Colonial era

Main article: Dutch East Indies

The submission of Prince Diponegoro to General De Kock at the end of the Java War in 1830

The first Europeans arrived in the archipelago in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led
by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolise the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb
pepper in the Maluku Islands.[34] Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602, the Dutch
established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European
power for almost 200 years. The VOC was dissolved in 1800 following bankruptcy, and
the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalised colony.[35]
For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago was tenuous. Dutch
forces were engaged continuously in quelling rebellions both on and off Java. The influence
of local leaders such as Prince Diponegoro in central Java, Imam Bonjol in central
Sumatra, Pattimura in Maluku, and bloody 30-year war in Aceh weakened the Dutch and
tied up the colonial military forces.[36][37][38] Only in the early 20th century did their dominance
extend to what was to become Indonesia's current boundaries.[39][40][41][42]
The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during World War II ended Dutch
rule[43][44] and encouraged the previously suppressed independence movement. Two days
after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, influential
nationalist leaders, proclaimed Indonesian independence and was appointed president and
vice president respectively.[45] The Netherlands attempted to re-establish their rule, and a
bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949 when the Dutch formally
recognised Indonesian independence in the face of international pressure.[46][47] Despite
extraordinary political, social and sectarian divisions, Indonesians, on the whole, found
unity in their fight for independence.[48][49]