A Short History of Indonesia
The Unlikely Nation?
New in the Short Histories of Asia series, edited by Milton Osborne, this is a readable, well-informed and comprehensive history of Indonesia and its peoples, from ancient origins to the present day.
The largest country in its region, Indonesia holds the key to Southeast Asia's future, while recent developments (demands for greater regional autonomy, ethnic, political and religious conflict) are making the archipelago significant on the world stage and prompting re-examination of its history.
As a state Indonesia is a twentieth-century creation, but its peoples' roots go deeper. Through the exchange of ideas, myths, rulers, religions and trade goods, they share a history two millennia long. Occupying a key section of the east Asia-Europe trade route, Indonesia was influenced by external forces, including the religion of Islam and Dutch colonialism. Today, it has the largest Muslim population in the world. How were these societies brought into interaction with each other, eventually to produce the single state of modern Indonesia? And how have the peoples of independent Indonesia tried to resolve the consequences of that unity since?
Colin Brown brings the latest research to bear on Indonesian history in this readable, comprehensive volume. From the earliest recorded history to the classical empires, through colonialism and Japanese occupation, Sukarno and Suharto and the 1999 elections, to present-day tensions and beyond, this is an important book for anyone wanting to understand how Indonesia came to be, and what its future holds.
Author bio:
Colin Brown is Professor of Asian Studies at Flinders University. He has taught at universities in Australia and Indonesia, and has published widely on Indonesian history, culture and politics. An active member of the Australia Indonesia Business Council, he has been a frequent visitor to Indonesia since 1972.
Series Editor Milton Osborne has had an association with the Asian region for over 40 years as an academic, public servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including Southeast Asia: An introductory history, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, published in 2000.
Maps of Indonesia
Acronyms
Glossry
Note on transcription
The Indonesian context
The rise of states: 1-1500 CE
The age of commerce: 1400-1700
Economic demise, political decline: 1600-1800
Establishment of empire: 1800-1900
Times of change: 1900-1945
From revolution to authoritarian rule: 1945-1957
Guided to Pancasila democracy: 1956-1998
Reformasi: The post-Suharto era?
Bibliographical essay
Endnotes
Index
