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Indonesia
Education
Education
 According
to Indonesian law, all children are required to attend at least six
years of elementary school. The country's school system is patterned
after that of the Dutch, with secondary school curricula divided into
mathematics, languages, and economics. Approximately 74 percent of
Indonesians aged 15 or older are literate.
Elementary and Secondary Schools
 In
the late 1980s about 26.7 million Indonesian children attended public
elementary schools, and more than 8.9 million students were enrolled in
general secondary schools. In addition, more than 1.4 million Indonesian
students attended vocational and teacher-training institutes.
Universities and Colleges
In the late 1980s Indonesia's institutions of higher education were
attended by nearly 1.2 million students per year. Institutions with the
largest enrollments include the University of Indonesia (1950), in
Jakarta; Pajajaran State University (1957), in Bandung; and Gajah Mada
University (1949), in Yogyakarta.
Culture
Indonesian culture is an intermixture of many diverse civilizations. The
Hinduism and Buddhism of India exerted a profound influence on
Indonesian life and left a strong imprint on the architecture and
sculpture of the country. Arabic influence in Indonesia has been
promoted since the 13th century, mainly through the teachings of Islam.
The islands have also been affected by Southeast Asian and Polynesian
cultures, as well as by the influx of Chinese and Dutch peoples.
Indonesia has about 20 major libraries, which are located primarily in
the cities of Bandung, Bogor, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta. The National
Archives and the Library of the National Museum (360,000 volumes) are in
Jakarta, as is the National Library (750,000 volumes), which includes a
number of special collections. The Bali Museum is in Denpasar.
Indonesia, Republic of, island republic of Southeast Asia, constituting
most of the Malay Archipelago and including all of the former
Netherlands Indies. The country consists of more than 13,600 islands,
almost half of which are inhabited, and stretches across some 5150 km
(some 3200 mi) of sea in the region of the equator. The republic shares
the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Indonesia also
shares the island of New Guinea: The western section, known as Irian
Jaya (West Irian), is under Indonesian administration, and the eastern
section is part of Papua New Guinea. Marine frontiers of Indonesia
include the South China Sea, the Celebes Sea, and the Pacific Ocean on
the north, and the Indian Ocean on the south and west. Indonesia has an
area of 1,919,443 sq km (741,101 sq mi). The capital and largest city of
Indonesia is Jakarta.
Land and Resources
A stretch of relatively open water (consisting of the Java, Flores, and
Banda seas) divides the major islands of Indonesia into two unequal
strings of islands: the comparatively long, narrow islands of Sumatra,
Java, Timor, and others on the south, and Borneo (Kalimantan), Celebes (Sulawesi),
the Moluccas, and New Guinea on the north. A chain of volcanic mountains
rising to heights of more than 3568 m (more than 12,000 ft) extends from
west to east through the southern islands from Sumatra to Timor. The
highest points on the chain are Kerinci (3800 m/12,467 ft) on Sumatra,
and Semeru (3676 m/12,060 ft) on Java. Each of the major northern
islands has a central mountain mass, with plains around the coasts.
Puncak Jaya (5030 m/16,503 ft), in the Sudirman Range of Irian Jaya, is
the highest elevation in the republic. The most extensive lowland areas
are on Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Irian Jaya. Over many centuries
periodic volcanic flows from the numerous active volcanoes have
deposited rich soils on the lowlands, particularly in Java. Many
volcanoes in Indonesia are still active, and earthquakes also occur. Two
recent earthquakes include a 1992 earthquake that struck the island of
Flores, killing 2000, and an earthquake that hit Sumatra in February
1994, killing 180.
Climate
The climate of Indonesia is tropical, with two monsoon seasons—a wet
season from November to March and a dry season from June to October. The
weather is more moderate between monsoons. The northern parts of the
country have only slight differences in precipitation during the wet and
dry seasons. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80 percent
yearly; the daily temperature range (about 20° to 32° C/about 70° to 90°
F at Jakarta) varies little from winter to summer. Rainfall in the
lowlands averages about 1780 to 3175 mm (about 70 to 125 in) annually
and in some mountain regions reaches about 6100 mm (about 240 in).
Natural Resources
The rich volcanic soil of Indonesia is ideal for growing crops; forests
flourish and cover about two-thirds of the land. Tin, bauxite,
petroleum, natural gas, copper, nickel, and coal are major mineral
resources, and small amounts of silver, diamonds, and rubies are found.
Saltwater fish are abundant, and the surrounding seas also yield pearls,
shells, and agar, a seaweed substance.
Plants and Animals
Tropical rain forest vegetation prevails in the northern lowlands of
Indonesia. Mangrove trees and nipa palm dominate the forests of the
southern lowlands. The hill forests consist of oak, chestnut, and
mountain plants. The animal life of the Malay Archipelago is
representative in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, but certain types of fauna
are peculiar to each island. The orangutan is found only in Sumatra and
Borneo; the tiger, in Sumatra and Java; the wild ox, in Java and Borneo;
the proboscis monkey, only in Borneo; the elephant, the tapir, and the
siamang (black gibbon) are found only in Sumatra. In the south, on
Celebes and in the Moluccas, the fauna includes both Asian and
Australian types. The fauna of Timor, however, includes only one
Australian type, the cuscus, a marsupial. All of the islands abound in
birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Population
The indigenous people of Indonesia are mostly of mixed Malaysian origin.
The most distinct ethnic groups are the Javanese and the Sundanese, who
live mainly on Java and Madura; the Balinese, in Bali; and the Bataks
and Atjehnese, on Sumatra. Other minority groups distributed throughout
the islands include a score of related Malay groups, several million
Chinese, and other Asian peoples. The number of Dutch, estimated at
about 60,000 in the late 1950s, has declined to fewer than 10,000.
Population Characteristics
Indonesia is the fifth most populous country in the world. According to
a 1993 estimate, it had 197,252,428 inhabitants; the overall population
density was about 103 persons per sq km (about 266 per sq mi). More than
60 percent of the people live on Java and Madura, which are among the
world's most densely populated regions. In 1989 Sumatra had an estimated
36.9 million inhabitants and Celebes had about 12.6 million.
Political Divisions
Indonesia is divided into 27 provinces and districts: Aceh, Bali,
Bengkulu, Central Celebes, North Celebes, South Celebes, Southeast
Celebes, Jakarta, Jambi, Yogyakarta, Irian Jaya, Central Java, East
Java, West Java, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan,
West Kalimantan, Lampung, Maluku, East Nusatenggara, West Nusatenggara,
Riau, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, West Sumatra, and East Timor.
Principal Cities
The two largest cities in Indonesia are located on Java. Jakarta, with a
population (1990 census) of 8,222,515, is the capital and chief
commercial center. Other major cities on Java are Surabaya (2,473,272)
and Bandung, (2,056,915), and Semarang (1,249,230). On Sumatra, Medan,
the capital of the northern province, had a population of 1,730,052, and
Palembang, in the south, had 1,140,918 people. Ujung Pandang (Makassar),
on Celebes, had 944,372 inhabitants, and Banjarmasin, on Borneo,
480,737.
Religion and Language
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. Islam in various
forms is the faith of more than 85 percent of the population. Other
religious groups include more than 17 million Christians, mostly
Protestants, and more than 1.5 million Buddhists, most of whom are of
Chinese background. Hinduism, once a major influence, is confined
primarily to Bali.
More than 100 languages are spoken in Indonesia, but Bahasa Indonesia is
the official and most widely spoken tongue. It is based on Malay, long
the market language of coastal towns, and it contains elements of
Chinese, Indian, Dutch, and English.
Economy
Despite the position of Indonesia as a major world exporter of
petroleum, natural gas, tin, and rubber, most of the people remain tied
to subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Business or
industrial undertakings owned by Indonesians have been few, with
production concentrated on export commodities. To rectify the imbalance
of a colonial economy, the government nationalized foreign-owned
enterprises in the early 1960s. Under the stabilization policies of the
government and with large amounts of foreign aid, the Indonesian
economy, which verged on bankruptcy before 1966, has shown a remarkable
recovery. A five-year plan for 1979 to 1983 aimed to increase employment
opportunities, raise food production, establish a more equitable
distribution of wealth, and attain a yearly economic growth rate of 6.5
percent. The five-year plan for 1984 to 1989 had a more modest annual
growth target of 5 percent, as declines in prices for Indonesia's
primary commodities forced the government to scale down its ambitions.
The estimated annual budget in the late 1980s included $10.5 billion in
revenue and $13.9 billion in expenditure.
Agriculture
About 12 percent of Indonesia is under cultivation; much of the arable
land is on Java. About 55 percent of the country's approximately 70.4
million workers are engaged in agriculture, either as owners of small
farms or as laborers on estates. The small farms, which produce most of
the subsistence crops, also contribute substantial proportions of the
nation's rubber crop, tobacco crop, and total export production.
Plantation estates produce rubber, tobacco, sugar, palm oil, coffee,
tea, and cacao, mostly for export.
Rice is the major staple food of the country, and the annual yield in
the late 1980s was about 41.8 million metric tons. Most of the rice is
grown on Java. Other important crops are cassava, maize, sweet potatoes,
coconuts, sugarcane, soybeans, peanuts, tea, tobacco, and coffee. About
1.1 million metric tons of rubber are produced yearly. Increases in crop
production and marketing have been encouraged by farm cooperatives and
banks. Large quantities of food, however, including rice, must still be
imported.
In the late 1980s the country had about 12.7 million goats, 6.5 million
cattle, 5.4 million sheep, 3 million buffalo, 6.5 million pigs, and 410
million chickens.
Forestry and Fishing
About two-thirds of Indonesia is covered with forest and woodland, most
of which is concentrated in Borneo, Sumatra, and eastern Indonesia.
Almost all forestland is state owned. Roundwood production totaled about
173.6 million cu m (about 6.1 billion cu ft) annually in the late 1980s.
Almost all the timber harvest was made up of hardwoods, more than 80
percent of which was used for fuel. In addition, valuable industrial
woods were produced in significant quantities, including teak, ebony,
bamboo, and rattan. Indonesia is the world's leading exporter of
plywood.
Fish is vital to the Indonesian diet, with much of the annual catch
brought in by those who fish part-time at a subsistence level. In the
late 1980s, the catch of sea fisheries was 2 million metric tons, and
inland fisheries yielded about 638,000 tons. The chief fishes caught
include carp, tuna, mackerel, scad, and sardines. Shrimp and prawns are
also important to the fishing industry.
Mining
Petroleum, natural gas, tin, bauxite, nickel, copper, coal, manganese,
and iron ore are the principal mineral resources of Indonesia. In the
late 1980s Indonesia ranked among the world leaders in production of
petroleum, with nearly 500 million barrels produced annually. Rich
reserves are located mostly in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The output of
natural gas was approximately 41 billion cu m (1.4 trillion cu ft).
Indonesia remains one of the largest producers of tin in the world,
although annual production has decreased from a peak of nearly 35,000
metric tons (concentrate) in the late 1940s to about 30,600 tons in the
late 1980s. Other annual economically important mineral yields include
about 505,800 metric tons of bauxite, about 2.7 million tons of coal,
and about 1.7 million tons of nickel ore.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing in Indonesia contributes more than 18 percent of the gross
domestic product, and industrial expansion remains a major goal of
government development programs. Many existing enterprises are devoted
to petroleum refining, textiles, and food processing. Other products
include tobacco products, plywood, cement and other building materials,
chemicals, radios and television receivers, and motor vehicles.
Manufacturing is concentrated on Java.
Energy
About 21 percent of Indonesia's electricity is generated in
hydroelectric facilities, and virtually all the rest is produced in
thermal installations. In the late 1980s the country had an installed
electricity generating capacity of about 10.4 million kilowatts, and
yearly output was about 34.8 billion kilowatt-hours.
Currency and Banking
The new rupiah, worth 1000 old rupiahs, has been the official monetary
unit of Indonesia since 1965 (1913 rupiah equal U.S.$1; 1991). The Bank
Indonesia is the central bank of Indonesia. About three dozen national
and regional banks extend credit to commercial and manufacturing
enterprises. The country also has about 80 private commercial banks and
foreign bank branches.
Foreign Trade
Since 1964 nearly all the import and export trade of Indonesia has been
conducted by state-owned trading companies. In the late 1980s the
important exports included petroleum and petroleum products, natural
gas, plywood, and textiles. Other export commodities included coffee,
rubber, tin, palm oil, tobacco, tea, and pepper. Principal imports
included machinery and transportation equipment, electrical equipment,
chemicals, rice, iron and steel, and pharmaceuticals. The principal
trading partners of Indonesia are Japan, the United States, Singapore,
Germany, Taiwan, and South Korea. Yearly export earnings of Indonesia
are generally much higher than the cost of its imports; in the late
1980s the country's exports were valued at $22.7 billion and its imports
at $16.3 billion.
Transportation
Well-maintained inland waterways and interisland shipping are vital to
the economy of Indonesia. Since the withdrawal of Dutch equipment and
personnel in 1958, rebuilding and development of shipping facilities
have progressed slowly. The main ports of international trade are
located near Jakarta and Surabaya in Java and at Medan in Sumatra.
Borneo and Celebes also maintain smaller ports, mainly for internal
traffic.
In the late 1980s, Indonesia had about 250,000 km (about 155,000 mi) of
roads, approximately 39 percent of which were paved. The country was
served by some 6580 km (some 4090 mi) of operated railroad track, almost
all on Sumatra, Java, and Madura. The main international airline is the
government-controlled Garuda Indonesian Airways. The chief airports
serve Jakarta, Medan, and Denpasar.
Communications
In the late 1980s more than 890,000 telephones were in use in Indonesia.
Radio Republic Indonesia, the state-owned system, operates 49 stations
serving approximately 32.8 million receivers. A government-controlled
television broadcasting system, which began operation in 1962, serves an
estimated 7.1 million receivers; private commercial television
broadcasting began in 1989. Most of Indonesia's daily newspapers with
large circulations, including Kompas, Pos Kota, and Berita Buana, are
published in Jakarta.
Labor
Since 1908, the beginning of the labor movement in Indonesia, trade
unions have been active in the national life. The largest aggregate of
trade unions is the All-Indonesia Union of Workers, founded in 1973. The
40-hour workweek is standard throughout Indonesia. Wages are regulated
through arbitration. The labor code of 1948 and subsequent legislation
provide standards regarding child labor, women in industry, work
conditions, hours of work, and vacations.
Government
Indonesia is a constitutional republic. It proclaimed its independence
from the Netherlands in 1945, and in 1949 the Netherlands recognized the
sovereign Republic of the United States of Indonesia. The following year
Indonesia's federal system was abolished, and the country became a
unitary republic.
Three provisional constitutions defined the form of Indonesia's
government. The first one was proclaimed in 1945; the second one was
issued in February 1950; and the third one was passed by the provisional
House of Representatives in August 1950. In 1959 the constitution of
1945 was reinstated by presidential decree.
Executive
Under the constitution of 1945 the chief executive of Indonesia is a
president, elected to a five-year term by a national body called the
People's Consultative Assembly, which includes the country's parliament.
The president, who may serve any number of terms, has wide power and can
govern by decree in emergencies. The president appoints and presides
over a cabinet of ministers.
Legislature
Legislative power in Indonesia is vested in the House of
Representatives, which must approve all statutes and has the right to
submit draft bills for ratification by the president. The council is
made up of 400 directly elected and 100 appointed members. The People's
Consultative Assembly is composed of all the members of the assembly
augmented by 500 representatives of functional groups (such as farmers,
businesspeople, intellectuals, and women) and the country's regions. The
main functions of the assembly are to elect the president and vice
president and to determine the broad lines of state and government
policy. The constitution requires that the assembly meet at least every
five years and that the council convene once a year.
Judiciary
Civil and criminal cases are tried by district courts situated
throughout Indonesia. Appeals are heard by high courts located in 14
major cities; the final court of appeal is the Supreme Court in Jakarta.
One codified criminal law applies to all Indonesia. In civil cases,
however, Indonesians are tried under the uncodified customary law (Adat
law), and Westerners and Asians of foreign origin or ancestry are held
to a system based on continental European civil codes.
Local Government
Each of the 27 provinces and districts of Indonesia is administered by a
governor and by local legislative and administrative bodies.
Political Parties
Indonesia has three major political parties. The largest by far is
Sekber Golkar (founded 1964), an alliance of organizations representing
workers, farmers, youth, and other interest groups. Other groupings
include the United Development party (1973), which has a strongly Muslim
orientation, and the small Indonesian Democratic party (1973), a
coalition of nationalist and Christian groups.
Health and Welfare
Poor diet, overcrowded housing, lack of sanitation, and impure water
contribute to the serious health problems that face Indonesia. The
government has instituted programs for raising standards of health,
remedying social problems of narcotics addiction and prostitution, and
rehabilitating demobilized soldiers. Life expectancy at birth in the
late 1980s was 55 years for men and 58 years for women; the infant
mortality rate was 83 per 1000 live births. In the late 1980s Indonesia
had about 21,500 physicians and more than 112,000 hospital beds.
Defense
The armed forces of Indonesia were unified in 1967 and placed under the
administration of the ministry of defense and security. Since then the
military establishment has exercised decisive authority. The country's
army, navy, and air force have a total of 270,900 troops.
History
Remains of one of the earliest forms of human life (Pithecanthropus
erectus, or Homo erectus, known as Java Man) have been found in the Solo
and Brantas river valleys in Central Java, although few traces of human
life from Paleolithic and Mesolithic times (Old and Middle Stone ages)
have been excavated. Only crude stone implements, such as the
rectangular ax, and rock paintings in caves on the eastern islands have
been found. Extensive migrations have long taken place in Southeast
Asia, leading to the mixture of more than a hundred ethnic and
linguistic divisions in the archipelago. A major cultural gap has been
noted between the coastal peoples and the interior groups. Two thousand
years ago some of the coastal peoples had probably already developed
irrigated wet-rice ( sawah) cultivation, but until recently many in the
interior still depended on shifting, slash-and-burn agriculture (ladang).
Bronze was introduced into the archipelago about 300 BC from northern
Vietnam, Thailand, or China, and from that time on both bronze working
and ironworking were practiced. Before the penetration of Indian
influences in the early centuries of the Christian era, many of the
peoples of the islands lived in political groups, rarely larger than
family-based tribal units. Such cultural expressions as the wayang
(shadow puppet) theater, the gamelan orchestra, and the technique of
batik work may also predate Indian influences.
Trade between the Bay of Bengal and Indonesia most likely began in the
1st and 2nd centuries AD. Although historians now discount earlier
theories of Indian military conquests or extensive migration into the
region, Indian culture exerted a powerful influence on the character of
the states that developed in the archipelago. Direct communication with
China probably began between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, with
Indonesian exports of cloves, tree resins, and camphor. In the early 5th
century Fa-hsien, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, and the princely monk
Gunavarman from Kashmir wrote of direct voyages between western
Indonesia and China.
Rock inscriptions on Java, dating from the middle of either the 5th or
6th century, reveal the existence of the extensive Javanese kingdom of
Taruma (centered near present-day Jakarta) that observed Indian
religious rites and promoted irrigation works. By the beginning of the
7th century several important kingdoms existed on Java; a harbor-kingdom
was also apparently well established on the southeastern coast of
Sumatra.
Early Kingdoms
By the 7th century two principal types of political units had emerged in
the archipelago: the maritime trading states along the coasts of
Sumatra, North Java, Borneo (Kalimantan), Sulawesi (see CELEBES), and
some of the other eastern islands; and the rice-based inland kingdoms,
particularly of East and Central Java. The greatest maritime empire was
Sri Vijaya (see SRI VIJAYA, KINGDOM OF), a Mahayana Buddhist kingdom on
Sumatra's southeast coast, which in the late 7th century was a center of
trade with India and China and for some 500 years more or less
monopolized much of China's trade with the western archipelago.
Little archaeological evidence of the Sri Vijayan Empire remains on
Sumatra. In contrast, the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Central and East
Java left extensive temples, buildings, and inscriptions as evidence of
the extent of Indian cultural influences on their religion and state
organization. All these Javanese kingdoms were based on wet-rice
agriculture and had a complex hierarchical administrative organization
headed by a god-king. Inscriptions reveal that under the Sanjaya family
the Hindu kingdom of Mataram flourished on the Dieng Plateau in the
early 8th century. In the second half of the century a Buddhist kingdom
under the Sailendra dynasty developed in the nearby Kedu Plain. The
Sailendras built the massive temple monument of Borobudur in the mid-9th
century. By this time rulers claiming descent from King Sanjaya (reigned
732-778) of Central Java had founded a new kingdom of Mataram, ruling
the east as well as the central part of the island. In the early 10th
century, for unknown reasons, the kingdom's center shifted to the east,
where Hindu influence on the state weakened. Under Sindok (reigned
929-947), and later united with Bali under Airlangga, the East Javanese
Kingdom evidenced growing interest in overseas trade. After a period of
division, the new kingdom of Singosari was founded on Java in 1222 by a
commoner, Angrok (reigned 1222-1227) and under the Buddhist king
Kertanagara (reigned 1268-1292) ascendancy was asserted over Sumatran
areas formerly ruled by Sri Vijaya. Kertanagara's successor, Vijaya
(reigned 1293-1309), repelled a Mongol invasion of Java and founded
Majapahit (see MAJAPAHIT, KINGDOM OF), the greatest Javanese empire, in
1293. Majapahit, under Hayam Wuruk, claimed sovereignty over much of
what is now Indonesia and parts of Malaya.
The Coming of Islam
By the late 13th century coastal north Sumatran states were beginning to
accept Islam; the earliest known Muslim ruler there was Sultan Malik al
Saleh of Pasai. Propagated by merchants, initially from south India and
Gujarat, the new religion spread slowly until the rise of the sultanate
of Malacca (Melaka) on Malaya's west coast gave it a powerful impetus.
During the 15th century European demand for spices from the Moluccas, or
Spice Islands, was growing, and by 1436 Malacca had become a major
emporium on the trade route between the Moluccas and the West. In
addition to its commercial and political power Malacca also became the
major diffusion center for Islam. In the previous centuries Singasari
and Majapahit had taken over the trade of Java's north coast
principalities, which exchanged Javanese rice for Moluccan spices.
Coastal Javanese, particularly those from Tuban and Gresik, now
developed close ties with Malacca, converted to Islam, and became an
important element in Malacca's population. Merchant princes from North
Java came to run the trade between Malacca and the eastern archipelago,
and their growing power exerted commercial and military pressure on
Majapahit, contributing to its virtual disappearance by the early 16th
century.
In 1511, however, Malacca was captured by the Portuguese. Their
intrusion changed the existing pattern of trade in the archipelago and
led to the emergence of several strong competing Muslim states that
provided alternative trading routes. Muslim Aceh (see ACHIN) in northern
Sumatra was Portuguese Malacca's leading opponent during the 16th
century, launching attacks against it, either alone or with other local
Muslim states. Under Sultan Iskandar Muda, Aceh controlled all Sumatra's
pepper-trading ports except in the extreme south, and its influence
extended to parts of the Malay Peninsula. Two other important trading
states of the period were Makassar, in southwestern Sulawesi, which
converted to Islam in 1603, and Bantam, the Muslim successor in West
Java to the Hindu kingdom of Sunda, which controlled south Sumatra (and
thus the Sunda Straits). In the late 16th century a new Muslim kingdom
of Mataram arose in Central Java and began to absorb many of Java's
maritime principalities.
The Development of Dutch Influence
The Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, competed with the
Portuguese and the English for the archipelago's trade. Governor-General
Jan Pieterszoon Coen established Batavia (now Jakarta) as the Dutch
headquarters and attempted to isolate the interisland network from the
extensive international commerce in which it had participated. Dutch
power expanded both by direct force and through alliances with native
rulers. A brief clash with Mataram in 1629 was followed by a period of
coexistence, and in 1678 Mataram ceded the Preanger region of West Java
to the company. In 1641 the Dutch captured Malacca, but this no longer
ensured control of the spice trade to Europe. To impose a monopoly the
company restricted cultivation of cloves to Ambon and of nutmeg and mace
to the Banda Islands, destroying the spice trees elsewhere.
During the 18th century the company introduced coffee and other new
crops to Java and instituted a system of forced deliveries in which it
relied heavily on cooperation from amenable Javanese aristocrats and
intermediaries from the growing local Chinese population (whose
immigration the Dutch promoted). Its interference in Mataram's affairs
culminated in the kingdom's division in 1755 into the principalities of
Surakarta and Yogyakarta. In the Spice Islands, Dutch trading rights
were converted into effective political control; elsewhere in the
eastern archipelago most local rulers retained their internal autonomy
but were drawn into special relationships with the company. As the
century wore on, financial mismanagement and a decline in trade
eventually brought the company to bankruptcy and dissolution in 1799.
The Dutch government then assumed control of its East Indian
possessions.
The Consolidation of Dutch Control
During the Napoleonic Wars, under both the Dutch government and a
British occupation (1811-1816), attempts were made to centralize and
reform the administration of Java. On reassuming power in 1816, the
Dutch wavered between opening the area to individual enterprise and
reverting to a monopoly system. Their massive expenditures in
suppressing resistance, led by the Javanese prince Diponegoro from about
1825 to 1830, ended this indecision. The Dutch annexed large areas of
the Central Javanese principalities and in 1830 they introduced the
so-called Culture System, whereby peasants had to devote a percentage of
their land (officially one-fifth, but usually far more) to cultivating
government-designated export crops instead of rice. Extremely profitable
for the Dutch, the system was blamed for widespread famine in parts of
Java in the 1840s and 1850s.
Deeper penetration of Javanese society by the Dutch was paralleled by
extension of their control to other regions. On Sumatra they had imposed
their rule over parts of the interior by 1837, and they annexed the
northeast coastal principalities in 1858. Colonial rule outside Java was
sometimes indirect.
A campaign by Dutch liberals against the Culture System succeeded by the
1870s in removing some of its harshest aspects. The new Liberal Policy
then permitted more laissez-faire practices. Later oil, tin, and rubber
began to replace coffee, sugar, and tobacco as the main exports to
Europe. These products came largely from outside Java, and many new
areas were now taken over. After a 30-year war Aceh was subdued in 1908,
and Bali in 1909, by which time Sulawesi, the Moluccas, the Lesser
Sundas, and most of Borneo had all been brought under firmer control.
The Growth of Nationalism
At the beginning of the 20th century the Dutch introduced their Ethical
Policy, under which agriculture and limited health and educational
services were developed, and railways, roads, and interisland shipping
expanded. The policy helped create two new social elements—a few
Western-educated Indonesians and a smaller group of entrepreneurs, who
began to compete with a still predominantly Chinese commercial class.
These Indonesians grew resentful of a colonial structure that denied
them a role commensurate with their education or abilities.
The first important vehicle for the anti-Dutch nationalist movement was
the Sarekat Islam (Islamic Union), established in 1912. Growing out of a
protective association for batik merchants, the Sarekat Islam by 1918
claimed a membership of more than 2 million throughout the archipelago.
The Dutch response was initially conciliatory, and in 1916 the Volksraad
(People's Council) was established where selected representatives of
major population groups were able to deliberate and offer advice.
However, after World War I (1914-1918), and especially after an abortive
Communist-led insurrection in 1926 and 1927, the government adopted a
more repressive policy.
Beginning in the 1920s the nationalist movement was headed by leaders
who were not primarily Muslim, notably Sukarno, an advocate of complete
independence, who founded the Indonesian Nationalist party (Partai
Nasional Indonesia, or PNI) in 1927. Despite the arrests and exiles of
Sukarno (1929-1931, 1933-1942), Muhammad Hatta (1934-1942), and other
nationalist leaders, and the banning of the PNI and other noncooperating
parties, the nationalist movement maintained its momentum. Only after
Germany overran the Netherlands during World War II (1939-1945),
however, did the Dutch even hint at any postwar devolution (transference
or surrender) of political authority.
The Japanese Occupation
During World War II the Japanese invaded and occupied the islands.
Anxious to mobilize Indonesian support behind their regime, they gave
Sukarno and his associates symbolic political latitude. Strategic
concerns over access to resources, particularly petroleum, and the fear
of Allied counterattacks bred repression. Moreover, tens of thousands of
conscripted laborers worked as virtual slaves, and many of them did not
survive.
Beginning in September 1943, the Japanese established militias in Java,
Bali, and Sumatra, which gave thousands of young men military training
and formed the nucleus of the postwar independence army. Indonesians,
however, were alienated by the harsh behavior of the Japanese and by the
growing economic hardships. To muster support against anticipated Allied
attacks, the Japanese in October 1944 promised Indonesian independence,
and subsequently took steps toward granting limited self-government.
The Postwar Struggle for Independence
On August 17, 1945, two days after Japan's surrender, Sukarno and Hatta
proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Indonesia and were
selected as its president and vice president. When British troops began
landing on the islands in late September, a functioning republican
administration was already in existence in many parts of Java and
Sumatra. When the British withdrew in November 1946, they persuaded the
Dutch and the republic to initial the Linggajati Agreement, which
recognized the de facto authority of the republic in Java and Sumatra
and contained plans for the establishment of a federal Indonesia.
In July 1947, however, charging violations of this agreement, the Dutch
launched attacks against the republic, extending their control over
about two-thirds of Java and large estates and oil fields in Sumatra.
Protests in the United Nations (UN) led to the formation of a UN Good
Offices Commission, which oversaw the signing of the Renville Agreement
between the two sides. A Dutch blockade of republican territory caused
intense economic hardship and increased popular dissatisfaction with the
republic's policy of negotiating with the Dutch rather than consistently
confronting them militarily. This was one element in the unsuccessful
Communist-led uprising against the republic's leadership at Madiun in
September 1948.
In December 1948, defying UN cease-fire lines, the Dutch again attacked
the republic, capturing its capital of Yogyakarta and arresting and
exiling most of its top leaders, including Sukarno and Hatta. Despite
the apparent success of the initial Dutch attack, republican guerrilla
resistance and pressure from the international community forced the
Dutch toward accommodation. At a conference in 1949 in The Hague, the
Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty over all Indonesia, except
West Irian (western New Guinea), to the federal Republic of the United
States of Indonesia (RUSI) by the end of that year.
The Sukarno Regime
By August 1950 a Unitary State of Indonesia had replaced the RUSI. The
new government's attempts to create a viable state out of Indonesia's
disparate peoples and cultures were complicated by sporadic uprisings of
Muslim groups in West Java and Aceh and by Dutch-led antirepublican
movements in Sulawesi and the Moluccas. Nationwide elections in late
1955 resulted in a parliament in which no major party had a majority and
only one, the Masjumi, had a significant following outside Java. Just as
before the elections, parliamentary government was seen by its critics
as faction-torn, corrupt, and ineffective, with few ties to the regions
it was supposed to represent.
In 1956 President Sukarno called for overhauling the party system and
replacing liberal democracy with his Guided Democracy, in which the
president would have wider authority. Outer-island resentment at the
lack of funds allocated them for economic development, despite their
being the major source of Indonesia's export earnings, was one cause of
the military coups on Sumatra and Sulawesi (December 1956 to March 1957)
and an assertion of greater local autonomy. Army dissidents in Sumatra,
supported by counterparts in Sulawesi and several top Masjumi leaders,
proclaimed the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia on
February 15, 1958. Despite covert aid to the rebels from the United
States and Taiwan, Jakarta's forces soon defeated them, although actions
by the guerrillas continued until 1961.
Under Sukarno's Guided Democracy (1959-1965), Indonesia pursued an
active foreign policy, demanding that the Netherlands surrender West
Irian (which, under a UN mandate, was finally turned over to Indonesia
in 1962) and opposing the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in
1963. Domestically, the economic decline continued, and both the army
and the Communists (Partai Komunis Indonesia, or PKI) increased their
power, with tension growing between the two groups.
Suharto's Rise to Power
The situation culminated in a coup attempt on September 30, 1965, led by
Lieutenant Colonel Untung of the palace guard, in which six top generals
were brutally murdered. General Suharto, head of the army's strategic
command, suppressed the coup attempt, took control of the army, and
eventually maneuvered Sukarno into handing over effective power to him
in March 1966. Although the identity and motives of the prime
instigators of the coup attempt remain a subject of controversy, the
army alleged PKI responsibility; during late 1965, despite Sukarno's
efforts to moderate the situation, army units and some Muslim groups,
particularly in the countryside, began massacring Communists and their
supporters. Estimates of the number killed range between 300,000 and 1
million. The PKI was banned on March 13, 1966, and the government
arrested hundreds of thousands of people accused of involvement in the
coup attempt. The last of these prisoners have yet to be released, and
there have been periodic executions, the most recent in 1990. Of those
arrested, only about 800 were ever brought to trial.
The New Order
Assuming a basically pro-Western stance, Suharto's New Order ended
confrontation with Malaysia and has since been a major promoter and
participant in the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). Advised by Western-trained economists, the army-led government
has encouraged direct foreign investment and received loans from the
West.
Elections held in 1971 were strictly controlled, and the government
organization Golkar (Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups) secured
most of the seats in the largely advisory parliament. Golkar again
achieved about 62 percent of the vote in the 1977 elections. Suharto was
elected president by bodies emerging from both these elections.
In 1975 the state-owned oil enterprise, Pertamina, was unable to meet
repayments of debts amounting to $10.5 billion, and the crisis
threatened Indonesia's financial structure. Only through project
cancellations, renegotiation of loans, and help from the United States
and other Western governments was Jakarta able to salvage the situation
by late 1977. Subsequently, world oil prices aided Indonesia's economic
recovery, and oil production and exports have increased.
A second crisis arose with Indonesia's invasion in December 1975 of the
former Portuguese colony of East Timor, which Indonesia then annexed
despite the condemnation of Portugal and the UN. Human-rights
organizations claim that more than 100,000 people may have been killed
by the Indonesian army during the annexation. Ongoing political tensions
in the region led to a massacre of pro-independence demonstrators by
Indonesian soldiers in November 1991.
Most opposition to the Suharto regime has come from Muslim groups that
have never accepted the government's attempt to control them and from
university students alienated by the regime's corruption and
human-rights violations. Reacting to widespread student demonstrations
in early 1978, the government tightened its control over the campuses
and the press.
The greatest long-term dangers to the regime, however, were the growing
social and economic inequalities, particularly the increasing
landlessness among the Javanese peasantry. These inequities were
exacerbated by the growth of the population, despite a relatively
successful family-planning program in Java. Nevertheless, the army's
aging “Generation of 1945,” having monopolized power under the New
Order, seemed intent on maintaining control. Golkar again won an
overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections of May 1982, and in
March 1983 the parliament reelected Suharto, who ran unopposed, and
broadened his presidential powers. Again running unopposed, Suharto won
reelection in March 1988 and in March 1993.
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