Indonesia : history

The principal leaders of Indonesia's nationalist movement, Dr Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta, declared independence on 17 August 1945. They did so in the brief political vacuum immediately following Japan's surrender before Allied or Dutch troops could arrive to restore the colonial status quo that the Japanese invasion and occupation had supplanted during the years 1942-45. Against the odds, Sukarno and Hatta went on to become Indonesia's first President and Vice- President, respectively, although a bloody war of independence had to be endured first. Not until 27 December 1949 did the Dutch relinquish their former colony, albeit with the exception of West New Guinea, which was not incorporated into Indonesia until 1969, following a contentious 'Act of Free Choice' by selected representatives of its inhabitants. Thus, the nation state of Indonesia eventually inherited all the territories that Dutch colonialism had carved out of the region. Hitherto, before the colonial era, these territories and the rest of South-East Asia were divided among numerous kingdoms and sultanates which rose and fell and whose power and influence over territory and people waxed and waned over many centuries. These states had begun emerging more than 2,000 years ago as busy maritime trading routes developed through the Indonesian archipelago linking the region with India, China and Arabia. In the Indonesian context, the best known of these states were Srivijaya (700-1200 CE) and Majapahit (1300-1450), based on the islands of Sumatra and Java, respectively, but each exerting authority far beyond their centres. The region's flourishing trade brought Hinduism, Buddhism and other Indic ideas and technologies into the region's vibrant societies and increasingly sophisticated courts. Rather unevenly, these Indic elements blended with local religious beliefs and customs. Later, beginning in the 12th century, much the same syncretic process took place with respect to Islam, which supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism throughout most of what became Indonesia.