Special Status For the Indonesian Independence Day Let Us Learn again From old history The history of colonialism Indonesia Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and British and Japanese Occupation The history of colonialism Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited) stretching along the equator in South East Asia. The countrys strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history. The area of Indonesia is populated by peoples of various migrations, creating a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and languages. The archipelagos landforms and climate significantly influenced agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of the state of Indonesia represent the twentieth century borders of the Dutch East Indies. Beginning in the 16th century, successive waves of Europeans — the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and British Europeans arrived in Indonesia seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (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 subsequent occupation in 1942-45 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.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 18:13:42 +0000
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