Indonesian Culture an History

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.

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