Indonesia's Early History

Next, I started investigating Indonesia’s early history. As civilization developed, small kingdoms were established and traders from other Asian countries brought Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to the country. Already, the islands were a stop on the Middle East to Far East trading route. Around the 16^th century AD, European traders discovered the islands. The Portuguese were the first to enter the spice trade, but then came the Dutch to compete for goods and influence in the country. The spice trade was an influential activity for Europe, and encouraged world exploration to find new ways to Asia. The Dutch traders eventually monopolized the spice trade in Indonesia, thus making Amsterdam an extremely important trading hub for all of Europe. The Dutch VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indishe Compagnie/ United East India Company) quickly evolved from trading partners into colonial dominators. The company, however, went broke from the high cost of being a colonial dominator, both suppressing uprisings and armed conflicts with other traders. Its assets were seized by the Dutch government, which is how the Indonesian islands became part of the Dutch colonial empire. Some of Indonesia’s people still speak Dutch, but it is an older dialect, so for English speakers it would be like visiting a place where locals still speak colonial English.

At the start of the 1800s the Netherlands was also on the brink of bankruptcy. To make quick profits for the homeland, the controllers in Indonesia began to exploit the natural resources of the country. Indigo, sugar, and rubber were in high demand in Europe, so large government plantations, run using the forced-labor of Javanese peasants, started operating and producing large profits for the Dutch. With agricultural production focused on these areas, and not on the mainstay of rice, famine and epidemic soon followed. As profits grew, so did the influence of the Dutch in other islands in Indonesia. During the early 20^th century new “ethical” policies were implemented in Indonesia to improve health, education, and increase local industry, but the results were mixed.

Indonesia did not sink easily into colonial submission and throughout colonial rule various wars and upheavals tested the supremacy of the Dutch administration. The initial rebellions usually took place in specific regions, like Aceh in North Sumatra, and were not a unified country effort. With the spread of ideas like “nationalism” more cohesive movements started by groups like Sarekat Islam (an Islamic anti-colonial organization), PKI (the Indonesian Communist Party), and eventually the very successful PNI (an Indonesian nationalist party led by Soekarno), which helped unify the nation in its fight for independence. It’s said the Japanese occupation during WWII ingrained a military psyche into the people of Indonesia. After the Japanese left and the Dutch returned, Indonesians were now inclined to wage a bloody war for their independence. Indonesian militant groups habitually used guerilla attacks when fighting against the Dutch. This conflict for Independence continued until Dec. 27, 1949, when the Dutch negotiated for peace. Power was given back to the Indonesian people in a ceremony at the Freedom Palace in Jakarta. While Indonesians united to achieve independence, the diversity of cultures, religions, traditions, and customs made keeping this unity difficult, especially among the remote and pro-separatist islands of Papua (AKA Irian Jaya) and Timor.

(Dutch Imperialism in Indonesia)