Indonesia To Go » History

64 Years of Independence from Japan

Mike Dammann — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:21:13 +0000

Today is Proclamation of Independence day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.) from Japan in 1945. The Netherlands acknowledged Indonesian independence and sovereignty in 1949.

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia.

Kebebasan dari semua rantai!

The History of Jakarta

Avigayil Damm — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:20:05 +0000

Today, 22 June 2009, is celebrated as Jakarta’s 482nd anniversary. Although in general, the history of Jakarta is still the subject of scholar’s debate, writings of European scholars in the 16th century mentioned a city named Kalapa, which seems to be the main port for a Hindu kingdom named Sunda. The capital city of Sunda was Pajajaran, located some 40 kilometers inland, near to where Bogor is now located.The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the city’s port, which is named ‘Sunda Kelapa’, initially looking for a relay harbour on their way to the spices island, Moluccas. They later signed a treaty with the kingdom of Sunda, as the Portuguese considered them an ally in the regional trade.

In 1527, troops from Cirebon and Demak, led by a man named Fatahillah, attacked the kingdom of Sunda and finally conquered it on 22 June 1527. Fatahillah then changed the name of ‘Sunda Kelapa’ (the name of the harbour) to ‘Jayakarta’ (which means ‘complete victory’). This date is now commemorated as Jakarta’s birth date.

The city’s name changed several times after that. In 1619, after the Dutch victory against the English, the name was changed to ‘Batavia’. During the World War II, the Japanese renamed the city to ‘Jakarta’, and with the exception of a short period when the city was named ‘Djakarta’ due to changes in the Indonesian spelling rules, the city has retained its name since then.

Photo by: Gunawan Kartapranata

Ancient Indonesians: Born Sailors

Elisheva Wiriaatmadja — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:41:18 +0000

Ancient ship of Indonesia traveling to Africa

Indonesian vessels has made trade voyages as far as Africa since 100 AD. Mariners from Indonesia traveled across to Africa, making themselves known as “Africa’s Vikings” as tough and daring sailors travels to fill in their vessels with gold and silver for the princess of Java and Sumatra from unmapped lands which are now called Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa and Mozambique.

Ancient Indonesia raided across the continent centuries before the Europeans even discovered that part of the world. At some point these sailors vanished. Some died, some returned home and some others inter-married with the locals in the unmapped land. The Asian influence in Africa was so absorbed that when the white men came, they never noticed it. It might be expected that they also explored the African mainland, just 150 miles further away, but unlike Madagascar there is little evidence: people on the continent do not resemble or talk like Indonesians.

One of the toughest group of sailors from Indonesia in the middle ages comes from the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia’s third largest island, also called Celebes. There is one tribe from this island that were tough and fierce pirates, feared by nations across the continent up to the world of the white men. The tribe is known until today as the “Bugis tribe” or the “Bugis pirates”. Westerners were terrified because of their ruthless piracy and until today the legend of these ancient pirates have still been used to scare western children, as adults threatens, “The boogeyman will come and get you!” The term ‘boogeyman’ was inspired by the pirates of Indonesia.

Today the Bugis tribe still exist and still sail but they are no longer pirates.

A = Sulawesi Island a.k.a. Celebes Island, the island of the Boogeyman