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In the period before western European
powers were able to control Southeast Asian soil and waters, there was
no Indonesia. The archipelago we now know as Indonesia consisted of
islands and estates ruled by various kingdoms and empires, sometimes living in peaceful coexistence
while at other times being at state of war with each other. This vast
archipelago lacked the sense of social and political unity that
Indonesia has today. Integrated trade networks, however, were developing
in this area starting from the early dawn of Asian history. Being
connected to trade networks was an important asset for an empire to
acquire wealth and commodities, necessary to become a powerful force.
But the more global these trade networks in the archipelago became, the
more foreign influences managed to enter; a development that would
eventually lead to the colonial state.
The existence of written sources is what
separates history from prehistory. As few written sources dating from
before 500 AD have been preserved, the history of present Indonesia
starts rather late. It is assumed that most writings were done on
perishable material and - in combination with the tropical humid climate
and low-quality conservation technique standards at the time - this
means that historians have to rely on inscriptions on stone and the
study of remnants of ancient temples to trace the archipelago's earliest
history. These two approaches provide information regarding the old
political structures as both literature and the construction of temples
were samples of high culture reserved for the ruling elites.
A remarkable feature of Indonesian
history is that it generally centers on the western part of the
archipelago (in particular on the islands of Sumatra and Java). As most
of the eastern part of the archipelago has been on the fringes of
economic activity throughout history (located further away from main
trade routes), it consequently has been on the fringes of politics as
well; a situation that continues up to the present day.
The Impact of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia
The earliest inscriptions found in the
archipelago are known as the Kutai-inscriptions and originate from East
Kalimantan, dated around 375 AD when the Kutai Martadipura kingdom
ruled. These inscriptions were written in Sanskrit (the liturgical
language of Hinduism)
using the Pallava script, a script developed in Southern India around
the third century AD. In these inscriptions three rulers of Kutai
Martadipura are mentioned and they describe a ritual that is
characteristic of archaic Hinduism. Approximately one century later, the
first (known) stone is inscripted on Java. This inscription, also in
Sanskrit, states king Purnavarman of the Tarumanagara kingdom (fourth to
seventh century) in West Java and associates him with a Hindu deity
(Vishnu). Together, these inscriptions show evidence of major influences
from Indian Hinduism within the ruling elites of the first known
indigenous ancient kingdoms in the archipelago.
However, trade contacts between
present-day India and the archipelago are known to have been established
centuries prior to the Kutai inscriptions. The Strait of Malacca, a sea
lane linking the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, has been the main
shipping channel for seaborne trade between China, India and the Middle
East since human memory. A large part of Sumatra's coastline is
conveniently located next to this sea lane causing merchants between
India and China to stop over here or on the other side of the Strait
(present-day Malaysia) to wait for the right monsoon winds that would
carry them further. But it is assumed that Hinduism and Buddhism were
not spread to the archipelago by these Indian traders. More likely,
kings and emperors in the archipelago were drawn to the prestige of the
Brahmans (the Hindu priestly class which forms the highest ranking of
the four social classes). These Brahmans, supposedly, introduced a new
religion to the archipelago which enabled the indigenous kings to
identify themselves with a Hindu deity or a Buddhist Bodhisattva (an
enlightened mystical being), thereby replacing the ancestor worship that
was adhered to previously. This new religious doctrine, therefore,
implied more prestige for the kings. Empires in the archipelago that
copied such Indian concepts were found on the islands of Kalimantan,
Java, Sumatra and Bali.
Due to the strategic position of
Sumatra's and Malaysia's coastline next to the Strait of Malacca it is
hardly surprising that we find the first major influential state in
Indonesian history on the coastal area of Sumatra, and stretching a wide
geographical area around the strait. This state was called Srivijaya
and ruled the trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean, the South
Chinese Sea and the Spice Islands of the Moluccas between the 7th and
the 13th century. Srivijaya will also be remembered as Southeast Asia's
center for Buddhist studies with a major emphasis on the study of the
Sanskrit language. From Chinese sources it is known that many Chinese
Buddhist monks stayed in Srivijaya for more than a decade to pursue
their study.
Hindu and Buddhist temple remnants
dating from between the 8th and the 10th century indicate the ruling of
two dynasties in Central Java. These were the Sailendra-dynasty
(adherents of Mahayana Buddhism and most likely the dynasty that built
the famous Borobudur temple nearby present-day Yogyakarta around 800 AD)
and the Sanjaya-dynasty (adherents of Hinduism that built the temple
complex of Prambanan around 850 AD not far from - and as a reaction to -
the Borobudur temple). The slow demise of Srivijaya and the rise of
these new powerful kingdoms on Java meant that political power was
gradually turning away from Sumatra towards Java. But in the 10th
century the lives of inhabitants in Central Java suddenly went
unrecorded because of a lack of sources. It is assumed that a major
volcano eruption shifted political power from Central to East Java where
a number of new kingdoms developed. Two of these deserve special
attention due to their legacy, namely Kediri (around 1042 to 1222) for
its inscriptions and literary legacy, and its successor Singasari
(between 1222 and 1292) for introducing a new chapter in Indonesian
history, namely the syncretism of Hinduism and Buddhism. This new
chapter found its peak in the East Javanese kingdom of Majapahit (1293
to around 1500), perhaps the greatest kingdom in the history of the
archipelago which had a geographical area resembling the present- day
boundaries of Indonesia (although it is still debated among scholars how
much sovereignty this kingdom actually enjoyed outside of Java and
Bali). Majapahit with its flourishing arts and literature is still an
important concept and cause of national pride for Indonesians today as
it is regarded as the basis of the modern state of Indonesia. The
nationalist movement in the 20th century used this concept to justify
both independence and the validity of territorial borders. Indonesia's
national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, meaning 'Unity in Diversity', originates from an Old Javanese poem written during the rule of Majapahit.
The Arrival of Islam in Indonesia
Although constituting a Hindu-Buddhist
kingdom, Islamic influences were present as high up as the ruling elite
of Majapahit. There probably has been an Islamic presence in maritime
Southeast Asia from early on in the Islamic era when Muslim traders came
to the archipelago, made settlements on the coastal areas, married
local women and enjoyed respect due to their wealth acquired through
trade. Some local rulers were probably drawn to this new faith and
considered it to be advantageous to adopt the same faith as the majority
of the traders. The establishment of Islamic kingdoms was the next logical step. It is assumed that subjects of these kings followed suit by converting to Islam.
Inscriptions on gravestones suggest that
early on in the 13th century there existed an Islamic kingdom in the
northern part of Sumatra called Pasai or Samudera. This kingdom is
regarded to be the first Islamic kingdom in the archipelago. From
northern Sumatra, Muslim influences subsequently spread eastwards
through trade. On the northern coastline of Java multiple Islamic
cities arose during the course of the 14th century. However, it is
unlikely that some of the Javanese courtiers of Majapahit in East Java
adopted the Islamic faith because of trade. They probably felt far more
superior to the social class of traders. More likely this Javanese
nobility was influenced by learned Muslim mystics (Sufis) and holy men
claiming to possess supernatural powers.
In the late 14th and early 15th century
the influence of Majapahit in the archipelago began to decline due to
conflicts of succession and the rising powers of Islamic empires. A new
trading state, Malacca, was one of these new powers. It rose on the
coastal area in present-day Malaysia and was conveniently located on the
narrowest part of the Strait of Malacca. This state became an
enormously successful port with advantageous facilities in a wide trade
network stretching from China and the Moluccas in the far east to Africa
and the Mediterranean in the far west. Although initially Malacca was a
Hindu-Buddhist state, it quickly transformed into a Muslim sultanate
(probably due to trade-related reasons).
The historical link between trade and
Islam is also visible in the developments on the island of Ternate in
the present-day province of Maluku in eastern Indonesia. Ternate
(similar to nearby located Tidore) became a wealthy region due to the
production of cloves. From Java - and through trade - Islam spread to
this region, resulting in the establishment of a sultanate in the late
15th century. This sultanate managed to rule a large part of eastern
Indonesia but its position would be undermined by the Dutch in the 17th
century.
The Arrival of Europeans in Indonesia
Stories about Malacca's wealth reached
Europe and tempted the Portuguese, who were making technological
advances in navigation, to sail to this part of the world in order to
have more influence on the global spice trade network (and would make
their yields higher). In 1511 Malacca was conquered by a Portuguese
fleet under the leadership of Afonso de Albuquerque. This conquest,
however, had far-reaching consequences for the trade routes. Malacca,
once a wealthy port, quickly perished under the rule of the Portuguese
who never succeeded in monopolizing Asian trade. After the conquest,
traders immediately began to avoid Malacca and went to take their
business to several other ports instead. Johor (Malaysia), Aceh
(Sumatra) and Banten (Java) were states that began to dominate spice
trade due to the shift in trade routes.
The Dutch were also keen on establishing
a firm grip on the spice trade network in Southeast Asia. Their first
expedition reached Banten in 1596 but was accompanied by hostilities
between the Dutch and the indigenous population. After arriving back in
the Netherlands, the expedition still showed a good profit which
demonstrated that expeditions to the Southeast Asian region were in fact
money-makers. Multiple expeditions organized by several Dutch companies
went to the archipelago causing a negative impact on profits.
Competition for spices was driving prices up in the archipelago while
supply-increase was driving prices down in Europe. This made the Dutch
government decide to merge the competing companies into one entity
called the United East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie,
abbreviated VOC). It received far-reaching sovereign powers to
monopolize the Asian spice trade as well as to exclude other European
competitors. It decided to have its headquarters not in the Moluccas
(the heart of the spice-producing islands) but more strategically nearby
the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Sunda. Its choice fell on
present-day Jakarta. In 1619 Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen
established Batavia on the ashes of the town Jayakerta which was
demolished because of its hostile attitude towards the Dutch. Batavia
offered good commercial prospects evoking the immigration of many people
(especially Chinese) to this expanding city.
Towards Colonial Rule of Indonesia
Meanwhile, Islamic states continued to
develop in the archipelago. In Aceh (Sumatra) Sultan Iskandar Muda
established a major power early in the 17th century, controlling the
pepper and tin reserves. However, he never succeeded in establishing
hegemony around the Strait of Malacca as Johor and the Portuguese were
strong competitors. After Iskandar Muda's reign, Aceh experienced a long
period of internal disunity ceasing it to be a significant force
outside the northern tip of Sumatra. In Central Java two new strong
Islamic powers emerged in the second half of the 16th century. These
were the districts of Pajang and Mataram that, after a long struggle,
managed to stop the political dominance of the coastal areas in northern
Java. Mataram would become the most powerful and the longest lasting of
the modern Javanese dynasties, with the reign of Sultan Agung as
political pinnacle. Agung ruled from 1613 to 1646 and managed to conquer
almost the entire surface of Java, except for the kingdom of Banten in
West Java and the city of Batavia. Dutch control of Batavia was a thorn
in the eye of Agung who wanted to control the whole surface of the
island. On two occasions he sent his army to conquer this Dutch city but
failed both times.
The VOC quickly extended its power in
the archipelago and obtained control over the production of cloves and
nutmeg on the Banda Islands (Moluccas) by using extreme measures such as
genocide. It kept on expanding its network of trading posts throughout
the archipelago. Cities and ports that played central roles in this
Dutch trade network were Surabaya (East Java), Malacca (West Malaysia)
and Banten (West Java). Even though the statutes of the VOC initially
did not allow it to interfere with the internal politics of indigenous
states, it became deeply entrenched in the politics of Mataram in
Central Java. After Sultan Agung's death Mataram had quickly
deteriorated and succession disputes emerged around the end of the 17th
century and early 18th century. The Dutch played a divide and conquer
game which eventually resulted in the division of the kingdom of Mataram
in four parts with its rulers becoming subservient to the Dutch.
Although the position of the Dutch was still rather weak outside the
island of Java, these political developments on Java can be considered
as the initial stages of Dutch colonialism in the archipelago.
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