when did indonesia gain independence

Is Indonesia a free country?

Indonesian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 72 countries and territories, ranking the Indonesian passport 77th in terms of travel freedom (tied with Tanzania and Kenya) according to the Henley Passport Index. Indonesia is also a part of ASEAN and has visa-free access to these countries and vice versa.

Who did Indonesia gain independence from?

Who did Indonesia gain independence from? When Japan surrendered on 17 August 1945, the Indonesian leader, Sukarno, proclaimed the independence of Indonesia. Between 1947 and 1948, the Netherlands launched two major military interventions, but the nationalists held firm, and the Dutch, under pressure from the United Nations and the United States, had to yield.

When did Indonesia become independent?

Republic of Indonesia proclaimed its independence at August 17th 1945 after Imperial Japan announced their surender to the Allies. This proclamation of independence was done on a condition of Vacum of Power when there was no clear imperial ruler of Indonesia.

Is Indonesia, a poor country?

Why is Indonesia Poor? Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia, both in terms of population and economy. In the past decade, Indonesia’s economy has steadily grown, with overall poverty falling by 6 percent from 2007-2014. Despite this, however, Indonesia still has 105 million people living just above the national poverty line.

What is the Transmigration Program?

The Transmigration program ( Transmigrasi) was a National Government initiative to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia (such as Java and Bali) to less populous areas of the country including Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.

What happened in 1975 in Timor?

In 1975, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal caused authorities there to announce plans for decolonisation of Portuguese Timor, the eastern half of the island of Timor whose western half was a part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. In the East Timorese elections held in 1975, Fretilin, a left-leaning party, and UDT, aligned with the local elite, emerged as the largest parties, having previously formed an alliance to campaign for independence from Portugal. Apodeti, a party advocating integration with Indonesia, enjoyed little popular support.

How did South Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia?

South Indian culture was spread to Southeast Asia by the south Indian Pallava dynasty in the 4th and 5th centuries. and by the 5th century, stone inscriptions written in Pallava scripts were found in Java and Borneo. A number of Hindu and Buddhist states flourished and then declined across Indonesia.

What territory did the Dutch control?

At the time of independence, the Dutch retained control over the western half of New Guinea ( also known as West Irian ), and permitted steps towards self-government and a declaration of independence on 1 December 1961. After negotiations with the Dutch on the incorporation of the territory into Indonesia failed, an Indonesian paratroop invasion 18 December preceded armed clashes between Indonesian and Dutch troops in 1961 and 1962. In 1962 the United States pressured the Netherlands into secret talks with Indonesia which in August 1962 produced the New York Agreement, and Indonesia assumed administrative responsibility for West Irian on 1 May 1963.

How old is Homo erectus?

Fossilised remains of Homo erectus in Indonesia, popularly known as the " Java Man " were first discovered by the Dutch anatomist Eugène Dubois at Trinil in 1891, and are at least 700,000 years old.

What was the colonial era?

Colonial era. Dutch settlement in the East Indies. Batavia (now Jakarta ), Java, c. 1665 CE. Beginning in the 16th century, successive waves of Europeans—the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English—sought to dominate the spice trade at its sources in India and the 'Spice Islands' ( Maluku) of Indonesia.

How many islands are there in Indonesia?

The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,000 to 18,000 islands (8,844 named and 922 permanently inhabited) stretching along ...

What did the East Indies do when the Japanese surrendered?

When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the East Indies nationalists seized the opportunity to throw off the colonial yoke of the Dutch and proclaim the independent state of Indonesia which the Japanese had promised them. Neither Communism nor Islam much appealed to the nationalists, who were led by Achmed Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta.

What did the nationalists do to help the Indonesians?

Equipped with Japanese weapons, the nationalists waged an armed struggle against the Dutch, who had powerful economic reasons for recovering the East Indies and believed that most Indonesians wanted them to return.

Who was the Dutch president in Indonesia?

On November 2nd, after ten weeks of haggling, the conference reached an agreement which transferred Dutch sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia, with Queen Juliana of the Netherlands as titular head of a new Netherlands-Indonesian Union, Sukarno as Indonesian president and Hatta as prime minister.

Who were the nationalists led by?

Neither Communism nor Islam much appealed to the nationalists, who were led by Achmed Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta. Sukarno, the son of a school-teacher and Theosophist, had little time for religion or ideology and believed himself a man of destiny. He had been imprisoned and exiled by the Dutch.

Did the Dutch make headway in Java?

Dutch forces made substantial headway in Java and Sumatra, but there was fierce criticism in the United Nations, and the United States pressed for a negotiated solution.

What happened to Indonesia after Japan surrendered?

This meant that on the day of Japan's surrender in 1945, nothing was arranged with regard to a possible independence of Indonesia. The main nationalist leaders, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta (1902–1980), were very much surprised by the sudden collapse of the Japanese Empire and had no clear ideas on how to proceed further. However, for many Indonesian pemuda it was obvious that the time had come for Indonesia to declare itself fully independent on its own terms. When Sukarno and Hatta reacted with hesitancy, they were kidnapped by angry pemuda and brought to army barracks east of Jakarta. The pemuda expected an uprising by the population of the capital, but when this uprising did not materialize, they returned Sukarno and Hatta to the city. There, the Japanese admiral Tadashi Maeda promised not to interfere when Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia.

What was the Indonesian Revolution?

The Indonesian Revolution took place immediately after the Japanese surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945, lasted until the end of that year, and was in part political and in part social. The revolution had been in the making for years. Before the war the expanding colonial state not only educated a modern Indonesian elite that started to strive for a more democratic colonial government, it also modernized Indonesian society, which undermined the power and influence of traditional aristocratic rulers who used to be the most important allies of the colonial state. However, in response to the wishes of the modern Indonesian elite, the Dutch colonial government only halfheartedly introduced a few semidemocratic institutions and stuck to its traditional allies. The leaders of the Indonesian nationalist movement were, with a few exceptions, imprisoned or banned to a small number of peripheral places in the archipelago.

What was the worst event of the Indonesian Revolution?

One of the worst episodes of the Indonesian Revolution took place in Surabaya. In the middle of October, approximately six thousand British soldiers entered the town, only to be welcomed by hostile revolutionary gangs that were supported by the Scottish-born American artist Muriel Pearson (1899–1997)—nicknamed Surabaya Sue, but better known as K'tut Tantri. The Indonesian government barely managed to keep order. The fragile order collapsed when British Brigadier General A. W. S. Mallaby was killed on October 30. The British decided to attack Surabaya; the "Battle of Surabaya" started on November 10 (a date later commemorated as Hari Pahlawan—or "National Heroes Day" in Indonesia) and lasted until November 26, after which the British controlled the city.

What was the rage of the Pemuda?

In the Javanese countryside, the rage of the pemuda was directed against the members of the aristocratic elite who before the war had cooperated with the Dutch colonial rulers. In western Java, a revolutionary council took power and jailed the old elite. In central Java, in particular in the regency of Pekalongan, the same happened during the so-called Tiga Daerah Affair—or "Three Regencies Affair". Village chiefs, districts leaders, police officers, Chinese, and Indo-Europeans were attacked, kidnapped, imprisoned, or murdered. Elsewhere on Java and Sumatra, similar events occurred. It all resulted in chaos and the weakening of the position of the traditional indigenous elite.

Who was the first president of Indonesia?

All matters regarding the transition of power will be dealt with in an orderly fashion and as soon as possible." A day later, a makeshift parliament adopted a constitution and elected Sukarno to be the first president of the Republic of Indonesia and Hatta to be the first vice president. However, at that moment, the Republic of Indonesia existed only on paper, without an effective bureaucracy or powerful police and security forces.

When did Indonesia gain independence?

Before the revolt the United States had remained more or less neutral, but having seen the Indonesian government acting with force against communism, the American government pressured the Dutch to give up their fight against the Republic of Indonesia. Finally, the Dutch accepted the independence of Indonesia on December 27, 1949 . In order to appease conservative members of the Dutch parliament—which had to agree with the transfer of sovereignty with a two-thirds majority— Irian Jaya was not included in the agreement, but remained a Dutch colony until 1962. The Indonesian revolution brought Indonesia independence, but without a social revolution more radical nationalists had envisioned. In the early years of the Cold War, it was better to avoid such a revolution in order to achieve revolutionary results.

Who wrote Visions and Heat?

Frederick, William H. Visions and Heat: The Making of the Indonesian Revolution. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1989.

What was the Indonesian Nationalist Party?

The new nationalism required a new organization for its expression, and in July 1927 the Indonesian Nationalist Association, later the Indonesian Nationalist Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia; PNI), was formed under the chairmanship of Sukarno. The PNI was based on the idea of noncooperation with the government of the East Indies and was thus distinguished from those groups, such as Sarekat Islam, that were prepared to accept People’s Council membership. Sukarno, however, while seeking to create a basis of mass support for the PNI, also attempted with some success to work together with more-moderate leaders and succeeded in forming in the party a broadly based, if rather precarious, association of nationalist organizations.

What was the purpose of the Bandung Study Club?

The defeat of the communist revolt and the earlier decline of Sarekat Islam left the way open for a new nationalist organization, and in 1926 a “general study club” was founded in Bandung, with a newly graduated engineer, Sukarno, as its secretary. The club began to reshape the idea of nationalism in a manner calculated to appeal to Indonesia’s new urban elite. After the failure of the ideologically based movements of Islam and communism, nationalist thinking was directed simply to the idea of a struggle for independence, without any precommitment to a particular political or social order afterward. Such a goal, it was believed, could appeal to all, including Muslims and communists, who could at least support a common struggle for independence, even if they differed fundamentally about what was to follow. Nationalism, in this sense, became the idea that the young Sukarno used as the basis of his attempt to unify the several streams of anticolonial feeling. The ideas of the Bandung Study Club were reinforced by currents of thought emanating from Indonesian students in The Netherlands. Their organization, restructured in 1924 under the self-consciously Indonesian (as opposed to Dutch) name Perhimpunan Indonesia (Indonesian Union), became a centre of radical nationalist thought, and in the mid-1920s students returning from The Netherlands joined forces with like-minded groups at home.

What was the beginning of nationalism?

The formation in 1908 of Budi Utomo (“Noble Endeavour”) is often taken as the beginning of organized nationalism. Founded by Wahidin Sudirohusodo, a retired Javanese doctor, Budi Utomo was an elitist organization, the aims of which—though cultural rather than political—included a concern to secure a mutual accommodation between traditional culture and contemporary society. Numerically more important was Sarekat Islam (“Islamic Association”), founded in 1912. Under its charismatic chairman, Omar Said Tjokroaminoto, the organization expanded rapidly, claiming a membership of 2,500,000 by 1919. Later research suggests that the real figure was likely to have been no more than 400,000, but even with this greatly reduced estimate, Sarekat Islam was clearly much larger than any other movement of the time. In 1912 the Indies Party (Indische Partij)—primarily a Eurasian party—was founded by E.F.E. Douwes Dekker; banned a year later, it was succeeded by another Eurasian party, calling itself Insulinde, a poetic name for the East Indies. In 1914 the Dutchman Hendricus Sneevliet founded the Indies Social Democratic Association, which became a communist party in 1920 and adopted the name Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia; PKI) in 1924.

When was Sukarno released?

He was released at the end of 1931, but by then the united movement he helped to create had begun to disintegrate. The PNI dissolved itself and reformed as Partindo. A number of other groups came together to form a new organization, the Indonesian National Education Club, known as the New PNI. While Partindo saw itself as a mass party on the lines of the old PNI, the New PNI, under the leadership of Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir, aimed at training cadres who could maintain continuing leadership of the movement should its leaders be arrested.

How did World War II change the situation?

The fall of the East Indies to Japan early in 1942 broke the continuity of Dutch rule and provided a completely new environment for nationalist activity.

Where was Sukarno exiled?

In 1933 Sukarno was arrested again and exiled to Flores; he later was transferred to Bengkulu in southern Sumatra. Repressive action followed against other party leaders, including Hatta and Sjahrir, who were also exiled. In the later 1930s nationalist leaders were forced to cooperate with the Dutch, and such moderate parties as Parindra accepted People’s Council membership. In 1937 a more radical party, Gerindo, was formed, but it considered support of The Netherlands against the threat of National Socialism (Nazism) more important than the question of independence.

What did the Dutch accuse Sukarno and Hatta of?

The Dutch accused Sukarno and Hatta of collaborating with the Japanese, and denounced the Republic as a creation of Japanese fascism. The Dutch East Indies administration had just received a ten million dollar loan from the United States to finance its return to Indonesia.

What was the name of the Dutch attack on Yogyakarta?

Indonesian fighters retreated at 12:00 pm and the Dutch re-entered the city. The Indonesian attack, later known in Indonesia as Serangan Oemoem (new spelling: Serangan Umum ' 1 March General Offensive '), is commemorated by a large monument in Yogyakarta.

What was the significance of the Indonesian war?

Despite the military defeat suffered by the Republicans and a loss of manpower and weaponry that would severely hamper Republican forces for the rest of the revolution, the battle and defence mounted by the Indonesians galvanised the nation in support of independence and helped garner international attention.

What was the significance of the Battle of Surabaya?

The Battle of Surabaya was the heaviest single battle of the revolution and became a national symbol of Indonesian resistance.

How did the Revolution affect the economy?

The revolution had direct effects on economic conditions; shortages were common , particularly food, clothing and fuel. There were in effect two economies – the Dutch and the Republican – both of which had to simultaneously rebuild after World War II and survive the disruptions of the revolution.

What did the Japanese destroy?

Just as significantly for the subsequent revolution, the Japanese destroyed and replaced much of the Dutch-created economic, administrative, and political infrastructure. On 7 September 1944, with the war going badly for the Japanese, Prime Minister Koiso promised independence for Indonesia, but no date was set.

How many Japanese soldiers died in the Battle of Surabaya?

The Japanese forces lost around 1,000 soldiers and the British forces registered 660 soldiers, mostly British Indians, as killed (with a similar number missing in action).

What is the Karnaval Kemerdekaan?

Karnaval Kemerdekaan. On Independence Day, parades or carnivals, take place on streets in cities and villages across the nation. They might take the form of a modest carnival, organised by local people, where children and sometimes adults wear patriotic clothes, or traditional ethnic costumes.

What is the meaning of 17-an?

Colloquially known as tujuhbelasan or 17-an which means "seventeenth" in Indonesian, it is a joyous celebration, as after the flag ceremony in the morning, in the afternoon people usually organise various games and competitions for children and adults. Children participating in competition to celebrate the tujuhbelasan.

What is the act number 24 of 2009?

Act Number 24 of 2009 concerning the National Flag, National Language, and State Symbols and National Anthem article 7 paragraph 3, obliges the flying of the Red and White flag for every Indonesian citizen in their homes, and also at public institutions, office buildings, educational institutions, public transportation facilities, and private transportation in the country, as well as Indonesian diplomatic offices abroad, on 17 August.

What is the significance of the Panjat Pinang competition?

Panjat Pinang competition to celebrate the tujuhbelasan. Independence Day is an important public holiday in Indonesia, and is celebrated by Indonesian people in their cities and villages, and also abroad. Colloquially known as tujuhbelasan or 17-an which means "seventeenth" in Indonesian, it is a joyous celebration, ...

What is the Indonesian national holiday?

Independence Day (Indonesia) Independence Day ( Indonesian: Hari Kemerdekaan, colloquially known as Tujuhbelasan, "the Seventeenth") is a national holiday in Indonesia commemorating the anniversary of the Indonesia's Proclamation of Independence on 17 August 1945.

Where is the flag hoisting ceremony held?

Flag hoisting ceremony. A national formal flag hoisting ceremony is held at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, hosted by the current Indonesian President to reenact the declaration of independence proclaimed by Sukarno in 1945, held in 10.00 a.m, and is broadcast nationwide on radio and television. Certain distinguished guests ...

When is the national parade in Indonesia?

The national main parade called does not usually take place on 17 August, but on the Sunday morning following the anniversary. The parade and carnival usually feature marching bands, decorative floats, patriotic parades and cultural carnivals featuring traditional costumes of various ethnic groups of Indonesia.

Overview

Colonial era

Prehistory

Hindu-Buddhist civilizations

The age of Islamic states

The emergence of Indonesia

Sukarno's presidency

The New Order