Portal:Indonesia/AOTW/9, 2007

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Netherlands, and an internal revolution that took place between the time of Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' recognition of Indonesia's independence in 1949.

One of the largest revolutions of the Twentieth Century, the struggle lasted for over four years and involved sporadic but bloody armed conflict, internal Indonesian political and communal upheavals, and two major international diplomatic interventions. Dutch forces were too weak to prevail over the inexperienced but determined Indonesians, but strong enough to resist being expelled. Thus, the Republic of Indonesia ultimately won the Revolution by international persuasion as much as it did through Indonesian determination in the armed conflicts on Java and other islands.

The revolution destroyed a colonial administration ruled from the other side of the world, and dismantled with its obsolete and powerless rajas, and its rigid racial and social categorisations. Tremendous energies and aspirations were created amongst Indonesians, and a new creative surge was seen in writing and art, and created a great demand for education and modernisation amongst Indonesians. It did not, however, significantly improve the economic or political fortune of the population’s peasant majority; only a few Indonesians were able to gain a larger role in commerce, and hopes for democracy were dashed within a decade.(Read more...)