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GENERAL BACKGROUND ON INDONESIA
Area: 2 million square km; 3.2 million square km sea area
Cities: Capital - Jakarta (9 million people); Surabaya (2.4 mil.); Medan (2.2 mil.); Bandung (3 mil.) (1994 census)
Terrain: More than 17,000 islands, the large ones consisting of coastal plains with mountainous interiors
Climate: Equatorial but cooler in highlands
Population: 198 million (1996)
Annual Population Growth Rate: 1.66%
Ethnic Groups: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, coastal Malays, Bataks, many others
Religions: Moslem, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist and other
Languages: Indonesian (official); local languages, the largest of which is Javanese
Education: Years compulsory: 6, rising to 9 by 2003
Literacy: 93% in urban area and 82% in the countryside
HISTORY
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, consisting of more than 17,000 islands stretching 3,200 miles from east to west along the equatorial zone between the continents of Asia and Australia. The major islands include Java, Sumatra, the southern part of the island of Borneo (now called Kalimantan), Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and the western part of the world's second largest island, New Guinea, called Irian Jaya. Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world, with approximately 185 million inhabitants.
Its location across important trade routes has long influenced Indonesia's political and economic history and development. Marco Polo, who came to Indonesia in 1292, was the first European to visit the archipelago. The Portuguese, in search of spices, arrived in Indonesia for the first time in 1511 and eventually established a firm hold on the eastern islands, the Moluccas. With the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 began a period of Dutch rule that lasted almost 350 years. During World War II, from March 1942 until August 1945, the Japanese occupied what was then called the Dutch East Indies. On August 17, 1945, Indonesian independence was claimed by two national leaders, Soekarno and Hatta, although actual independence was confirmed only after a prolonged armed struggle against the Dutch, which ended in 1949.
JAKARTA
Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is located on the north-western coast of the principal island of Java and is one of the largest cities in Asia, with a population of over eight million residents. Jakarta serves as the center of the country's government, commerce, and industry.
When the Portuguese first came to the archipelago in 1511 in search of the fabled "Spice Islands," Jakarta was a small seaport called Sunda Kelapa, inhabited by the Hindu Kingdom of Pajajaran, with which the Portuguese established a trade treaty. The city was renamed Jayakarta, "City of Victory," when Prince Fatahillah established the Muslim Kingdom of Cirebon after destroying the Portuguese fleet on June 22, 1527. This date is still celebrated as the anniversary of Jakarta's founding. When Dutch colonization began in the 17th century, the city's name was changed to Batavia, which it remained until the occupation of the Japanese in 1942, who renamed it Jakarta, a shortened version of Jayakarta.
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