Colonisation and Decolonisation: Indonesia | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Overview of Dutch Colonization in Indonesia

Indonesia, originally known as the Nederlands Indies, is an archipelago that includes major islands like Sumatra, Java, Madura, Bali, and Celebes, along with hundreds of smaller islands. Spanning over three thousand miles from Malaya to Borneo, the region attracted European powers due to its lucrative spice trade.

Early European Interest and Dutch Dominance:

• The region's spice trade initially drew the Portuguese and English to Indonesia. However, by the late 17th century, the Dutch had expelled both and established dominance over the spice islands.
• In the 18th century, the Dutch East India Company became the predominant economic and political force in Java following the decline of the Mataram Empire.
• After the company went bankrupt in 1796 and was nationalized by the Dutch state, British control over the archipelago briefly occurred during the French occupation of Holland (1806-1815).
• Following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, most of the archipelago was returned to Dutch control.

Key Figures in Dutch Colonial Administration

Herman Willem Daendels (Governor-General from 1808 to 1811):

• During the French occupation of Holland, Daendels reorganized the colonial administration by dividing Java into districts.
• Each district was overseen by a European civil servant, known as a resident, who reported directly to the Governor-General in Batavia.
• Residents were responsible for various matters, including legal issues and agricultural organization.

Sir Stamford Raffles (Governor-General from 1811 to 1816):

• During the British occupation of Java, Raffles continued Daendels' reforms by improving the judicial, police, and administrative systems.
• He introduced a land tax based on a significant portion of annual harvests.
• Raffles also showed a keen interest in Javanese culture and languages, publishing "The History of Java" in 1817, one of the earliest academic works on the subject.
• However, his administrative changes led to increased foreign intervention in Javanese society and economy, reflected in the rising number of European officials in the residencies.

Nature of Dutch Rule in Colonial Java:

• The Dutch maintained local institutions, laws, and customs, settling in large numbers, developing the land, and often intermarrying with locals.
• While their rule was benevolent in some aspects, it was fundamentally autocratic, offering little opportunity for Indonesians to gain self-governance experience.
• Governance in colonial Java was both direct and dualistic, with an indigenous hierarchy acting as an intermediary between Javanese peasants and the European civil service.
• The top of the indigenous structure comprised the Javanese aristocracy, previously part of the Mataram administration, now executing Dutch directives.

Resistance and Java War (1825-1830):

• The Dutch decision to build a road on Prince Diponegoro's land sparked a rebellion, supported by a majority of the Javanese population in Central Java.
• Diponegoro turned the conflict into a jihad war, leading to significant casualties, mostly on the Javanese side.
• Despite the high toll, the Dutch emerged more dominant in Java after the war, especially following Diponegoro's capture.

Cultivation System

• The Dutch government implemented a revenue policy for the East Indies, known as the Culture System or Cultivation System, starting in 1830. This system was devised by Johannes van den Bosch, the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies, with the aim of making the Dutch East India Company profitable and countering competition from British traders.
• The system primarily applied to Java and involved forcing farmers to pay revenue to the Dutch treasury in the form of export crops or compulsory labor. Under this system, the Dutch government had a monopoly on the cultivation of export crops, deciding what crops Javanese peasants had to produce. Generally, Javanese peasants were required to hand over one-fifth of their harvests to the Dutch in exchange for arbitrarily fixed compensation.

Provisions of the Culture System:

• Crop Cultivation: Javanese peasants had to dedicate 20% of their rice fields to the cultivation of export crops suitable for the European market, such as sugar, coffee, tea, indigo, pepper, and cotton.
• Labor Requirement: If a villager did not have land, he was required to work on a government field for 20% of the year, equivalent to 66 days, without any payment.
• Crop Failure: Crops that failed due to reasons beyond the cultivator's control were debited to the government.
• Bonuses for Officials: Dutch and Javanese officials received bonuses for exceeding previous crop delivery records, leading to top-down intervention and oppression.
• Land Tax: In addition to compulsory crop cultivation and labor services, Raffles' land tax still applied.

Impact of the Culture System:

• The Culture System, by the time of its abolition, had generated significant returns for the government, promoted Dutch commerce and shipping, and made the Dutch East Indies self-sufficient and profitable.
• It was financially successful, contributing a substantial portion of Dutch state income from the Javanese colony.
• Despite its exploitative nature, the system indirectly benefited by breaking into localized communities and exposing them to the outside world, which was necessary for modernization.

Dismantling of the Culture System:

• The Culture System was dismantled due to humanitarian concerns, criticism from influential Dutch figures, and the rejection of the system during the Liberal Period of Colonial Indonesia (1870 – 1900).
• New ideas of free trade and entrepreneurship during this period, along with constitutional reforms, led to continuous attacks on the Culture System.
• Gradually, the government withdrew from forced crop cultivation, allowing private individuals to establish plantations in the East Indies.
• While the system was modified in favor of a free enterprise system after 1870, it remained in force for sugar until 1890 and for coffee until 1917.

After 1870

Driven by the New Imperialism mentality, European nations were competing for colonies outside the European continent for both economic motives and status.

Aceh War (1870 – 1913):

• The most famous and prolonged battle that started in 1873 and lasted until 1913, resulting in the deaths of more than 100,000 people. The Dutch would, however, never have full control over Aceh.

The Ethical Policy, 1901:

• Dutch Queen Wilhelmina in her annual speech in 1901 announced that a new policy, the Ethical Policy, would be launched.
• It was aimed at raising the living standards of the native population.
• The means to accomplish this was direct state intervention, promoted under the slogan ‘irrigation, education and emigration’.
• This new approach would, however,not prove to be a significant success in raising the living standards of Indonesians.

The Ethical Policy and Indonesian Nationalism:

• Its educational component contributed significantly to the awakening of Pan-Indonesian nationalism by providing Indonesians the intellectual tools to organize and articulate their objections to colonial rule.
• It provided a small Indonesian elite with Western political ideas of freedom and democracy.
• For the first time the native people of the Archipelago began to develop a national consciousness as ‘Indonesians’.

Beginning of the National Movement:

• Beginning of Nationalist Organisations:
• In 1908 students in Batavia founded the association Budi Utomo, the first native political society.
• It derived their inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore.
• This event is often regarded as the birth of Indonesian nationalism.
• It established a political tradition in which cooperation between the young Indonesian elite and the Dutch colonial authorities was expected to lead to acquiring some degree of independence.
• Foundation of the first mass-based political party, the Sarekat Islam(Islamic Union) in 1911.
• Initially, it was formed to support the indigenous entrepreneurs against the dominating Chinese in the local economy but it expanded its scope and developed a popular political consciousness with subversive tendencies.
• It sought to base Indian nationalism on Islamic culture. This party led the national movement up to 1926 and its activities came to be coordinated with those of trade unions.
• Other important movements were the Muhammadiyah, an Islamic reformist socio-religious movement founded in 1912 and the Indonesian Association of Social Democrats, a communist movement founded in 1914.
• Internal disunity in the latter would later lead to the formation of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1920.

Dutch Response:

• Initially, the Dutch colonial authorities permitted the establishment of indigenous political movements but when Indonesian ideologies radicalized in the 1920s (communist uprisings in West Java and West Sumatra in 1926 and 1927) the Dutch authorities changed course.
• A relative tolerant regime was replaced by a repressive one in which every suspected act of subversive behaviour was suppressed.
• This repressive regime in fact only worsened the situation by radicalizing the entire Indonesian nationalist movement.
• Part of these nationalists established the Indonesian Nationalist Party in 1927 under leadership of Dr Sukarno as a reaction to the repressive regime.
• Its goal was full independence for Indonesia.
• It sought to base national movement on national and political principles rather than on religious considerations.
• Another important occasion for Indonesian nationalism was the declaration of the Youth Pledge in 1928.
• At this congress of youth organizations, three ideals were proclaimed: one motherland, one nation and one language.
• The main aim of this congress was to stimulate the feeling of unity between the young Indonesians.
• On this congress the future national anthem(Indonesia Raya) was played and the future national flag(merah-putih) was shown for the first time.
• The colonial authorities reacted with another act of suppression. Young national leaders, such as Dr. Sukarno(Indonesia’s first president in 1945),Dr. Hatta(Indonesia’s first vice president) and S Jahrir were arrested and exiled.

The Second World War and the Japanese Invasion of the Dutch Indies

• The Dutch were strong enough to suppress Indonesian nationalism by detaining its leaders and stifling nationalist organizations, but they could never completely eradicate nationalist sentiments.
• On the other hand, the Indonesians lacked the power to challenge the colonial rulers on their own, necessitating external assistance to dismantle the colonial system. The outbreak of the Second World War dramatically altered the dynamics of Indonesian politics. When Germany invaded Holland in 1940, the effective link between Holland and the East Indies was severed. In response, the Indonesians declared their anti-fascist stance and expressed their willingness to collaborate with the Dutch in defending their country against the impending Japanese invasion. However, the Dutch, suspicious of the nationalist leaders' motives, rejected their proposal. This led to the growing belief that Indonesia's liberation would begin with the Japanese expelling the Dutch.
• In March 1942, driven by their need for oil, the Japanese occupied the Dutch Indies, providing the assistance the Indonesians sought.

Japanese Rule and Indonesian Nationalism:

• Under Japanese occupation, a certain degree of political freedom was granted, and administration was handed over to Indonesians under Japanese supervision. When the Japanese took control, Dutch officials were interned, and Indonesians were appointed to handle government tasks. The Japanese established a collaborationist government led by Sukarno, presenting themselves as liberators and allowing nationalists to occupy key positions and manage the administration. They also provided military training to Indonesians.
• In 1943, PETA (Pembela Tanah Air; Defenders of the Homeland), a voluntary youth militia, was formed. Apart from this, political activity in the East Indies was largely restricted except for a Japanese-created mass organization called the Pergerakan Tiga A (AAA movement), which promoted the idea of 'Asia for the Asiatics' and depicted Japan as the 'guardian,' 'light,' and 'leader.'
• During the Japanese occupation, Indonesian nationalism became more organized and intensified. The Japanese educated, trained, and armed many young Indonesians, giving nationalist leaders a political platform. This preparation was crucial for the future independent Indonesian nation.
• Initially welcomed as liberators by the Indonesian populace, the Japanese rule soon revealed its harshness through food, clothing, and medicine shortages, as well as forced labor under brutal conditions. The food scarcity was primarily due to administrative incompetence, turning Java into a land of hunger. Indonesians were subjected to forced labor for labor-intensive construction projects across Java, along with compulsory military service.
• Thus, Indonesian nationalism, spurred by the war, became as much anti-Dutch as it was anti-Japanese. On the eve of the Japanese surrender, encouraged by the Japanese, Indonesian nationalists proclaimed the independence of their country and established the Indonesian Republic on August 17, 1945. The new government quickly asserted its authority over Java, Madura, and Sumatra.

Post-War Developments:

• Although Holland had been liberated from Nazi occupation, the Dutch were still not in a position to deploy military forces to reassert control over the East Indies. 
• Consequently, the British were tasked with overseeing the Japanese surrender. British troops restored order but soon realized that the Indonesian nationalist authorities were determined to oppose the Dutch return. As a result, the British had little choice but to recognize the de facto Indonesian Republic within the territories under its control.

Linggadjati Agreement (1946):

• Shortly after the Dutch attempted to regain control, the Indonesians mounted a fierce resistance. Fighting and negotiations occurred simultaneously, eventually leading to the initiation of the Linggadjati Agreement (1946). Under this agreement, the Dutch recognized the Republic's de facto authority over Java, Sumatra, and Madura. 
• It was also agreed to establish the United States of Indonesia, comprising the three Republics of Indonesia, Borneo, and the Great East, as part of a broader Nederlands-Indonesian Union. The agreement was ratified in March 1947.

The Indonesian Question and the U.N.:

• The Linggadjati Agreement proved ineffective due to mutual distrust between the parties. Proposals from one side were met with unacceptable counter-proposals from the other, prompting the Dutch to resort to military action, framed as “a police measure of a strictly limited sort.” At this juncture, the Indonesian question was brought before the UN Security Council by India and Australia.
• The council, responding to the urgency of the appeals, promptly issued a ceasefire order. Although both sides accepted the order, fighting continued unabated. The council then appointed a consular commission to assess the situation and proposed setting up a committee of good offices to assist in reaching a settlement. In 1948, both parties agreed to an immediate truce. However, the Dutch terminated it, resumed armed conflict, and imprisoned Sukarno and Hatta.
• Subsequently, the UN passed a new resolution for a ceasefire, compelled the Dutch to justify their actions before the UN, and emphasized the need for negotiation rather than imposition. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Nehru of India convened an Asian Conference in Delhi in 1949 to explore solutions to the impasse. The conference demanded the release of Republican leaders and the lifting of the economic blockade imposed by the Dutch on the Republic.

Indonesia Becomes an Independent Republic:

• Faced with intense pressure from various quarters, the Dutch released the Republican leaders, entered into a truce, and agreed to a round-table conference in The Hague, Holland. 
• The conference led to the enactment of the Hague Statute of Union, establishing the United States of Indonesia as a Sovereign Republic and associating with the Netherlands on the basis of voluntariness and equal status with equal rights (1949). Thus emerged a new state in Southeast Asia—the Indonesian Republic, with Sukarno as President and Dr. Hatta as the first Prime Minister.