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History
First recorded
attempts to invade Indonesia were by the notorious Mongol Emperor
Kubilai Khan who was driven back in 1293. Arab traders and merchants
laid the foundations for the gradual spread of Islam to the region
which did not replace Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religions
until the end of the 16th century. Small Moslem kingdoms developed
and grew, but none anticipated the strength and persistence of European
invasions which followed.
In 1292, Marco Polo became one of
the first recorded Europeans to set foot on the islands, but it
wasn't until much later that the Portuguese arrived in pursuit of
spices. In 1509, Portuguese trading posts were established in the
strategic commercial centre of Malacca on the Malay peninsula and
it was from here that they began to control trade Routes.
The Dutch followed at the turn of the 16th century and succeeded
in ousting the Portuguese to the easternmost islands where some
ports were controlled by another major European power, Spain. The
Dutch expanded their control of the entire area into the 17th and
18th centuries and retained it for the most part until the outbreak
of World War 11 in 1939.
The Dutch East Indies, as it was known at this time, fell under
British rule for a short period during the Napoleonic Wars of 1811-1816,
when Holland was occupied by France and Dutch power overseas was
limited. While under British control the Lt. Governor for Java and
its dependencies was Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who was known
for his liberal attitude towards the people under colonial rule
and his research on the history of Java. With the return of the
Dutch a relative calm was interrupted by long and bloody wars launched
by the local people against the Dutch colonial government. It was
from this period that the independence movements of the 20th century,
became stronger and more purposeful.
The surrender of the Japanese in 1945 signalled the end of the Second
World War in Asia and also the start of independence. In the wake
of global perceptions of freedom, Indonesia proclaimed its independence
on August 17 that same year.
But the returning Dutch bitterly resisted Indonesian nationalist
movements and intermittent fighting followed. Under the auspices
of the United Nations at the Hague, an agreement was finally reached
on December 9, 1949, It was from this time that Indonesia's sovereignty
over the former Dutch East Indies was officially recognized.
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