History of Indonesia - Unity in Diversity

When looking at the players in the world, Indonesia might be underestimated. It is the fourth largest nation on the planet, the largest Muslim population, with 17,000 islands, it's absolutely huge. It has a rich history, geography and an incredibly diverse culture. Let's take a brief look, shall we? Our journey begins more than 4,000 years ago, with the Austronesian people. Before them, we had 1 meter tall hominids, Flores Man, because he was discovered in the Flores. There was also Java Man, because he was discovered on the island of Java. The first known fossils of the species Homo erectus. These humans are fundamentally different from us, Homo sapiens. So back to Homo sapiens. When the Austronesians arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BC, they found a flawless climate for agriculture. A dry season and a monsoon season, with relatively humid temperatures all year round. In terms of spawn point, Indonesia has one of the best and worst in the game. The land is sat on one of the world's most impressive geological marvels. The Ring of Fire, by all accounts, does not sound good. Indonesia lies on this belt of the Pacific Ocean, where massive slabs of molten rock collide. These tectonic plates cause magnitudes of earthquake after earthquake, volcano after volcano. On the other hand, these plumes of hot, fiery madness provide rich, fertile soil. What does this mean? It means lots and lots of food. Which means your people will not starve, and give surplus a great bonus to increase your population. Many maritime kingdoms arose on the islands of Sumatra and Java, with the Straits of Malacca being a strategic location along major sea lanes connecting East Asia, South Asia and Oceania. As Javanese merchants and other sailors set off on voyages throughout the region, Indian culture spread across all of Southeast Asia from the 1st century, bringing Hinduism and Buddhism to the region. It was in the 7th century that the Srivijaya Empire established major control over large areas of Sumatra, Western Java and much of the Malay Peninsula. There were, of course, other Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, like the Mortadam Kingdom, based in central Java. Here, Javanese art and architecture flourished. Temples were constructed like Barobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, as well as Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. So I decided to buy a hat, so I can be a local. The Srivijaya Empire was Buddhist and had good relations with the Chola Empire in southern India. However, things turned sour in the 11th century. After raids from the Chola Empire and conflicts of other Javanese kingdoms, the Srivijaya Empire lost its influence, turning the Chola king from a level 1 or 2 player to a level 50. This power vacuum allowed the Hindu kingdom of the Majapahit to expand, and expand they did. When the Yuan Dynasty of China came knocking at the door in the form of invasion, the Majapahit Empire at first collaborated with the Chinese, or Mongol troops, and defeated a rival kingdom, only to then turn on them and repel them from the islands. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD, Islamic Caliphates embarked on military campaigns, expanding their territory through conquest. As we all know, to win the game, you need a great economy. Economies are built through trade, and trade routes are the building blocks. The Indian Ocean has been a vital trade route since ancient times. Traders would time their voyages based on the monsoon patterns, using predictable winds to facilitate their journeys. Seeking spices and bargains, it was the Arab Muslim traders and merchants who played a critical role in the spread of Islam. The Majapahit rulers expanded their influence to encompass other islands, with a primary focus on exerting and maximizing control of the lucrative spice trade. And they had great success, but maintaining that success was difficult. It would be a good old-fashioned succession crisis that would weaken the empire. This allowed the newly formed Sultanate of Malacca to gain a foothold. As time went on, many other smaller petty sultanate kingdoms emerged, and this is how Islam came from Arabia to Indonesia. However, this island here, Bali, refused to convert to Islam, and this is where a large number of the elite class, and members of the royal family from the Majapahit, moved. Still to this day, this island retains its Balinese cultural heritage. The Balinese are Hindu, and it's been this way since the first century. But unlike traditional Hinduism, Bali has a distinct flavour, with the blending of Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous rituals for spirits, ancestors, and nature. In the 16th century, we see the arrival of the Portuguese. They were the first Europeans to arrive in the region, because they had advanced enough in the tech tree to cross oceans. In 1511, they captured the important port city of Malacca. The Portuguese's main plan was to dominate the source of the spice trade. The nutmeg plant, which was native to this region, was an extremely rare and lucrative, which could be sold back home, equalling juicy profits. When they arrived, they soon realised the kingdoms here were occasionally at war with each other, and through military conquest and alliances with local rulers, they established trading posts and forts. However, this presence would be short-lived with the arrival of the Dutch. Enter the Dutch, or rather, a company who were Dutch. The VOC, or the Dutch East India Company. These guys were given autonomy by the Dutch government, all in the name of profit. The company was granted the authority to engage in warfare, detain and execute prisoners, conduct treaty negotiations, mint its own currency, and establish colonies. The VOC conquered the western Javan city of... wait a minute... Jayakarta, where they then founded the city of Batavia. From here, they fought with the Portuguese to completely control the spice trade, all the while exploiting the fractured small kingdoms in Java. The Dutch used all the standard acts of brutality on their subjects, like many other European powers at the time. They brought better organisation, weapons, ships, education, and superior financial backing. It was in this period that Malay became the administrative language, as it had been used by traders for centuries. Like other European colonists, whose language became commonplace among colonies, few people speak Dutch today, and few words made it into what would become the Indonesian language. In 1799, the Dutch East India Company went bankrupt, and the Dutch government took control of the colony. But wait, what's going on in Europe? Napoleon, a military commander, and later emperor, absolutely battered the powers of Europe. And the Dutch were now in the hands of sneaky Napoleon. Until his defeat in 1815. The Dutch regained control of the East Indies after Napoleon. Through conquest, they expanded their power, defeating kingdoms in Lombok, Sulawesi, the Banten Sultanate, and Aceh. The Dutch exercised control over these territories in a cruel and ruthless manner. A system of forced cultivations and indentured labour was introduced on Java. This system brought the Dutch enormous wealth and tied peasants to their land, forcing them to work in government-owned plantations. After plus 300 years of repression and colonial dominance, the early 20th century saw the first signs of a nationalist movement, when the might of the Japanese Empire hammered Southeast Asia during World War II. At first, the Japanese were seen with optimism, but the people of Indonesia were squeezed of its land and resources once again, subjugated and oppressed by a different name and flag. When the Japanese withdrew towards the end of World War II, Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence on the 17th of August 1945. The Dutch, initially backed by the British, tried to re-establish rule. Indonesians, having hundreds of different languages, ethnic groups, cultures and customs, Javanese, Sudanese, Balinese, Bantanese, Malays, you name it, they were all united with one thing, the hatred for the Dutch and colonies in general. The conflict lasted four years. Indonesia managed to gain some diplomacy points along the way, winning support from the UN. On the 27th of December 1949, after four years of war, Indonesia was victorious and the Netherlands officially recognised Indonesian sovereignty. There are several ways to form a nation. This new nation had three ideals, one motherland, one nation and one language. Most Indonesians still speak a different regional language as their native language. Because of its rich history and culture, there's a lot of different languages, over 700 in fact. However, Sukarno and other revolutionaries adopted Bahasa Indonesia as the nation's official language. In the 1960s, Sukarno got support from the Soviet Union and invaded the Netherlands' New Guinea. The Netherlands had failed to commence talks on the future of this region. As communism grew in Indonesia, the United States stepped in with some CIA interference, Sukarno out and plus one anti-communist dictator. It should be noted that Suharto was not the friendliest of people. His actions resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being killed, imprisoned by the military, many communists and left-wing thinkers were put to the sword. He also invited major foreign investment into the country, which produced economic growth, all the while making himself and his family rich through business dealings and some good old-fashioned corruption. This region here is home to the indigenous people of New Guinea, commonly called Papuans. The Papuans were meant to be given a choice for independence. But if the Papuans get independence, will other regions follow? And they also found out there's a lot of rich natural resources here. And who would want to give that up? The international powers turned a blind eye. And this territory is still part of Indonesia. Oh, and there was an annexation of Portuguese Timor in 1975. Democracy emerged at the turn of the 21st century. Indonesia continues to be an intriguing country. Economically, it's a growing economic powerhouse, but it's still a third-world country by global standards. Within this country, there's literally thousands of ethnic groups, each with different cultures and customs. The Sudanese have traditional puppetry, where storylines are played out by skilful puppeteers. The Balinese have a tooth filing ritual, a passage to adulthood where six of the upper teeth are smoothed and chiselled using a special tool by a holy priest. You'll also find an ancient art called batik all across Indonesia. Batik clothing is worn for formal and casual events, celebrations, ceremonies, and even used in daily occurrences. Each unique pattern or design has its own philosophy or symbolic meaning. I cannot mention every single culture or custom in detail, as well we would be here all day. But this country certainly has unity in diversity.