the present, which has contributed to a sense of shared interest with Europeans, particularly among the Ambonese.[64]
Dutch East-India Company
Main article:
Dutch East India Company in Indonesia
An early 18th-century Dutch map from a time when only the north coastal ports of Java were well known to the Dutch
In 1602, the Dutch parliament awarded the VOC a monopoly on trade and colonial activities in the region at a time before the company controlled any territory in Java. In 1619, the VOC conquered the West Javan city of Jayakarta, where they founded the city of Batavia (present-day
Java in this period, and fought in a number of wars involving the leaders of Mataram and Banten
.
The Dutch followed the Portuguese aspirations, courage, brutality, and strategies but brought better organisation, weapons, ships, and superior financial backing. Although they failed to gain complete control of the Indonesian spice trade, they had much more success than the previous Portuguese efforts. They exploited the factionalisation of the small kingdoms in Java that had replaced Majapahit, establishing a permanent foothold in Java, from which grew a land-based colonial empire which became one of the richest colonial possessions on earth.[64]
By the mid-17th century, Batavia, the headquarter of VOC in Asia, had become an important trade centre in the region. It had
captured Malacca from the Portuguese, thus weakened Portuguese position in Asia. The Dutch defeated the Sulawesi city of Makassar
in 1667 thus bringing its trade under VOC control. Sumatran ports were also brought under VOC control and the last of the Portuguese were expelled in 1660. In return for monopoly control over the pepper trade and the expulsion of the English, the Dutch helped the son of the ruler of Banten overthrow his father in 1680. By the 18th century, the VOC has established themselves firmly in Indonesian archipelago, controlling inter-island trade as part of their Asian business which includes India, Ceylon, Formosa, and Japan. VOC has established their important bases in some ports in Java, Maluku, and parts of Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Malay Peninsula.
After the VOC was dissolved in 1800 following bankruptcy,
Ethical Policy
, which included somewhat increased investment in indigenous education, and modest political reforms.
Dutch imperial painting depicting the Dutch East Indies as "our most precious gem" (1916)
The Dutch colonials formed a privileged upper social class of soldiers, administrators, managers, teachers, and pioneers. They lived together with the "natives", but at the top of a rigid social and racial
caste system.[73][74] The Dutch East Indies had two legal classes of citizens; European and indigenous. A third class, Foreign Easterners, was added in 1920.[75]
Upgrading the infrastructure of ports and roads was a high priority for the Dutch, with the goal of modernising the economy, pumping wages into local areas, facilitating commerce, and speeding up military movements. By 1950, Dutch engineers had built and upgraded a road network with 12,000 km of asphalted surface, 41,000 km of metalled road area and 16,000 km of gravel surfaces.[76] In addition the Dutch built 7,500 kilometres (4,700 mi) of railways, bridges, irrigation systems covering 1.4 million hectares (5,400 sq mi) of rice fields, several harbours, and 140 public drinking water systems. These Dutch constructed public works became the economic base of the colonial state; after independence, they became the basis of the Indonesian infrastructure.[77]
For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over its territories in the Indonesian archipelago was tenuous. In some cases, Dutch police and military actions in parts of Indonesia were quite cruel. Recent discussions, for example, of Dutch cruelty in Aceh have encouraged renewed research on these aspects of Dutch rule.[78] It was only in the early 20th century, three centuries after the first Dutch trading post, that the full extent of the colonial territory was established and direct colonial rule exerted across what would become the boundaries of the modern Indonesian state.[79]Portuguese Timor, now East Timor, remained under Portuguese rule until 1975 when it was invaded by Indonesia. The Indonesian government declared the territory an Indonesian province but relinquished it in 1999.
Sukarno, Indonesian Nationalist leader, and later, first president of Indonesia
In October 1908, the first nationalist movement was formed,
Third International started to usurp the nationalist movement.[82] The repression of the nationalist movement led to many arrests, including Indonesia's first president, Sukarno (1901–70), who was imprisoned for political activities on 29 December 1929.[83] Also arrested was Mohammad Hatta, first vice-president of Indonesia.[84] Additionally, Sutan Sjahrir, who later became the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, was arrested on this date.[85]
In 1914 the exiled Dutch socialist
Indies Social Democratic Association. Initially a small forum of Dutch socialists, it would later evolve into the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) in 1924.[86] In the post–World War I era, the Dutch strongly repressed all attempts at change. This repression led to a growth of the PKI. By December 1924, the PKI had a membership of 1,140.[86] One year later in 1925, the PKI had grown to 3,000 members.[86] From 1926 to 1927, there was a PKI-led revolt against Dutch colonialism and the harsh repression of strikes of urban workers.[87] However, the strikes and the revolt was put down by the Dutch with some 13,000 nationalists and communists leaders were arrested.[87] Some 4,500 were given prison sentences.[87]
Sukarno was released from prison in December 1931 [88] but was re-arrested on 1 August 1933.[89]
Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during World War II interrupted Dutch rule[90][91] and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. In May 1940, early in World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands, but the Dutch government-in-exile initially continued to control the Dutch East Indies from its base in London. The Dutch East Indies declared a state of siege and in July 1940 redirected exports intended for Japan to the US and Britain. Negotiations with the Japanese aimed at securing supplies of aviation fuel collapsed in June 1941, and the Japanese started their conquest of Southeast Asia in December of that year.[92]
That same month, factions from Sumatra sought Japanese assistance for a revolt against the Dutch wartime government. The Japanese military defeated last Dutch forces in the East Indies in March 1942.
Japanese commanders in the Dutch East Indies during the surrender
In July 1942,
Dutch-Indonesian
descent were particular targets of the Japanese occupation.
In March 1945, the Japanese established the
Indonesian independence on 17 August. A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of the Japanese occupation.[94]
Indonesian flag raising shortly after the declaration of independence
Under pressure from radical and politicised pemuda ('youth') groups, Sukarno and Hatta on behalf of the Nation proclaimed
Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945 from colonialism by foreign nations two days after the Japanese Emperor's surrender in the Pacific, and made this nation an independent state, which has the right to govern its people and nation in accordance with the philosophy, character and spirit of the Indonesia nation itself.[95] The following day, the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) declared Sukarno President and Hatta Vice-President.[96][97][98][99][100] Word of the proclamation spread by shortwave and fliers while the Indonesian war-time military (PETA), youths, and others rallied in support of the new republic, often moving to take over government offices from the Japanese. In December 1946 the United Nations acknowledged[101] that Netherlands had advised the United Nations that the "Netherlands Indies" was a non-self-governing territory (colony) for which the Netherlands had a legal duty to make yearly reports and to assist towards "a full measure of self-government" as required by the Charter of the United Nations article 73
.
Sukarno speaking at the Rapat Akbar (grand meeting) on 19 September 1945
The Dutch, initially backed by the British, tried to re-establish their rule,[102] and a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure,[103] the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.[98][102] Dutch efforts to re-establish complete control met resistance. At the end of World War II, a power vacuum arose, and the nationalists often succeeded in seizing the arms of the demoralised Japanese. A period of unrest with city guerrilla warfare called the Bersiap period ensued. Groups of Indonesian nationalists armed with improvised weapons (like bamboo spears) and firearms attacked returning Allied troops. 3,500 Europeans were killed and 20,000 were missing, meaning there were more European deaths in Indonesia after the war than during the war. After returning to Java, Dutch forces quickly re-occupied the colonial capital of Batavia (now Jakarta), so the city of Yogyakarta in central Java became the capital of the nationalist forces. Negotiations with the nationalists led to two major truce agreements, but disputes about their implementation, and much mutual provocation, led each time to renewed conflict. Within four years the Dutch had recaptured almost the whole of Indonesia, but guerrilla resistance persisted, led on Java by commander Nasution. On 27 December 1949, after four years of sporadic warfare and fierce criticism of the Dutch by the UN, the Netherlands officially recognised Indonesian sovereignty under the federal structure of the United States of Indonesia (RUSI). With the unification of all the kingdoms in the archipelago On 17 August 1950, exactly five years after the proclamation of independence, the last of the federal states were dissolved and Sukarno proclaimed a single unitary Republic of Indonesia until now.[104][95]
With the unifying struggle to secure Indonesia's independence over, divisions in Indonesian society began to appear. These included regional differences in customs, religion, the impact of Christianity and Marxism, and fears of Javanese political domination. Following colonial rule, Japanese occupation, and war against the Dutch, the new country suffered from severe poverty, a ruinous economy, low educational and skills levels, and authoritarian traditions.[105][106] Challenges to the authority of the Republic included the militant Darul Islam who waged a guerrilla struggle against the Republic from 1948 to 1962; the declaration of an independent Republic of South Maluku by Ambonese formerly of the Royal Dutch Indies Army; and rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi between 1955 and 1961.
In contrast to the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[107] A proliferation of political parties dealing for shares of cabinet seats resulted in a rapid turnover of coalition governments including 17 cabinets between 1945 and 1958. The long-postponed parliamentary elections were held in 1955; although the Indonesian National Party (PNI)—considered Sukarno's party—topped the poll, and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) received strong support, no party garnered more than a quarter of the votes, which resulted in short-lived coalitions.[106]
National emblem of the Republic of Indonesia, adopted in 1950
By 1956, Sukarno was openly criticising parliamentary democracy, stating that it was "based upon inherent conflict" which ran counter to Indonesian notions of harmony as being the natural state of human relationships. Instead, he sought a system based on the traditional village system of discussion and consensus, under the guidance of village elders. He proposed a threefold blend of nasionalisme ('nationalism'), agama ('religion'), and komunisme ('communism') into a co-operative '
Guided Democracy', and proposed a cabinet representing all the political parties of importance (including the PKI).[106] The US tried and failed to secretly overthrow the president, even though Secretary of State Dulles declared before Congress that "we are not interested in the internal affairs of this country."[108]
Charismatic Sukarno spoke as a romantic revolutionary, and under his increasingly authoritarian rule, Indonesia moved on a course of stormy nationalism. Sukarno was popularly referred to as bang ("older brother"), and he painted himself as a man of the people carrying the aspirations of Indonesia and one who dared take on the West.[110] He instigated a number of large, ideologically driven infrastructure projects and monuments celebrating Indonesia's identity, which were criticised as substitutes for real development in a deteriorating economy.[110]
Konfrontasi with the new state of Malaysia. The northern states of Borneo, formerly British Sarawak and Sabah, had wavered in joining Malaysia, whilst Indonesia saw itself as the rightful ruler of Austronesian peoples and supported an unsuccessful revolution attempt in Brunei.[111] Reviving the glories of the Indonesian National Revolution, Sukarno increased the anti-British sentiment in his rhetoric and mounted military offensives along the Indonesia-Malaysia border in Borneo. As the PKI rallied in Jakarta streets in support, the West became increasingly alarmed at Indonesian foreign policy and the United States withdrew its aid to Indonesia.[111]
In social policy, Sukarno's time in office witnessed substantial reforms in health and education,[112] together with the passage of various pro-labour measures.[113] However, Indonesia's economic position deteriorated under Sukarno; by the mid-1960s, the cash-strapped government had to scrap critical public sector subsidies, inflation was at 1,000%, export revenues were shrinking, infrastructure crumbling, and factories were operating at minimal capacity with negligible investment. Severe poverty and hunger were widespread.[111][114]
During the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its eradication in 1965 and ban the following year.
Described as the great dalang ("puppet master"), Sukarno's position depended on balancing the opposing and increasingly hostile forces of the army and the PKI. Sukarno's anti-imperialist ideology saw Indonesia increasingly dependent on Soviet and then communist China. By 1965, the PKI was the largest communist party in the world outside the Soviet Union or China. Penetrating all levels of government, the party increasingly gained influence at the expense of the army.[115]
On 30 September 1965, six of the most senior generals within the military and other officers were assassinated in an attempted coup. The insurgents, known later as the 30 September Movement, backed a rival faction of the army and took up positions in the capital, later seizing control of the national radio station. They claimed they were acting against a plot organised by the generals to overthrow Sukarno. Within a few hours, Major General Suharto, commander of the Army Strategic Reserve (Kostrad), mobilised counteraction, and by the evening of 1 October, it was clear that the coup, which had little co-ordination and was largely limited to Jakarta, had failed. Complicated and partisan theories continue to this day over the identity of the attempted coup's organisers and their aims. According to the Indonesian army, the PKI were behind the coup and used disgruntled army officers to carry it out, and this became the official account of Suharto's subsequent New Order administration. Although there is not broad agreement on who bears ultimate responsibility for the coup or even if there was really a single mastermind controlling all events, modern evidence has suggested at least a role played by Western intelligence agencies including the American Central Intelligence Agency[116][117] and the United Kingdom's MI6.[118]
The PKI was blamed for the coup, and anti-communists, initially following the army's lead, went on a violent anti-communist purge across much of the country. The PKI was effectively destroyed,[119][120][121] and the most widely accepted estimates are that between 500,000 and 1 million were killed.[122][123][124] The violence was especially brutal in Java and Bali. The PKI was outlawed and possibly more than 1 million of its leaders and affiliates were imprisoned.[124] The United States and other Western powers facilitated and supported the purge.[125][126][127]
Throughout the 1965–66 period, President Sukarno attempted to restore his political position and shift the country back to its pre-October 1965 position but his Guided Democracy balancing act was destroyed with the PKI's demise. Although he remained president, the weakened Sukarno was forced to transfer key political and military powers to General Suharto, who by that time had become head of the armed forces. In March 1967, the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) named General Suharto acting president. Suharto was formally appointed president in March 1968. Sukarno lived under virtual house arrest until his death in 1970.
Consolidation of the New Order
Suharto was the military president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998.
In the aftermath of Suharto's rise, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by the military and religious groups in a backlash against alleged communist supporters, with direct support from the United States.[128][129] Suharto's administration is commonly called the New Order era.[130] Suharto invited major foreign investment, which produced substantial, if uneven, economic growth. However, Suharto enriched himself and his family through business dealings and widespread corruption.[131]
At the time of independence, the Dutch retained control over the western half of New Guinea (also known as West Irian), and permitted steps towards self-government and a declaration of independence on 1 December 1961. After negotiations with the Dutch on the incorporation of the territory into Indonesia failed, an Indonesian paratroop invasion 18 December preceded armed clashes between Indonesian and Dutch troops in 1961 and 1962. In 1962 the United States pressured the Netherlands into secret talks with Indonesia which in August 1962 produced the New York Agreement, and Indonesia assumed administrative responsibility for West Irian on 1 May 1963.
Rejecting UN supervision, the Indonesian government under Suharto decided to settle the question of West Irian, the former Dutch New Guinea, in their favour. Rather than a referendum of all residents of West Irian as had been agreed under Sukarno, an 'Act of Free Choice' was conducted in 1969 in which 1,025 Papuan representatives of local councils were selected by the Indonesians. They were warned to vote in favour of Indonesian integration with the group unanimously voting for integration with Indonesia.[132] A subsequent UN General Assembly resolution confirmed the transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia.
In 1975, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal caused authorities there to announce plans for decolonisation of Portuguese Timor, the eastern half of the island of Timor whose western half was a part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. In the East Timorese elections held in 1975, Fretilin, a left-leaning party, and UDT, aligned with the local elite, emerged as the largest parties, having previously formed an alliance to campaign for independence from Portugal. Apodeti, a party advocating integration with Indonesia, enjoyed little popular support.
Indonesia alleged that Fretilin was communist, and feared that an independent East Timor would influence separatism in the archipelago. Indonesian military intelligence influenced the break-up of the alliance between Fretilin and UDT, which led to a coup by the UDT on 11 August 1975 and the start of a month-long civil war. During this time, the Portuguese government effectively abandoned the territory and did not resume the decolonisation process. On 28 November, Fretilin unilaterally declared independence, and proclaimed the 'Democratic Republic of East Timor'. Nine days later, on 7 December, Indonesia invaded East Timor, eventually annexing the tiny country of (then) 680,000 people. Indonesia was supported materially and diplomatically by the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, who regarded Indonesia as an anti-communist ally.
Following the
a UN-sponsored referendum held on 30 August 1999. About 99% of the eligible population participated; more than three quarters chose independence despite months of attacks by the Indonesian military and its militia. After the result was announced, elements of the Indonesian military and its militia retaliated by killing approximately 2,000 East Timorese, displacing two-thirds of the population, raping hundreds of women and girls, and destroying much of the country's infrastructure. In October 1999, the Indonesian parliament (MPR) revoked the decree that annexed East Timor, and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
(UNTAET) assumed responsibility for governing East Timor until it officially became an independent state in May 2002.
The Transmigration program (Transmigrasi) was a National Government initiative to move landless people from densely populated areas of
Java and Bali) to less populous areas of the country including Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. The stated purpose of this program was to reduce the considerable poverty and overpopulation on Java, to provide opportunities for hard-working
poor people, and to provide a workforce to better utilise the resources of the outer islands. The program, however, has been controversial, with critics accusing the Indonesian Government of trying to use these migrants to reduce the proportion of native populations in destination areas to weaken separatist movements. The program has often been cited as a major and ongoing factor in controversies and even conflict and violence between settlers and indigenous populations.
Reform Era
Main article:
Post-Suharto era
See also:
Indonesian Revolution of 1998
Pro-democracy movement
University students and police forces clash in May 1998
In 1996, Suharto undertook efforts to pre-empt a challenge to the New Order government. The
People's Representative Council Suryadi against a faction loyal to Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Sukarno
and the PDI's chairperson.
After the Suryadi faction announced a party congress to sack Megawati would be held in Medan on 20–22 June, Megawati proclaimed that her supporters would hold demonstrations in protest. The Suryadi faction went through with its sacking of Megawati, and the demonstrations manifested themselves throughout Indonesia. This led to several confrontations on the streets between protesters and security forces, and recriminations over the violence. The protests culminated in the military allowing Megawati's supporters to take over PDI headquarters in Jakarta, with a pledge of no further demonstrations.
Suharto allowed the occupation of PDI headquarters to go on for almost a month, as attentions were also on Jakarta due to a set of high-profile ASEAN meetings scheduled to take place there. Capitalizing on this, Megawati supporters organised "democracy forums" with several speakers at the site. On 26 July, officers of the military, Suryadi, and Suharto openly aired their disgust with the forums.[133]
On 27 July, police, soldiers, and persons claiming to be Suryadi supporters stormed the headquarters. Several Megawati supporters were killed, and over two hundred people were arrested and tried under the Anti-Subversion and Hate-Spreading laws. The day would become known as "Black Saturday" and mark the beginning of a renewed crackdown by the New Order government against supporters of democracy, now called the "
In 1997 and 1998, Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the
popular protests
.
Suharto stood for re-election by parliament for the seventh time in March 1998, justifying it on the grounds of the necessity of his leadership during the crisis. The parliament approved a new term. This sparked protests and riots throughout the country, now termed the
B.J. Habibie
.
President Habibie quickly assembled a cabinet. One of its main tasks was to re-establish
The May 1998 riots of Indonesia also known as the 1998 tragedy or simply the 1998 event, were incidents of mass violence, demonstrations, and civil unrest of a racial nature that occurred throughout Indonesia.
Politics since 1999
Indonesian 2009 election ballot. Since 2004, Indonesians are able to vote their president directly.
In October 1999, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which consists of the 500-member Parliament plus 200 appointed members, elected Abdurrahman Wahid, commonly referred to as "Gus Dur", as President, and Megawati Sukarnoputri as Vice-President, both for five-year terms. Wahid named his first Cabinet in early November 1999 and a reshuffled, second Cabinet in August 2000. President Wahid's government continued to pursue democratisation and to encourage renewed economic growth under challenging conditions. In addition to continuing economic malaise, his government faced regional, interethnic, and interreligious conflict, particularly in Aceh, the Maluku Islands, and Irian Jaya. In West Timor, the problems of displaced East Timorese and violence by pro-Indonesian East Timorese militias caused considerable humanitarian and social problems. An increasingly assertive Parliament frequently challenged President Wahid's policies and prerogatives, contributing to a lively and sometimes rancorous national political debate.
During the People's Consultative Assembly's first annual session in August 2000, President Wahid gave an account of his government's performance. On 29 January 2001, thousands of student protesters stormed parliament grounds and demanded that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals. Under pressure from the Assembly to improve management and co-ordination within the government, he issued a presidential decree giving Vice-President Megawati control over the day-to-day administration of government. Soon after, Megawati Sukarnoputri assumed the presidency on 23 July. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won Indonesia's first direct presidential election in 2004,[138] and was reelected in 2009.[139]
in 2019, again defeating Prabowo Subianto.[142] In March 2024, Prabowo Subianto won the presidential election, meaning he will become Indonesia’s next president with his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, as new vice president.[143]
earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of northern Sumatra, particularly Aceh. Partly as a result of the need for co-operation and peace during the recovery from the tsunami in Aceh, peace talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were restarted. Accords signed in Helsinki
created a framework for military de-escalation in which the government has reduced its military presence, as members of GAM's armed wing decommission their weapons and apply for amnesty. The agreement also allows for local parties to be established, and other autonomy measures.
Since 1997 Indonesia has been struggling to contain forest fires, especially on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Haze occurs annually during the dry season and is largely caused by illegal agricultural fires due to slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia, especially in the provinces of South Sumatra and Riau on Indonesia's Sumatra island, and Kalimantan on Indonesian Borneo.[145][146][147] The haze that occurred in 1997 was one of the most severe; dense hazes occurred again in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013, and the worst was in 2015, killing dozens of Indonesians as a result of respiratory illnesses and road accidents due to poor visibility. Another 10 people were killed due to smog from forest and land fires.[148][149][150][151][152]
Burhanudin, Jajat, and Kees van Dijk, eds. Islam in Indonesia: Contrasting Images and Interpretations (Amsterdam University Press, distributed by University of Chicago Press; 2013) 279 pages; scholarly articles
Dijk, Kees van. 2001. A country in despair. Indonesia between 1997 and 2000.
Schwarz, Adam. 1994. A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia's Search for Stability. 2nd Edition. St Leonards, NSW : Allen & Unwin.
van Zanden J. L. An Economic History of Indonesia: 1800–2010 (Routledge, 2012)
Tagliacozzo, Eric, ed. Producing Indonesia: The State of the Field of Indonesian Studies (Cornell Modern Indonesia Project) (2014) Essays by 27 scholars.
from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
^Guy Gugliotta (July 2008). "The Great Human Migration". Smithsonian. p. 2. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
^Tsang, Cheng-hwa (2000), "Recent advances in the Iron Age archaeology of Taiwan", Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 20: 153–158, doi:10.7152/bippa.v20i0.11751
^Turton, M. (2021). Notes from central Taiwan: Our brother to the south. Taiwan's relations with the Philippines date back millennia, so it's a mystery that it's not the jewel in the crown of the New Southbound Policy. Taiwan Times.
^Everington, K. (2017). Birthplace of Austronesians is Taiwan, capital was Taitung: Scholar. Taiwan News.
^Bellwood, P., H. Hung, H., Lizuka, Y. (2011). Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction. Semantic Scholar.
^Zahorka, Herwig (2007). The Sunda Kingdoms of West Java, From Tarumanagara to Pakuan Pajajaran with Royal Center of Bogor, Over 1000 Years of Propsperity and Glory. Yayasan cipta Loka Caraka.
^Pramoedya sheds light on dark side of Daendels' highway. The Jakarta Post 8 January 2006.
^Ricklefs, M. C. A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1200, 4th Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008
^Carey, Peter, The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785–1855, 2008
^Noltie, Henry (2009). Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. London & Edinburgh: British Library & Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. pp. 19–20.
^Kern, H., (1917), Steen van den berg Pananggungan (Soerabaja), thans in’t India Museum te Calcutta, Verspreide Gescriften VII, 85–114, Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff.
^Linawati Sidarto, 'Images of a grisly past', The Jakarta Post: Weekender, July 2011 "Grisly Images | the Jakarta Post". Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
Imam Bonjol in central Sumatra and Pattimura in Maluku, and a bloody thirty-year war in Aceh weakened the Dutch and tied up the colonial military forces. (Schwartz 1999, pages 3–4) Despite major internal political, social and sectarian divisions during the National Revolution
, Indonesians, on the whole, found unity in their fight for independence.
^Bevins, Vincent (20 October 2017). "What the United States Did in Indonesia". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2018. "the U.S. was part and parcel of the operation, strategizing with the Indonesian army and encouraging them to go after the PKI." – historian John Roosa
^Melvin, Jess (20 October 2017). "Telegrams confirm scale of US complicity in 1965 genocide". Indonesia at Melbourne. University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2018. The new telegrams confirm the US actively encouraged and facilitated genocide in Indonesia to pursue its own political interests in the region, while propagating an explanation of the killings it knew to be untrue.
^Bangun Santoso (14 September 2015). "Tewas Akibat 'Tercekik' Asap" (in Indonesian). Liputan 6. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
Brown, Colin (2003). A Short History of Indonesia. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Cribb, Robert. Historical atlas of Indonesia (Routledge, 2013).
Crouch, Harold. The army and politics in Indonesia (Cornell UP, 2019).
Drakeley, Steven. The History Of Indonesia (2005) online
Earl, George Windsor (1850). "On the Leading Characteristics of the Papuan, Australian and Malay-Polynesian Nations". Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia (JIAEA). 4.
Elson, Robert Edward. The idea of Indonesia: A history. Vol. 1 (Cambridge UP, 2008).
Gouda, Frances. American Visions of the Netherlands East Indies/Indonesia: US Foreign Policy and Indonesian Nationalism, 1920-1949 (Amsterdam University Press, 2002) onlineArchived 21 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine; another copy onlineArchived 19 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Hindley, Donald. The Communist Party of Indonesia, 1951–1963 (U of California Press, 1966).
Kahin, George McTurnan (1952). Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Melvin, Jess (2018). The Army and the Indonesian Genocide: Mechanics of Mass Murder.
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