Here is a very brief version of Indonesian history.

Prehistoric Era
Fossilised remains of Homo erectus popularly known as the "Java Man" (scientific name: Pithecanthropus erectus) suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by at least 1.5 million years ago. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, are thought to have originally been from Taiwan and arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE.


Early Kingdoms
Indonesia, like much of Southeast Asia was influenced by Indian culture. In the beginning, Indonesia had kingdoms as well, which were mostly influenced by Hindu or Buddhist religion.

One such early kingdom was Tarumanagara, which flourished between 358 and 669 CE. Located in West Java close to modern-day Jakarta, its 5th century king, Purnawarman, established the earliest known inscriptions in Java. On this monument, King Purnawarman inscribed his name and made an imprint of his footprints, as well as his elephant's footprints. The accompanying inscription reads, "Here are the footprints of King Purnavarman, the heroic conqueror of the world". This inscription is written in Pallava script and in Sanskrit and is still clear after 1500 years.

The political history of Indonesian archipelago during the 7th to 11th centuries was dominated by Srivijaya, a naval kingdom based in Sumatra, also Sailendra that dominated central Java and constructed Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world.


Despite a lack of historical evidence, it is known that Majapahit was the most dominant kingdom of Indonesia's pre-Islamic states. The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada it experienced what is often referred to as a "Golden Age" in Indonesian history, when its influence extended to much of southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali from about 1293 to around 1500.


The Islamic Age

The spread of Islam among the inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra. The spread of Islam was driven by increasing trade links outside of the archipelago; in general, traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were the first to adopt the new religion.

Other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, making it the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java.

Only Bali retained a Hindu majority. In the eastern archipelago, both Christian and Islamic missionaries were active in the 16th and 17th centuries, and, currently, there are large communities of both religions on these islands.

Colonial Era

Beginning in the 16th century, successive waves of Europeans—the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and British—sought to dominate the spice trade at its sources in India and the 'Spice Islands' (Maluku) of Indonesia. Astronomically priced at the time, spices were highly coveted not only to preserve and make poorly preserved meat palatable, but also as medicines and magic potions.

Starting with the first exploratory expeditions sent from newly conquered Malacca in 1512, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Indonesia, and sought to dominate the sources of valuable spices and to extend the Catholic Church's missionary efforts.

In 1602, the Dutch parliament awarded the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, "United East India Company") a monopoly on trade and colonial activities in the region at a time before the company controlled any territory in Java. In 1619, the VOC conquered the West Javan city of Jayakarta, where they founded the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta).

After the VOC was dissolved in 1800 following bankruptcy, and after a short British rule under Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Dutch state took over the VOC possessions in 1816.

The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during World War II (from March 1942 until after the end of the war in 1945) ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. In March 1945, Japan organized an Indonesian committee on independence. The committee drafted the 1945 Constitution, which remains in force, though now much amended. On 9 August 1945 some of Indonesia's political leaders were told that Japan intended to announce Indonesian independence on 24 August.

However, under pressure from radical and politicized youth groups, two of the major political figures, Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta, proclaimed Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese Emperor’s surrender in the Pacific. They subsequently became Indonesia’s first president and vice president. Their names are also used for Jakarta’s international airport; the Soekarno–Hatta International Airport.

The Dutch did not acknowledge the Indonesian independence until December 27, 1949.

Republic Era

So far, since 1945, we have had seven presidents, but our modern day government isn't without struggle. Our second president reigned for 32 years, his replacement (who was his vice-president and was only supposed to lead a transitional government) only reigned for one year before his accountability speech was rejected, and the third one was impeached.

Our fourth president was our first (and only, so far) female president who reigned from 2001 to 2004.

The next one led us for ten years, and just last year we elected a new one in a very close race (he received 53.15% of votes). However, we have hope for him as he came from a different background than the rest. He was the first Indonesian president to not be from the military or the political elite.

Here's hoping that we continue to grow as a better country. Personally I have seen quite a few major infrastructure developments over the past few years, and I'm really hoping soon we could be a country that could feel proud in the eyes of the world.

Source: Various pages on Wikipedia and others

This was super interesting! I really do hope that your country continues to thrive, and that your government is strong in the coming years Thank you for sharing!