Clarification of Answer by
websearcher-ga
on
04 Jun 2003 09:57 PDT
Hi grammatoncleric:
Well, I've done my best to summarize the period of 1500-1670 into a
page or two. However, there's a lot of history to cram in. :-)
Hope you like my prose.
****************************
Before the great trade empires of the 1500s, events in Indonesia
proceeded pretty much as they did elsewhere. Rulers came and went,
local skirmishes were fought, and even foreign invasions (such as the
1293 Mongol invasion) were turned back. However, two key events in
this pre-trade period had significant effects on events from 1500 -
1670.
First was the introduction of the Islamic religion to the region,
starting in 1297 with the conversion of Sultan Malek Saleh of Pasia
who becomes the first Muslim ruler in the area. For the next several
hundred years, Islam gradually replaces Buddhism and Hinduism as
Indonesia's major religion. One gets the feeling that this conversion
perhaps kept many of the "tribes" of the region splintered and kept
them from uniting against the invading traders to come.
The second event was the seemingly innocent visit to the region by the
explorer Marco Polo in 1292. While the Portuguese would not first
visit the area for more than 200 years after Polo, the intense
interest in the riches and natural resources of the area were likely
due to the accounts of Polo.
The next big event on the road to the European colonization of
Indonesia was the first visits of the Portuguese to the area. In 1509,
the first Portuguese explorers visited the Melaka region. They came
primarily for trade and to make money but, unfortunately, in order to
secure their financial footing, they needed also to conquer. The first
conquest didn't take long, occuring in 1511 when Admiral Albuquerque
captured Melaka.
From then it was just a matter of time until the better armed, better
trained Portuguese took hold of more and more of Indonesia. While they
did suffer occasional setbacks, for the most part it is a story of
expansion and fort-building for the next many years. In fact, the only
thin that seemed to stop the Portuguese expansion was not the native
Indonesians, but the Spanish, who objected when they Portuguese tried
to encroach into the Philippines area that they saw as theirs.
However, in 1529 the kings of Spain and Portugal decided that there
was plenty of plunder for everyone and that they'd make nice and draw
their borders.
Other than for a brief English incursions during the late 1500s,
Portuguese expansion continues unabated. The next big happening is the
first Dutch expedition - headed by De Houtman - which arrives in the
area in 1596. Although his trip is marred by tragedy - De Houtman does
manage to bring home some "produce" and spark interest in the
financial gains to be made in the region. The Dutch waste no time,
sending 22 ships in five expeditions in 1598. By 1600 they start
attacking both the Portuguese and Spanish in the area and asserting
their influence.
A huge event in the history of Indonesia's colonization is the
establishment of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) (or the
Dutch East Indies Company) which is charted to wage war and trade in
the area. In the first three years alone 38 heavily armed warships are
sent to the area and start to usher in the new rule that will shape
the region for hundreds of years to come. The next 70 years are marked
by brutal expansion by the VOC, driving out the established Portuguese
traders and the newly arrived English as well. By 1670, the VOC is
firmly in control of the region, its resources, and its politics.
************************
,
0 Comments
)