Ancient[edit]

Subak irrigation system

Bali was inhabited around 2000 BCE by Austronesian people who migrated originally from the
island of Taiwan to Southeast Asia and Oceania through Maritime Southeast Asia.[15][16] Culturally
and linguistically, the Balinese are closely related to the people of the Indonesian archipelago,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Oceania.[16] Stone tools dating from this time have been found near
the village of Cekik in the island's west.[17][18]
In ancient Bali, nine Hindu sects existed, namely Pasupata, Bhairawa, Siwa
Shidanta, Vaishnava, Bodha, Brahma, Resi, Sora and Ganapatya. Each sect revered a specific
deity as its personal Godhead.[19]
Inscriptions from 896 and 911 do not mention a king, until 914, when Sri Kesarivarma is
mentioned. They also reveal an independent Bali, with a distinct dialect,
where Buddhism and Sivaism were practised simultaneously. Mpu Sindok's great-
granddaughter, Mahendradatta (Gunapriyadharmapatni), married the Bali king Udayana
Warmadewa (Dharmodayanavarmadeva) around 989, giving birth to Airlangga around 1001.
This marriage also brought more Hinduism and Javanese culture to Bali. Princess
Sakalendukirana appeared in 1098. Suradhipa reigned from 1115 to 1119, and Jayasakti from
1146 until 1150. Jayapangus appears on inscriptions between 1178 and 1181, while
Adikuntiketana and his son Paramesvara in 1204.[20]:129,144,168,180
Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture,
beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Bali dwipa ("Bali island") has been discovered
from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari
Warmadewa in 914 AD and mentioning Walidwipa. It was during this time that the people
developed their complex irrigation system subak to grow rice in wet-field cultivation. Some
religious and cultural traditions still practised today can be traced to this period.
The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in
1343. The uncle of Hayam Wuruk is mentioned in the charters of 1384–86. Mass Javanese
immigration to Bali occurred in the next century when the Majapahit Empire fell in 1520.
[20]:234,240
 Bali's government then became an independent collection of Hindu kingdoms which led to
a Balinese national identity and major enhancements in culture, arts, and economy. The nation
with various kingdoms became independent for up to 386 years until 1906 when the Dutch
subjugated and repulsed the natives for economic control and took it over.[21]

Portuguese contacts[edit]
The first known European contact with Bali is thought to have been made in 1512, when a
Portuguese expedition led by Antonio Abreu and Francisco Serrão sighted its northern shores. It
was the first expedition of a series of bi-annual fleets to the Moluccas, that throughout the 16th
century usually travelled along the coasts of the Sunda Islands. Bali was also mapped in 1512, in
the chart of Francisco Rodrigues, aboard the expedition.[22] In 1585, a ship foundered off the Bukit
Peninsula and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung.[23]