A History of Modern Indonesia: c. 1300 to the Present (Asian History Series)

which this book calls Modem Indonesian History. There are of course significant sub-periods within modern Indonesian history, as is reflected by the division of the book into parts and chapters. Three fundamental elements give the period historical unity. The first is cultural and religious: the Islamisation of Indonesia which began c. 1300 and continues today. The second is topical: the interplay between Indonesians and Westerners which began c. 1500 and still continues. The third is historiographical: primary sources throughout this period are written almost exclusively in the modern forms of Indonesian languages (Javanese, Malay, etc., rather than Old Javanese or Old Malay) and in European languages. Between c. 1300 and c. 1500 these elements emerged, and have remained ever since. The writer of any history textbook must decide whether to give preference to broad interpretative themes or to the detailed, and sometimes confusing, progress of events. My experience suggests that students find interpretative treatments more readable but less useful than detailed narratives. I also prefer a detailed narrative in principle, for if the basic evidence is presented, readers are more able to arrive at their own generalisations or to question others'. I therefore decided that this book should give first place to the detailed historical evidence. There is no attempt here to impose any new synthesis upon Indonesian history, although of course my views are implicit throughout the volume. This book gives the history of Java greater precedence than it may seem to deserve. There are four reasons for this. First, Java has received more historical study than the other islands and is therefore better known. Second, its people represent over half the population of Indonesia. Third, it has been the centre of much of the political history of both colonial and independent periods and exerted an influence over other areas greater than their influence outside their own regions, and thus carries greater significance for the history of Indonesia as a whole. And fourth, it is the area upon which all of my own research has concentrated and this personal element has naturally coloured the book. Further research will undoubtedly make it possible to study outer island areas more adequately in the future than is now the case. No scholar masters more than a small portion of the primary sources for the topics covered in this book, nearly seven centuries of history over the world's largest archipelago. Much of this volume is thus a paraphrase or summary of the work of others, whose publications are listed in the Bibliography. Counter In this second edition, all parts of the book have been revised and sections added wherever new research has required this, greater attention has been given to economic issues, and two new chapters have been written on the period since 1965. The bibliography has been brought completely up to date. Indonesia is the forth most populous nation of the earth and a major producer of oil and other resources. It is also the most populous nation of the Islamic world and at the same time heir to vigorous pre-Islamic traditions and complex cultural heritages of the many islands which make up the Republic. Its colourful history, from the coming of Islam c. 1300 to the present day, is described in this comprehensive work. The emphasis throughout the book is on the history of the Indonesian peoples themselves. An essential narrative of political history is provided as well as discussions of social, cultural and economic affairs. Chapter bibliographies are included to guide readers to the most recent scholarly works on the subject. Behind this structure, the book poses the important question of how the diverse but related linguistic and ethnic communities of the Indonesian archipelago became a unified nation. Attention is therefore given first to those influences which set the scene for the post-1300 era of Indonesian history: the spread of Islam; early European contact; the emergence of the new Indonesian states and the variety of indigenous cultural, literary and religious traditions. The turbulent seventeenth century and eighteenth centuries are then analysed in terms of the largely inconclusive struggles for hegemony among Indonesian states and the Dutch. The nineteenth century saw Dutch colonial rule gradually imposed throughout the archipelago, and the twentieth century opened with quite new issues which were by now common to most of the peoples of Indonesia. Islamic revivalism and anti-colonial movements further helped to draw Indonesia together, a process which culminated in the revolution and independence. Since then, Indonesia's unification has made many achievements possible, but has not prevented the emergence of persistence of serious problems. Without political or religious bias, using both western and Indonesian sources, this history assists the serious study of both the past and the present of this beautiful and important Southeast Asian nation Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Coming of Islam....Pages 3-13 General Aspects of Pre-Colonial States and Major Empires, c. 1300–1500....Pages 14-19 The Arrival of the Europeans in Indonesia, c. 1509–1620....Pages 20-28 The Rise of New States, c. 1500–1650....Pages 29-46 Literary, Religious and Cultural Legacies....Pages 47-55 Front Matter....Pages 57-57 Eastern Indonesia, c. 1630–1800....Pages 59-65 Java, c. 1640–82....Pages 66-77 Java, Madura and the VOC, c. 1680–1745....Pages 78-90 Java and the VOC, c. 1745–92....Pages 91-102 Front Matter....Pages 103-103 Java, 1792–1830....Pages 105-113 Java, 1830–1900....Pages 114-124 The Outer Islands, c. 1800–1910....Pages 125-139 Front Matter....Pages 141-141 A New Colonial Age....Pages 143-154 The First Steps towards National Revival, c. 1900–27....Pages 155-171 The Pace Moderated, 1927–42....Pages 172-184 Front Matter....Pages 185-185 World War II and the Japanese Occupation, 1942–5....Pages 187-199 The Revolution, 1945–50....Pages 200-221 Front Matter....Pages 223-223 The Democratic Experiment, 1950–7....Pages 225-244 Guided Democracy, 1957–65....Pages 245-271 The New Order since 1965....Pages 272-279 Back Matter....Pages 280-335