Indonesia

During the 17^th century, the English and the Dutch had a fierce competition and the Dutch came out as the predominant power in Indonesia. The Dutch controlled the sea in the entire archipelago, and gained a great deal of success with the spice trading. By 1700, the Dutch, started to change the emphasis of their colonial activities. The Dutch wanted to make even more profit so they started cultivation of other valuable tropical plants, things like coffee, tea, and indigo. They concentrated their efforts on Java, an island very well placed in the trade routes and very fertile to boot. The majority of the population of Indonesia used to live on the single island of Java. The Dutch took control of many areas in Java and forced the people there to cultivate what the Dutch wanted produced. Their control was indirect. The Dutch ruled their part of java through Javanese nobles, so that Javanese peasants, despite the amount of control East India Company had over their lives, very seldom saw the Dutch. The Chinese had played a role in Indonesia as well. They did many intermediary, functions, including money lending and other middleman-type commences.

At the end of the 18^th century, the Dutch East India company went broke as an effect of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The Dutch still managed to stay in power but they started something called the “cultivation” system. Instead of taxes, Javanese peasants has to set aside 1/5 of their land to grow specified crops by the government. At this time the Dutch began to annex larger and larger parts of Java to extend its operations. The people of Java were doing very well due to all of the agriculture. The population nearly increased by sevenfold in the 1900’s. By 1914 the Dutch had more or less control over the whole territory of Indonesia. The Dutch educated the Javanese people to European standards. Then WWII came around and the Dutch rule ended. The Netherlands tried to take over but failed, so at this time the Dutch formally recognized Indonesian independence.

So being under Dutch control at first really helped the Indonesian people advance. The Indonesian people did a lot of agriculture and were even educated. It was because of the Dutch that the Indonesian people grew in population and many other ways. The only price they had to pay was I guess something like slavery? The people of Indonesia had to do whatever they said and everything because the Dutch ruled over them. Since the Dutch educated them, Indonesia should be able to live prosperously by farming and trading. This was all just a short analysis of Indonesia.

Works cited: http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/MUHLBERGER/2805/dutchind.htm