Colonial era (Indonesia)

 Portuguese traders led by Francisco Serrão brought nutmeg to the Maluku Islands; The first Europeans arrived in the archipelago in 1512 when they sought to monopolize the resources of cloves and Cuban pepper. Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602, the Dutch founded the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which became a European power for almost 200 years. The VOC was dissolved in 1800 after bankruptcy, and the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalized colony.

For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago was narrow. Dutch forces were continuously involved in suppressing rebellions on and off the island of Java. Prince Diponegoro in Central Java; Imam Bonjol in Central Sumatra; 30 years of bloody wars in Pattimura in Maluku and in Aceh weakened the Netherlands and tied up the colonial army. 39] Only in the early 20th century did the Dutch rule expand to Indonesia's current borders.[39][40][41][42]

The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during World War II ended Dutch rule[43][44][45] and encouraged the previously suppressed independence movement. In August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender, Sukarno and Mohamed Hattar were appointed president and vice president respectively by influential nationalist leaders who proclaimed Indonesian independence.[47][48][49][47][50]

The Netherlands attempted to reestablish their rule, and a bitter armed diplomatic effort ended in December 1949, when the Dutch, facing international pressure, formally recognized Indonesia's independence and transferred Indonesian sovereignty to the United States. [52] Extraordinary politics; Despite social and sectarian divisions, Indonesians found unity in their struggle for independence.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Subdivisions of Indonesia

Indonesia has several levels of subdivisions. The first level are the provinces, which have a legislature (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah, DPRD) and an elected governor. A total of 37 provinces have been established from the original eight in 1945,[131] with the most recent change being the split of Central Papua, Highland Papua and South Papua from Papua in 2022.[132] The second level are the regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota), led by regents (bupati) and mayors (walikota) respectively and a legislature (DPRD Kabupaten/Kota). The third level are the districts (kecamatan, distrik in Papua, or kapanewon and kemantren in Yogyakarta), and the fourth are the villages (either desa, kelurahan, kampung, nagari in West Sumatra, or gampong in Aceh).[133]

The village is the lowest level of government administration. It is divided into several community groups (rukun warga, RW), which are further divided into neighbourhood groups (rukun tetangga, RT). In Java, the village (desa) is divided into smaller units called dusun or dukuh (hamlets), which are the same as RW. Following the implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, regencies and cities have become chief administrative units responsible for providing most government services. The village administration level is the most influential on a citizen's daily life and handles village or neighbourhood matters through an elected village head (lurah or kepala desa).[134]

Eight provinces—Aceh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua and West Papua—are granted a special autonomous status (otonomi khusus) from the central government. A conservative Islamic territory, Aceh has the right to create some aspects of an independent legal system implementing sharia.[135] Jakarta is the only city with a provincial government due to its position as the capital of Indonesia.[136][137] Yogyakarta is the only pre-colonial monarchy legally recognised within Indonesia, with the positions of governor and vice governor being prioritised for the reigning Sultan of Yogyakarta and Duke of Pakualaman, respectively.[138] The five Papuan provinces are the only ones where the indigenous people have privileges in their local government.[139]

This section is transcluded from Template:Indonesia provinces labelled map. (edit | history)