With a fascinating, colourful and sometimes tumultuous
past, Indonesia is a place of rich and diverse culture.
In the seventh century, the Buddhist empire and the
Hindu empire were struggling for supremacy. In the thirteenth
century, the Hindus faced a strong challenge from Muslim
forces south of the Malay Peninsula. The Hindus slowly
lost ground and eventually retreated to Bali, where
they remain today. The remaining islands became Muslim,
and several sultanates were established.
The first Europeans to arrive in Indonesia were the
Portuguese in the sixteenth century, who broke the Islamic
hold on Indonesia. However the Portuguese were eventually
displaced by the Dutch who continued to rule until World
War II and the invasion by the Japanese. Sukarno, who
saw Japan as a possible force of liberation, led the
Indonesian revolutionary nationalist movement into a
four year war of independence from 1945 to 1949 that
ended in victory.
Indonesian independence was in a state of turmoil until
Sukarno unified power in 1957. In 1965 an attempted
coup against Sukarno again saw Indonesia move into turmoil.
General Suharto led the army to restore order and initiate
a purge of communists. Suharto eventually replaced Sukarno
as Presidency bringing in a time of economic development
and stability.
In May 1998, Suharto stepped down from presidency and
B. J. Habibie assumed this position. In the parliamentary
elections held in June 1999, Megawati Sukarnoputri,
the daughter of Sukarno, received the highest percentage
of votes. Subsequently, in the October 1999 presidential
elections Megawati failed to win, and Abdurrahman Wahid,
from the National Awakening party, became the country's
first democratically elected president. In July 2001,
Wahib was removed from office and Megawati became president.
September 2004 was the first time that Indonesians were
able to elect a president directly and Megawati lost
the presidency to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the candidate
for the Democrat party.
Although most Indonesians are either of a Polynesian
or Malay descent, the country comprises over 300 ethnicities
with minority populations from countries such as India,
China, Persia, Arabia, Holland, Portugal, England and
Spain.
Although Indonesia is primarily a Muslim nation, Hinduism
(particularly in Bali) and Christianity also have a
significant presence. The most common language spoken
is Bahasa Indonesia, however there are a number of other
languages and dialects spoken, including English and
Dutch.
To download the 24 page colour Invitation to Indonesia Ultimate in Culture & Heritage brochure, click here.
