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HISTORY
Colonialism
With the coming of the
Netherlands East Indies Company (VOC), Indonesia partly entered a period of
colonialism, poverty and misery. Owing to superior armament and through a
“divide et impera” policy of showing discords
among the population, the VOC succeeded in expanding its power and
territory. The Dutch took drastic and cruel steps to
sightened their monopoly and keep up the prices of spices.
Private spice
plantations in Maluku were destroyed and
expeditions undertaken to punish the population resistance called “Houngi
Expedition”. The sultans and princess were maltreated and forced to sign
agreements to acknowledge the authority of the VOC, and thus became
subordinates to the VOC. In 1799, the VOC was declared bankrupt and all its
proprieties were transferred to the Dutch Government.
The occupation of the
Netherlands by the French during the Napoleonic War, brought Indonesia,
under the rule of the British East India Company (1811-1816).
Sir Thomas
Stampord Raffles, who during the British
temporary rule Liutenant-Governor General of
Java and dependencies, abolished the slade
trade, introduced partial self-government and re stored the
Borobudur temple.
After Napoleon’s
downfall, the Dutchreturned to Indonesia and
resumed their colonial policy, exploiting the country’s natural resources at
the cost of the interests of the people, who continued to resist Dutch
colonizers. Fierce battles broke out everywhere, led by brave patriots like
Thomas Matulessy (Maluku
Uprising, 1816-1818), Prince Diponegoro (Java
War), 1825-1830), Cik Di
Tiro and Teuku
Umar (Aceh War,
1873-1903), Teuku Imam
Bonjol (Padri War, 1830-1837 in West
Sumatra), and Sisingamangaraja (Batak
War, 1907), However all these wars of independence were suppressed and their
leaders imprisoned or exiled.
In 1893-1931 Governor
general Van den Bosch imposed the “Tanam
Paksa” system whereby the people was forced to
plant commercial crops and sacrificed cultivation of their staple food.
Following criticisms voiced by Dutch Scholars, among others by
Douwes Dekker in the
Netherlands East Indies as well as in the Netherlands itself, the Dutch
Administration introduced an “ethical policy” in 1901 which was aimed at
increasing education and improving agriculture but in reality brought little
benefit to the population. The “Volksraad” of
the “People’s Council” established in 1918, consisted mainly of Europeans.
School were built but their number was very small. At the outbreak of World
War II, the Indonesian people were still poor and the rate of illiteracy
stood at 93%. The unsuccessful wars of independence by of waging an
organized struggle. This period of “national awakening” was heralded by
Boedi Oetomo,
founded on May 20, 1908 by students of the Medical School (Stovia)
in Jakarta, such as Wahidin
Sudirohusodo and Sutomo. Other
organizations came into being soon after wards. All has as their ultimate
aim the establishment of “Indonesia Merdeka” an
independent Indonesian state.
Realizing that unity
was imperative to cope with Dutch “divide-and-rule” policy, the youth, at
their second progress on October 28, 1928, called for unity among the
Indonesian youth and pledged allegiance to “One Nation”, Indonesia, One
Country, Indonesia, One Language, Bahasa
Indonesia”. In the spirit of unity pledged by youth, women’s organizations
from over the country held their first conference in
Yogyakarta, on December 22, 1928, and merged into a single
organization, the Indonesian Woman’s Congress. Youth organizations such as
Young Sumatra, Young Java, Young Minahasa, Young
Ambon, ect., were
also merged into “Young Indonesia” (Indonesia Muda).
World War II made an
end to Dutch domination when the Dutch armed forces surrendered to the
Japanese on March 7, 1942. The years of Japanese occupation (1942-1945) was
a period of hardship, poverty, famine and hard labour. Japanese propaganda
for a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere became very unpopular. Uprising
and rebellion arouse in many parts of the country. Under the pressure of the
nationalists, the Japanese authorities were brought to recognize the
Red-and-White as the national flag, Indonesia Raya
as the national anthem, and Bahasa Indonesia as
the national language.
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