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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 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited) stretching along the equator in South East Asia.
The country's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and
international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian
history. The area of Indonesia is populated by peoples of various
migrations, creating a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and languages.
The archipelago's landforms and climate significantly influenced
agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of
the state of Indonesia represent the 20th century borders of the Dutch East Indies.
Fossilised remains of Homo erectus and his tools, popularly known as the "Java Man", suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by at least 1.5 million years ago. Austronesian people,
who form the majority of the modern population, are thought to have
originally been from Taiwan and arrived in Indonesia
around 2000 BCE.
From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived and declined in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia. The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra; other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam which became the dominant religion in Java
and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam
overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences.
Europeans arrived in Indonesia from the 16th century seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company
(VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. Following
bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government
of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies under government control. By the early 20th century, Dutch dominance extended to the current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation
in 1942-45 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously
suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the
surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader, Sukarno, declared independence and became president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish its rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.
An attempted coup in 1965 led to a violent army-led anti-communist purge in which over half a million people were killed. General Suharto politically outmanoeuvred President Sukarno, and became president in March 1968. His New Order administration
garnered the favour of the West whose investment in Indonesia was a
major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic
growth. In the late 1990s, however, Indonesia was the country hardest
hit by the East Asian Financial Crisis which led to popular protests and Suharto's resignation on 21 May 1998. The Reformasi
era following Suharto's resignation, has led to a strengthening of
democratic processes, including a regional autonomy program, the
secession of East Timor, and the first direct presidential election in 2004.
Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, natural
disasters, and terrorism have slowed progress. Although relations among
different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute
sectarian discontent and violence remain problems in some areas.(wikipedia)
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