A Brief History of Indonesia

1. Ancient Roots: From Hobbits to Austronesians

Though the inhabitants of Flores would tell tall tales of a short people called the Ebu Gogo long into the twentieth century, no one knew that the stories might have some connection with fact until 2003, when a team of Indonesian and Australian palaeontologists, digging in the damp levels of the Liang Bua cave, came upon a tiny 18,000-year-old skeleton, ‘as fragile as wet blotting paper’.

Deep prehistory. Long before modern humans, tiny hominids, dubbed 'Hobbits' (Homo floresiensis), inhabited Flores as early as 840,000 years ago, demonstrating early maritime journeys across the Lombok Strait. Melanesian hunter-gatherers, the first modern humans, arrived around 40,000 years ago, leaving behind cave paintings and burial sites, their descendants still populating eastern Indonesia.

Austronesian expansion. Around 7,000 years ago, Austronesian migrants began an epic journey from southern China via Taiwan, spreading across the Archipelago and eventually reaching Madagascar and the Pacific islands over millennia. They brought agriculture (rice, buffalo), pottery, and domesticated animals, forming scattered village societies based on clans and ancestor worship, elements of which persist today.

Maritime connections. Early Austronesians developed sophisticated seafaring, crisscrossing the archipelago and connecting to mainland Asia. This led to the slow emergence of international trade networks, facilitating the exchange of goods like bronze drums and eventually positioning the western Archipelago as a crucial hub between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, setting the stage for foreign cultural influences.

2. Indian Influence: Kingdoms of Sultans and Spices

If a Chinese priest wishes to go to the West in order to listen and read, he had better stay here one or two years and practise the proper rules and then proceed to central India.

Indianization begins. From the early centuries CE, parts of the western Archipelago underwent "Indianization," adopting Indian concepts of kingship (raja/maharaja) and faiths (Hinduism, Buddhism). This wasn't colonization but a pragmatic adaptation by local chiefs seeking political concepts to bolster nascent states and tap into international networks.

Srivijaya's maritime power. By the 7th century, Srivijaya emerged in Sumatra as a major Buddhist trading state, controlling the crucial Straits of Melaka. It wasn't a territorial empire but a network of vassal ports, leveraging the seafaring Orang Laut. Srivijaya's dominance spread Malay as the region's lingua franca, a legacy that endures in modern Bahasa Indonesia.

Javanese heartland. In Java, fertile volcanic soils supported powerful agricultural kingdoms like Mataram (8th-10th centuries), initially focused inland. They adopted Hindu-Buddhism, building monumental temples like Borobudur (Buddhist) and Prambanan (Shaivite), demonstrating a unique syncretic faith. Power shifted east to the Brantas delta, culminating in Majapahit (13th-15th centuries), which, under figures like Gajah Mada, claimed influence across Nusantara, becoming a cultural and economic brand.

3. Islam's Arrival: Trade, Mystics, and New Powers

Sultan Mahmud, he declared, was ‘a most illustrious and open-handed ruler, and a lover of theologians’.

Islam arrives gradually. Muslim traders from Arabia, Persia, India, and China visited Archipelago ports from the 7th century, establishing small communities. However, large-scale conversion began much later, likely driven by local rulers' pragmatic decision to adopt Islam for international trade connections and political legitimacy in a changing Asian landscape.

Early sultanates. By the late 13th century, Samudra Pasai in northern Sumatra was a Muslim sultanate, visited by Ibn Battuta in 1345. Islam spread along trade routes, reaching Melaka, Brunei, and the Spice Islands (Maluku) by the 15th century, where local rulers converted, leading to the region being called 'Islands of Kings'.

Java's shift. Java's conversion was slower, centered on the northern coastal ports (Pasisir). Foreign Muslim traders and local converts, sometimes linked to the mythical Wali Songo ('Nine Saints'), established small states like Demak. Demak eventually overran the weakened Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit in the early 16th century, marking the end of an era, though older traditions persisted in a syncretic Javanese Islam.

4. European Dawn: Spice Race and Company Rule

The Dutch had arrived in the Archipelago, and they were about to set the tone for the coming centuries.

Portuguese pioneers. Vasco de Gama's voyage in 1498 opened a direct sea route for Europeans seeking spices. The Portuguese captured Melaka in 1511, establishing a presence in the Archipelago, introducing Catholicism, and leaving linguistic legacies, but were eventually assimilated into the local trading scene.

Dutch arrival and VOC. The first Dutch voyage in 1596, though disastrous, proved profitable, sparking the "Wild Voyages." Competition led to the formation of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in 1602, a powerful monopoly granted quasi-sovereign rights. Initially focused on trade, the VOC stumbled into territorial control, particularly under figures like Jan Pieterszoon Coen.

Batavia founded. Coen established Batavia (modern Jakarta) in 1619 as the VOC's headquarters, a fortified city that became a hub of Asian trade and a melting pot of diverse communities, including a large and economically vital Chinese population. Despite its strategic importance, the VOC's territorial control remained limited for centuries, a small pimple on the flank of powerful indigenous kingdoms like Mataram.

5. Colonial Consolidation: Order, Exploitation, and Resistance

Rust en orde—‘peace and order’.

VOC's decline and fall. The VOC, burdened by the costs of territorial expansion and endemic corruption, slid into bankruptcy by the late 18th century. Its assets and debts were taken over by the Dutch state in 1800, marking a shift from company rule to state colonialism, though Dutch control remained fragmented.

Napoleonic interlude. European wars spilled into the Archipelago. French-backed Dutch governors like Daendels (1808-1811) introduced radical reforms and built infrastructure like the Great Post Road, often through brutal forced labor. The British, under Thomas Stamford Raffles (1811-1816), briefly took control, further centralizing administration and attempting land reforms, also with significant social costs.

Cultivation System. After the Dutch regained control, Governor-General Van den Bosch introduced the Cultivation System (1830s-1870s), forcing peasants in Java and other areas to grow cash crops for state profit. While generating immense wealth for the Netherlands, it caused widespread suffering and famine in some regions, exposed by critics like Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker). This era solidified Dutch control over Java and parts of the outer islands.

6. Nationalist Awakening: Education, Ideas, and Unity

We the sons and daughters of Indonesia, acknowledge one motherland, Indonesia.

Ethical Policy and education. In response to criticism and a sense of "debt of honour," the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy (from 1901), expanding education for "natives." This inadvertently created a new, Dutch-speaking, Western-educated elite, primarily Javanese, who began to question colonial rule.

Rise of organizations. This new elite formed various organizations:

• Budi Utomo (1908): Focused on Javanese cultural and educational advancement.
• Sarekat Islam (SI, from 1911): A mass movement initially for Muslim traders, evolving into a broad nationalist platform.
• Muhammadiyah (1912): Promoted Islamic reform through modern education.
• Indische Partij (1912): Advocated immediate independence for all born in the Indies, led by Indo-Europeans and radical natives.

Emergence of "Indonesia". The concept of "Indonesia" as a unified nation, distinct from the Dutch East Indies and encompassing all ethnic groups, gained traction. This culminated in the Youth Pledge (1928), where young nationalists from across the Archipelago declared one homeland, one nation, and one language: Indonesia.

7. War and Revolution: Japanese Interlude and Fight for Freedom

We the people of Indonesia hereby declare the independence of Indonesia.

Japanese invasion. Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies in early 1942, rapidly overwhelming Dutch forces in less than two months. This ended 350 years of Dutch rule and shattered the image of European invincibility.

Occupation and mobilization. The Japanese occupation (1942-1945) was often brutal, marked by forced labor (romusha) and famine. However, they also promoted Indonesian as the national language, banned Dutch, and, crucially, mobilized and trained Indonesian youth in paramilitary groups like Peta, inadvertently creating a revolutionary fighting force.

Declaration of Independence. As Japan faced defeat, Indonesian nationalist leaders, notably Sukarno and Hatta (who collaborated with the Japanese), seized the moment. Following pressure from radical youth (Pemuda), they unilaterally declared Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1945, just days after Japan's surrender.

8. Sukarno's Era: Guided Democracy and Confrontation

Our nations and countries are colonies no more.

Post-revolution challenges. After gaining independence in 1949 (following a four-year war against the Dutch), Indonesia faced immense challenges: economic ruin, internal rebellions (including communist and regional uprisings), and the unresolved issue of Dutch control over West New Guinea.

Parliamentary democracy. The early 1950s saw a period of parliamentary democracy, but frequent cabinet changes and political instability led Sukarno to criticize the system as ill-suited to Indonesia. The 1955 election, while a democratic success, resulted in a fragmented parliament.

Guided Democracy. Frustrated by political deadlock, Sukarno introduced "Guided Democracy" (from 1957), consolidating power in the presidency and marginalizing political parties. He balanced competing forces (nationalism, Islam, communism) and pursued a policy of confrontation (Konfrontasi) against perceived neo-colonialism, notably over West New Guinea (achieved in 1963) and against Malaysia.

9. Suharto's New Order: Development and Control

Pembangunan, ‘Development’.

Rise of Suharto. Following the chaotic events of September 30, 1965, and the subsequent mass killings of alleged communists, General Suharto consolidated power, eventually replacing Sukarno in 1967. His "New Order" regime prioritized stability and economic development.

Economic turnaround. The New Order, guided by technocrats, stabilized the economy, attracting foreign investment and implementing agricultural reforms ("green revolution"). This led to decades of high economic growth, significantly raising living standards for many Indonesians and earning Suharto the title "Father of Development."

Political control. Suharto established a highly centralized, authoritarian state. Political parties were curtailed, elections were managed (with the government-backed Golkar always winning), and dissent was suppressed by a pervasive security apparatus. While bringing stability and economic progress, the regime was increasingly marked by corruption and a lack of political freedom.

10. End of an Era: Crisis and Reform

I have decided to declare that I have ceased to be the president of the Republic of Indonesia as of the time I read this on this day, Thursday, May 21, 1998.

Peripheral conflicts. Despite overall stability, the New Order faced persistent low-level insurgencies in peripheral regions like East Timor (invaded 1975), West Papua, and Aceh, often responding with brutal military force and human rights abuses that drew international criticism.

Economic bubble and collapse. The economic boom of the 1980s and 90s became increasingly reliant on speculative investment and was marred by widespread corruption and cronyism, particularly benefiting Suharto's family and close associates. When the Asian Financial Crisis hit in 1997, Indonesia's economy collapsed, leading to widespread hardship and social unrest.

Fall of Suharto. Economic crisis fueled student protests and public anger against the regime's corruption and authoritarianism. Following deadly riots in Jakarta and mounting pressure from within the political and military elite, Suharto resigned on May 21, 1998, ending his 32-year rule and opening the door for democratic reforms.

Last updated: June 8, 2025