About Indonesia

Republic of Indonesia abbreviated RI or Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia, which is crossed by the equator and located between the continents of Asia and Australia as well as between the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic country consisting of 17,508 islands, therefore he is called also as the Nusantara (Archipelago Between). With a population of 222 million people in 2006, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world and the largest Muslim populated country in the world, although not officially an Islamic state. Indonesia is a republic, the House of Representatives, Regional Representatives Council and the President who is directly elected. Is the country's capital Jakarta. Indonesia is bordered by Malaysia on Borneo island, with Papua New Guinea on the island of Papua, and Timor Leste in the Timor Island. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the unity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. History of Indonesia heavily influenced by other nations. The Indonesian archipelago became an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when the kingdom of Sriwijaya in Palembang, religion and trade relations with China and India. Hindu kingdoms and Buddhism has grown in the early centuries AD, followed by the traders who brought Islam, and various European powers fought each other to monopolize the spice trade in the Moluccas during the era of ocean exploration. Once under Dutch rule, Indonesia, then called the Dutch East Indies declared its independence at the end of World War II. Furthermore, Indonesia has received a variety of obstacles, threats and challenges of natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process and the period of rapid economic change. From Sabang to Merauke, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic and religious differences. The Javanese are the largest ethnic group and most politically dominant. Indonesia's national motto, "Unity in Diversity" ("Different but one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Besides having a dense population and vast territory, Indonesia has a natural area that supports the level of biodiversity in the world's second largest.

Etymology 

The word "Indonesia" is derived from the Latin Indus, meaning "Indian" and Nesos Greek word meaning "island". Thus, the Indonesian word meaning Hindiakepulauan territory, or island in the Indies, which indicates that this name is formed long before Indonesia became a sovereign state. In 1850, George Earl, a British ethnologist, originally proposed the term Indunesia and Malayunesia to residents' Indian Islands or Malay Archipelago ", Students from Earl, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym of the word Indian Islands. However, Dutch academics writing in the media do not use the word Dutch Indies Indonesia, but the terms Malay Archipelago (Maleische Archipel); Dutch East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), or Indian (Indië); East (de Oost); and even Insulinde (this term introduced in 1860 in the novel Max Havelaar (1859), written by Multatuli, the criticism of Dutch colonialism). Since 1900, the name Indonesia became more common in the academic environment outside the Netherlands, and Indonesian nationalist groups adopted it for political expression. Adolf Bastian at the University of Berlin popularize this name through the book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884-1894. Indonesian students who used it first is Suwardi Suryaningrat (Ki Hajar Dewantara), when he founded the Dutch news agency in the name Indonesisch Press Bureau in 1913. 


History 
 Fossilized remains of Homo erectus, which the anthropologist is also dubbed "Java Man", raises allegations that the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited two million to 500,000 years ago. Austronesian people, who form the majority population at the time, migrated to Southeast Asia from Taiwan. They arrived at around 2000 BC, and causes the Melanesian nation that has existed there earlier pushed into remote areas in the eastern islands, where the ideal conditions for agriculture, and control of rice cultivation since at least the 8th century BC , leading to many villages, towns, and small kingdoms grow well in the first century AD. In addition, Indonesia is located in the international sea trade routes and inter-island, cruise lines have become between India and China for several centuries. History of Indonesia subsequently experienced a lot of influence from these trading activities under the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism, several kingdoms formed on the island of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java since the 4th century until the 14th century. Kutai, the oldest kingdom in the archipelago that stands in the 4th century in the Mahakam river, East Kalimantan. In the western region of Java island, in the 4th century until the 7th century AD stand Tarumanegara kingdom. Tarumanagara government followed by the Kingdom of Sunda from the year 669 AD to 1579 AD In the 7th century Malay kingdom appears centered in Jambi, Sumatra. Srivijaya Malay defeat and emerged as the most powerful maritime kingdom in the archipelago. Territory covering Sumatra, Java, Malay peninsula, while controlling commerce in the Strait of Malacca, Sunda Strait, and South China Sea. Under the influence of Srivijaya, between the 8th century and the 10th dynasty and the Sanjaya dynasty managed to develop agriculture-based kingdoms in Java, with its historical relics such as temples of Borobudur and Prambanan temple. At the end of the 13th century, Majapahit stood in the eastern part of Java island. Under the leadership of Mahapatih Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of Indonesia; and is often called "Golden Age" in Indonesian history. The arrival of Arab traders and Persian through Gujarat, India, and then brought the Islamic religion. In addition, Chinese sailors, led by Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He), the religion of Islam, also never stop in this region at the beginning of the 15th century The traders are also spread the Islamic religion in some parts of the archipelago. Pasai Ocean, established in 1267, is the first Islamic kingdom in Indonesia.
When Europeans arrived in the early 16th century, they found several kingdoms which they can easily be mastered in order to dominate the spice trade. Portuguese first landed in two ports of Banten and Sunda Kingdom of Sunda Kelapa, but can be evicted and moved to the east and master the Moluccas. In the 17th century, the Dutch emerged as the strongest among the other European countries, beating the United Kingdom and Portugal (except for their colony, Portuguese Timor). At that time Christianity arrived in Indonesia as one of the old imperialist mission, known as 3G, that is Gold, Glory, and Gospel. Dutch control of Indonesia as a colony until World War II, initially through the VOC, and then directly by the Dutch government since the beginning of the 19th century. Under the system cultuurstelsel (Investment Systems) in the 19th century, large plantations and forced cultivation implemented in Java, finally generate profits for the Dutch East India Company which can not be reproduced. During the colonial administration a freer after 1870, the system was abolished. After 1901 the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy, which included limited political reform and greater investment in the Dutch East Indies.
During World War II, when Holland was occupied by Germany, Japan controlled Indonesia. After getting Indonesia in 1942, Japan saw that the fighters Indonesia is a co-trading cooperative and willing to deploy troops when needed. Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, KH. Mas Mansur, and Ki Hajar Dewantara given an award by the Emperor of Japan in 1943. In March 1945 the Japanese formed a committee for Indonesian independence. After the Pacific war ended in 1945, under pressure from youth organizations, Soekarno-Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945. After independence, the three founders of the nation namely Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, and Sutan Sjahrir each served as president, vice presidents, and prime minister. In an effort to regain control of Indonesia, the Dutch sent their troops.
Bloody efforts to curb this freedom movement came to be known by the Dutch as 'police action' (Politionele Actie), or known by the people of Indonesia as the Military Aggression.


Dutch finally accepted the right of Indonesia to independence on December 27, 1949 as a federal state called the Republic of Indonesia States after receiving strong pressure from the international community, especially the United States. Integral Natsir motion on August 17, 1950, calling for the return of the unitary state of Indonesia and dissolve the United States of Indonesia. Sukarno returned as president with Mohammad Hatta as vice president and Mohammad Natsir as prime minister.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the government of Sukarno began to follow at once pioneering non-aligned movement at first, then became closer to socialist bloc, for example, People's Republic of China and Yugoslavia. In the 1960s witnessed the occurrence of military confrontation against neighboring countries, Malaysia ("Confrontation"), and dissatisfaction with the growing economic difficulties. Subsequently in 1965 erupted G30S incident which caused the death of 6 people generals and a number of other middle-ranking officers. It comes new power that calls itself the New Order which immediately accused the Communist Party of Indonesia as the brain behind this event and intends to overthrow the legitimate government and replace the national ideology into socialist-communist based. This accusation was once used as an excuse to replace the old government under President Sukarno. General Suharto became president in 1967 on the grounds to secure the country from the threat of communism. Meanwhile, Sukarno's own physical condition has weakened. After Suharto came to power, hundreds of thousands of Indonesian citizens suspected of engaging the communist party were killed, while many more citizens of Indonesia who were overseas, did not dare return to their homeland, and finally revoked his citizenship. Thirty-two year reign of Suharto's New Order called, while the reign of Sukarno called the Old Order.
Suharto implement neoliberal economic and successfully bring in massive foreign investment to enter Indonesia and produce great economic growth, though uneven. At the beginning of the New Order regime policies ekomomi Indonesia prepared by a group of economists graduate of the Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, who was called "Berkeley Mafia." However, Suharto and his family add to their wealth through corruption, collusion, and nepotism are widespread and he was eventually forced to step down from his post after massive demonstrations and the deteriorating economic conditions in 1998.
From 1998 to 2001, Indonesia had three presidents: Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri. In the 2004 elections the world's largest one day was held and won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Indonesia is currently experiencing economic problems, political and religious strife in the country, and some areas trying to gain independence, particularly in Papua. East Timor finally officially broke away in 1999 after 24 years of union with Indonesia and 3 years in a country under UN administration of East Timor.
In December 2004 and March 2005, the Aceh and Nias hit by two major earthquakes that killed hundreds of thousands of people in total. (See the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the Sumatra earthquake in March 2005.) This incident was followed by the Yogyakarta earthquake and tsunami that hit Pangandaran Beach and its surrounding areas, and mud flood in Sidoarjo in 2006 that does not go unsolved.




From :: Wikipedia