The History of Indonesia

Today, Indonesia is probably most commonly known around the world for one place,
Bali, an exotic and romantic vacation spot. So many people view Bali as the
representation of Indonesia as a whole. But, what about the rest of the nation? How did
that one island and the rest that make up the entirely of Indonesia come to be what they
are now.
Where did the history of Indonesia begin?
Like it’s neighbor of Malaysia, Indonesia can trace its first sign of modern human life all
the way back to about 40.000 years ago. Although there is also archaeological evidence
suggesting that 40.000 years may be an underestimate and other ancestors of today’s
humans may have been present in the region as long as 1.9 million years ago.
Either way the earliest reliable evidence of a sophisticated civilization in current day
Indonesia dates back to only about 400 BC with the discoveries of Indian trade goods in
the region and inscriptions found in West Java and Eastern Kalimantan. It is also
believed that trade with China would have been concurrent with the trade between the
Indonesian archipelago and India commerce with these particular foreign nations would
have also brought the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism to the islands, beginning or
contributing to the outside influence on the region.
Jumping ahead to the 7th century, the powerful trade-oriented Srivijaya Empire
originating from the island of Sumatera flourished from the Malay Peninsula down to
Java. Despite their remarkable success over multiple centuries, the Buddhist Empire of
Srivijaya faced its decline after the Chola Empire from India seized their Sumatran
territory of Palembang and apprehended their king in 1025. From that point on, the
Srivijaya Empire essentially collapsed, making room for the Hindu Kingdom of the
Majapahit Empire.
Founded in 1292, The Majapahit Empire rose to dominate the modern day Indonesian
region throughout the 13th and 14th centuries prospering through trade as the Srivijaya
Empire had done before them.
Still, just as their predecessors, the Majapahit Empire hit a wall and began a rapid
downfall, theirs came after the death of one of their leaders Gajah Mada in 1364 and the
following death of the king Hayam Wuruk in 1389.
Leading up to this time, the Islamic faith found its way to be the archipelago and began
to really take hold over the ensuing centuries. Many different lesser-known sultanates
found success throughout the islands as a result. Some even outlasting the dominion of
the Majapahit Empire. As these kingdoms continued to grow trade in and out of the
region, European powers became attracted to the spice market that it offered.
The first of such nations to arrive in modern-day Indonesia were the Portuguese and the
Spanish in the 16th century. While Spain did attempt to exert some dominance in the
Maluku islands also known as the Spice Islands, their authority in any part of the
Indonesian archipelago was short-lived due to the contesting efforts of Portugal and later
the Dutch and British.
The Portuguese were initially triumphant in the peninsula, capturing Malacca in 1511.
From there, they aimed their sights towards the Spice Islands beginning their bid to take
control of the spice trade in 1512. While they had some levels of success, they were fairly
quickly pushed out through the arrival of the Dutch by the 17 th century.
In terms of the colonial powers, the Dutch were surely the most prominent intruder into
the Indonesian islands. The first Dutch expedition set off for the archipelago in 1595
under the command of Cornelius de Houtman and dropped anchor at the shore of West
Java.

Answer Key:
B.
(a) inscriptions
(b) concurrent
(c) flourished
(d) territory
(e) apprehended
(f) predecessors
(g) hit a wall
(h) ensuing
(i) lesser-known
(j) outlasting
(k) spice market
(l) to exert
(m) short-lived
(n) contesting
(o) triumphant
(p) pushed out
(q) prominent
(r) set off
C.
1. g (bertahan lebih lama)
2. j (memulai suatu perjalanan)
3. n (berkembang cepat/mencapai puncaknya)
4. c (berusaha keras)
5. b (menangkap/menahan)
6. m (penting/terkenal)
7. f (terjadi sebagai akibat)
8. a (pahatan pada batu)
9. e (daerah jajahan)
10. d (mengeluarkan/mendepak)
11. i (menang)
12. l (berlangsung sebentar)
13. k (pendahulu/nenek moyang)
14. h (beriringan/bersamaan)
15. o (mentok)