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History of the islands of present Indonesia

How white racist colonialism has stormed around in Indonesia. Chronology

Indonesia chronology 1910 to 1940: New Nationalism

General Gouvernor J.P. Count van Limburg, representative in Dutch colonialism

Destruction of rain forest: Wood clearing applying slash-and-burn method in the 1930s in Indonesia in Palembang winning new acres ("ladang")

by: Charles A. Gibun: Indonesian Timeline: http://www.gimonca.com/sejarah/sejarah.shtml

presented by Michael Palomino (2005 / 2016)

Literatur: Letters from / Briefe von R. A. Kartini:
"Door Duisternis Tot Licht" ["By the Durcknes of Dead Light" / "Durch die Finsternis des toten Lichts"]

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Summary: After First World War different new organizations are founded with the goal of indipendence. Muslim organizations dispute between conservatism and modernism in Islam. From 1918 on the Dutch continue their occupation policy by cencuration, exilation and prohibition systems and provoke strong opposition by that which finds its expression in parties from Communism to Nationalism. Exilations and concentration camps e.g. on New Guinee are the order of the day.

Repeated Epidemics with 10,000s of deats do shurely not enhance the confidence into the Dutch administration.

The situation aggravates more and more by Japanese plans of occupation in the region, because the Dutch give no weapons to the indonesians. So Dutch Indonesia is practically not prepared for its defence with exception of some forts which can be defended.

Michael Palomino, May 2005

1911

Abendanon publishes R. A. Kartini's letters with the title "Door Duisternis Tot Licht" [Through the darkness of the Dead Light].

Newspaper al-Munir begins publishing in Padang.

Bubonic plague outbreak on Java.

Throughout history, the bubonic plague had never before spread to Java. Tens of thousands died of the plague in 1911-1913, and it was twenty-five years before the disease was eradicated from Java again, after extensive campaigns against rats.

1912

Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan, founder of Muhammadiyah [Muhammad Association] - Indonesie during Dutch colonialism

Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan, founder of Muhammadiyah [Muhammad Association]. The Muhammadiyah remains one of the large, respected Islamic organizations in Indonesia today. It has been known for its "modernist" Islamic viewpoint.

September 10 [Modernistic] Sarekat Dagang Islamiyah [Islamic Association of Dagang] changes name to Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] under [the leadership of] Tjokroaminoto.

H.O.S. Cokroaminoto (or Tjokroaminoto)

Indische Partij [Indian Party] founded by
-- Setiabudi (Douwes Dekker)
-- Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo
-- and Ki Hajar Dewantoro.

All three are exiled within a year [kidnaping?]

Portuguese suppress revolt in East Timor.

November 18 Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan founds Muhammadiyah [Muhammad Association] in Yogya.

Dutch send another military expedition to the Tanimbar Islands.

1913

January Sarekat Islam congress [muslim orthodox] in Surabaya resolves to broaden their activities throughout the Indies.

Kartini Fonds founded in Netherlands to support women's education on Java.

Gov-Gen Idenburg recognizes [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islam Association] as legal organization.

Indische Partij [Indian Party] is banned; leaders go to Netherlands.

Netherlands Indies government is given the power to borrow money without first receiving permission from the Netherlands.

Suwardi Suryaningrat (later called Ki Hadjar Dewantoro) publishes "Als Ik Eens Nederlander Was" ["When I was a Dutch"], a nationalist document. He is exiled to the Netherlands until 1919.

Seeng Tee opens a tobacconist shop outside Surabaya -- beginning of the Sampoerna clove cigarette company.

1914

Hollandsch-Inlandsche schools are reorganized [Dutch schoold for natives], become schools for Indonesian well-to-do [for complete manipulation].

Paguyuban Pasundan organization [Community of Pasundan] founded as a social and cultural organization for Sundanese in western Java.

May 9 Sneevliet founds Indische Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging [Indian Social Democrat Association], would become PKI (Indonesian Communist Party).

In the beginning, the ISDV and PKI would have mostly Dutch members). War in Europe: Dutch government considers local militia for Indonesia.

Great Colonial Exhibition in Semarang, attended by Pakubuwono X of Surakarta and entourage.

Netherlands Indies government founds a flight test facility at Surabaya to study the performance of aircraft in tropical conditions.

The Netherlands, and the Netherlands Indies, were neutral during World War I, but they still maintained military preparedness. The war disrupted trade between the Indies and Europe, but business with the United States and Japan increased. Labor shortages during wartime led to strikes and higher wages.

KNIL organizes an airborne auxiliary.

[KNIL: Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; Royal Dutch Indies Army].

Nias comes under complete Dutch control.

KNIL occupation forces on Bali are withdrawn and replaced by regular police units.

Insulinde [dutch word for Indonesia] is founded, supporters include Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo.

1915

Street scene in Surabaya, 1915 - Holland, colonialism in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

Haji Agus Salim joins [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Association], promotes Islamic modernism.

Soedirman born.

British and Dutch sign treaty fixing the boundary between North Borneo (Sabah) and the Netherlands Indies.

[In other words: British and Dutch part Borneo / Kalimantan island setting it by treaty without asking the natives].

Radio transmitting station in Koepang, Timor, about 1915.

1916

Delegation with members from Budi Utomo [Noble Endeavor], Sarekat Islam [Islamic Association], and other organizations tours the Netherlands.

Netherlands Indies government organizes "Politiek Inlichtingen Dienst" ["Political Information Service"], a special police force for investigating political crimes (later renamed to "Algemene Recherche" ["General Criminal Service"]).

J.P. Count van Limburg Stirum is Governor-General until 1921.

Young Sukarno attends school in Surabaya, lives with Tjokroaminoto.

June [Modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI] holds convention in Bandung; some members and traditional Javanese are unhappy with modernism.

Mangkunegara VII takes rule of his house in Surakarta.

December States-General in the Netherlands passes bill to create a Koloniale Raad (later Volksraad) for the Netherlands Indies.

1917

Haji Agus Salim, leader in modernistic Islamic Union (Sarekat Islam SI) - Dutch East Indies (Indonesia during Dutch colonialism)

Haji Agus Salim was an early figure in Sarekat Islam; he later served in the early governments of the Republic of Indonesia in the 1940s. [Modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI] begins to take a more anti-government position.

Leftists from Semarang gather in [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] under Semaun; Tjokroaminoto does not oppose them.

Netherlands considers conscripting Indonesians for military service; leftists in [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] oppose this.

Aisyiyah, women's auxiliary to Muhammadiyah, is founded.

Modern port facilities are constructed at Surabaya.

1918

Gov-Gen J.P. Count van Limburg Stirum - Holland colonialism in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

Van Limburg Stirum in 1918 made statements that the Volksraad should prepare to take a greater role in government. However, he was not motivated by independence or nationalism--he was worried by rumors of a Socialist takeover in the Netherlands and was ready for the Indies to go its own way if that [socialistic revolution in Holland] happened. Nevertheless, he was criticized in the Indies for being soft on Indonesian nationalists, and he was soon replaced.

May 18 Volksraad meets for the first time. 39 % of its members are Indonesian. Members are elected by local councils from kabupaten [local representatives]. most members are government officials or bupati. It consists of one house, and serves in an advisory capacity only.

Gov.-Gen. van Limburg Stirum appoints Tjokroaminoto to Volksraad. Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo is also seated.

ISDV starts to organize soviets in Surabaya.

[ISDV: Indische Sociaal Democratische Vereniging; Social Democrat Union of the Indian Islands].

[Modernistic] "Sarekat Islam B" ["Islamic Association B"], secret revolutionary branch, starts organizing. It includes Musso (and possibly Tjokroaminoto).

Sarekat Sumatra founded [Sumatra Association].

Smallpox epidemic hits Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Jong Minahasa [Young Minahasa] organization founded [Minahasa: northern end of Sulawesi / Celebes island].

Nederlands-Indië government starts to suppress ISDV soviets, drives Dutch members from communist movement.

The "November Promise": Dutch government says that Indonesia will have self-government in the undetermined future.

November 14 Indonesian members of the Volksraad condemn the Netherlands Indies government for favoring European interests.

Nederlands-Indië government exiles Sneevliet [the foundor of the Indische Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging, Indian Social Democrat Association].

1919

May-June Shooting in Garut; assassination of a Dutch official at Tolitoli, Sulawesi. Dutch use shootings as an excuse to suppress [left militant] Sarekat Islam Section B [Islamic Association B].

Indo-Europees Verbond [Indo European Association] founded to promote the cause of "Eurasians", while also supporting the Dutch.

Haji Misbach preaches "Islamic Communism" in Surakarta

December [Modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] claims 2 million members; holds congress in Yogya [Yogyakarta].

KLM opens long-distance air service from Amsterdam to Batavia.

[KLM: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappi; Royal Dutch Airline].

There was some confusion in Indonesia as to what "communism" really meant, which led to such unusual concepts as "Islamic Communism". Many common people joined such movements in the 1920s. They used the mass organizations that grew around Communist slogans to express their dissatisfaction with colonialism and the conditions of life. Some Islamic leaders were happy to see the Communists leave (or be thrown out) of organizations like [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [Islamic Union]. Other leaders, such as Sukarno, said that all organizations should cooperate in the struggle for independence; that Islam, Communism, and nationalism could work together as long as none of them upset the overall harmony of the movement.

1920
May 27 ISDV [Indische Sociaal Democratische Vereniging] changes name to Perserikatan Komunis di Hindia [PKH; Communist Organisation of the Indies] (later PKI).

PKH publishes works by Lenin.

Technische Hoogeschool founded at Bandung (today's ITB: Institut Teknologi Bandung).

Sarekat Ambon [Ambon Association] founded.

Conflict between the Communists and [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] grows.

December 25 PKH [Communist Organisation of the Indian Islands] joins the Communist International

Street scene in Batavia (Jakarta), 1920s.

1921 Tjokroaminoto is arrested and jailed.

Fock is Gov.-Gen. of Nederlands-Indië until 1926.

Timorsch Verbond [Timor Association] founded.

October Sixth national congress of [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] forbids SI members to belong to other parties, including PKI [Communist Organization of the Indian Islands]

Many [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI] branches split
-- into "Red" (SI-Merah) factions after Semaun
-- and "White" (SI-Putih) factions after Tjokroaminoto.

[merah (indon.) = red; putih (indon.) = white].

Semaun leaves for Soviet Union.

Tan Malaka tries to heal the split in Sarekat Islam.

PKI [Indonesian Communist Party] denounces Tjokroaminoto.

Young Sukarno begins studies at Technische Hoogeschool in Bandung.

Soeharto born.

Hamengkubuwono VIII becomes Sultan of Yogya.

December Tan Malaka becomes chairman of the PKI [Indonesian Communist Party].

1922

Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Indonesia or Indonesian Students Association is founded in the Netherlands. Its membership would include Mohammed Hatta, Sutan Sjahrir, Sutomo, Ali Sastroamidjojo, and many others who would be prominent in the independence struggle (and in the government of the Republic of Indonesia in the 1950s).

March Tan Malaka [chairman of Indonesian Communist Party PKI] is exiled from the Netherlands Indies [kidnaping?].

Tjokroaminoto is released from custody.

Ki Hadjar Dewantoro founds Taman Siswa [pupil's garden] in Yogya, independent school with no gov support to promote Javanese arts as well as modern education (anti-modernist); invents term "guided democracy".

Indische Vereeniging [Union of the Indian Islands] in the Netherlands changes name to Perhimpunan Indonesia [Indonesian Union]. Mohammed Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir are members, Tan Malaka [chairman of PKI] and Semaun [Sovjet fan] speak to meetings.

Semaun returns from the Netherlands.

Marah Roesli publishes "Sitti Noerbaja", first Indonesian novel.

Strikes continue.

Al-Islam congress is held at Cirebon; heated debates break out between holders of "modernist" and "traditionalist" views on Islam.

Pelgrimsordonnantie [pilgrim's law] is passed, beginning government control of the hajj [again].

Modern port facilities open at Belawan to serve northern Sumatra.

1923

February Partai Katolik [Catholic Party] is founded.

Successful Communist led railroad strike; many [political] unions become Communist dominated.

February Tjokroaminoto reorganizes [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamic Union] as the new Partai Sarekat Islam [United Islamic Party]. Communist supporters leave the organization, taking a significant number of the rank-and-file with them; "Red" SI branches become Sarekat Rakyat [People's Union].

Semaun exiled [Sovjet fan; kidnaping?].

Tan Malaka [chairman of communist PKI] is appointed as the Comintern agent for southeast Asia, working out of Canton in China.

September 12 Persatuan Islam [Islam Association] (or Persis [indon.: precise]), a hardline modernist group, is founded in Bandung. The young Mohammed Natsir is an early member.

Pasteur Institute moves from Batavia to Bandung.

Military service is made mandatory for Dutch citizens in the Indies. 1924 Perserikatan Komunis di Hindia [Communist Organization of the Indian Islands] changes to Partai Komunis Indonesia [Indonesian Communist Party], decides to turn to revolt. Musso joins PKI.

"Sarekat Hijau" ["Association Green"] organized by Dutch, members are pro-Dutch local officials, criminals, police, etc.

Dr. Sutomo founds Indonesian Study Club.

First airmail service from Batavia to Amsterdam. The flight takes almost two months.

Central Malaria Bureau is founded to coordinate eradication programs.

In 1924, the Islamic caliphate ended, an event which caused much debate and concern in Islamic communities.

Also around this time, the economy in Europe was very poor. Prominent Communists in this period included:

-- Sneevliet, a Dutchman, who originally introduced Communism to Indonesia

-- Tan Malaka who was not an unquestioning supporter of Moscow and Stalin, but was later executed by ABRI [Indonesian Army] in 1949. He was exiled from Indonesia from 1924 to 1944.

-- Musso led the PKI [Indonesian Communist Party] during the 1920s, and again during the 1940s independence struggle. He was a strong supporter of Stalin and the Communist International in Moscow, and spent the years 1936-1948 in the Soviet Union. He was executed by the Republic of Indonesia army in the wake of the Madiun incident of 1948

-- Semaun who had been an early figure in [modernistic] Sarekat Islam [SI; Islamische Union]

-- Darsono who later renounced Communism.

The Governor's Palace at Buitenzorg (now Bogor)

The Governor's Palace at Buitenzorg (now Bogor), showing a Dutch flag. This was used by the Netherlands Indies government from 1870 until 1942. (Years later, Sukarno used it as a Presidential retreat). 1925 New constitution: Council of the Indies becomes advisory, Volksraad gets limited legislative powers, Governor-General and bureaucracy are unaffected. Chinese are officially defined under "vreemde oosterlingen" [strangers from the East].

Membership in the Volksraad is set at 60: 30 Dutch, 25 Indonesians, and 5 members of either Arab or Chinese descent.

PKI-led strikes fail, Tan Malaka is in Singapore.

Sukarno founds pro-independence General Studies Club in Bandung, advocates unity.

September 23 Jong Islamieten Bond [Young Islam Union] is founded in Jakarta; members include Haji Agus Salim and Mohammed Natsir.

Film censorship is instituted.

First commercial radio station in Batavia.

Officials of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) in Batavia, 1925 - Dutch colonialism in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

1926 Dutch arrest more PKI members; Musso goes to Singapore. PKI receives instructions from Moscow to start a revolt, then cancels the instructions. Musso keeps the second instructions (the instructions not to revolt) secret.

January 31 Committee of Islamic scholars meets in Surabaya to send a delegation to Saudi Arabia to protest conditions for Indonesian pilgrims on the hajj. (This committee would later form the nucleus of [islamic orthodox] Nahdlatul Ulama [NU; revival of religious islamic scholars]).

November 12 [Indonesian Communist Party] PKI revolts in Banten, Batavia, Bandung, Padang. PKI declares a republic. Revolt is crushed by the Dutch, who make over 13,000 arrests. Tan Malaka opposes revolt.

Sukarno gets engineering degree in Bandung.

De Graeff is Gov.-Gen. until 1931.

December 31 Kyai Haji Hasjim Asjari founds [muslim orthodox] Nahdlatul Ulama [NU; revival of religious scholars], a Muslim organization dedicated to schools, charity, and economic help.

The 1926 unrest was the first of three ill-advised, unsuccessful revolts by the PKI. The second was in 1948 at Madiun, the third was in 1965.

After these revolts, Communist activity lessened greatly or went underground. Many leftist leaders, including Tan Malaka and Musso, spent years overseas. Within a few years, the mass movements were gone, and instead the Communist presence consisted of a few cadre who were mostly loyal to orthodox Marxism and Stalin's Soviet Union.

1927

100 Gulden Netherlands Indies banknote, 1927, showing a portrait of Jan Pieterszoon Coen

[Jan Pieterszoon Coen one of the worst butchers of the VOC in Indionesia with mass murder and almost fulfilled programs to exterminate whole island populations to "secure" it's "business" on the Banda islands].

January PKI revolts in West Sumatra are destroyed.

February Hatta and others attend anti-colonial convention in Brussels along with many nationalists from Asia and Africa.

July 4 Sukarno and Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo found the Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia (PNI; Indonesian National Organization).

Dr. Cipto Mangunkusomo from the Perserikatan National Party of Indonesia (PNI)

Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo was an early activist for Indonesian independence and helped found the PNI party with Sukarno. September Hatta, Ali Sastroamidjojo and others in Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Indonesia [Indonesian Student's Association] are arrested.

Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo is arrested and sent to internal exile on Banda. He remains in exile for 11 years.

Boven Digul: Netherlands Indies builds Boven Digul prison camp in West Irian [New Guinee] to house political prisoners.

Anti-narcotics campaign: Netherlands Indies bans the cultivation of coca and hemp.

December PPPKI umbrella group of nationalist organizations is organized in Bandung.

(PPPKI: Permufakatan Perhimpunan Politik Kebangsaan Indonesia [Congress of the Indonesian National Political Consensus]).

The Dutch used the communist unrest as an excuse to arrest many Indonesian leaders who were not communists.

Sukarno in these days was a strong nationalist. He said that "neither an airplane from Moscow nor a caliph in Istanbul" could help Indonesia win independence--they had to do it themselves. 1928 PNI [Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia, Indonesian National Organization]
-- changes name to Partai Nasional Indonesia
-- adopts merah-putih flag [red white flag]
-- [adopts] Bahasa Indonesia [Indonesian Language] as national language
-- [adopts the song] "Indonesia Raya" [Great Indonesia] by Supratman as national anthem.

Supratman, composer of the Indonesian national anthem "Great Indonesia" ("Indonesia Raya")

Supratman wrote "Indonesia Raya", which was adopted by the PNI [Indonesian National Party] as the national anthem for the future Indonesia in 1928, and is still Indonesia's anthem today. March Hatta and supporters are acquitted; Hatta's speeches are convincingly anti-Dutch.

October 28 Youth Congress in Batavia adopts "sumpah pemuda": one nation, one language.

Muhammad Yamin writes poems "Indonesia tumpah darahku" ["my homeland"].

KNILM is founded as official airline of the Netherlands Indies.

[Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij; Royal Netherlands Indies Airways].

Perti (Persatuan Tarbiyah Islamiyah [Islamic Education Association]) is founded at Bukittingi as an educational organization for traditionalist Minangkabau Muslims.

Pakubuwono X of Surakarta poses with Gov.-Gen. de Graeff (center) in 1928 - Dutch colonialism in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

Many people see this time as the real beginning of Indonesian nationalism, the "kebangkitan bangsa" or "national awakening". 1929 August Netherlands Indies government warns [nationalistic] PNI members to stop their activities.

Indonesians gain a majority of seats in the Volksraad, still only an advisory body.

Dutch restore former rulers of Bali to local self-rule under Dutch authority, in an elaborate ceremony at Besakih.

December 29 Sukarno and followers are arrested. 1930 Sukarno is sent to Bandung for trial. He gives rousing speeches in court, but is convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. [Nationalistic] PNI is declared dissolved by the Netherlands Indies government.

[PNI: Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia: Indonesian National Party].

Muhammad H Thamrin sets up nationalist faction in Volksraad; wants autonomy.

Netherlands Indies government begins limited production of light aircraft at Andir airfield in Bandung (model AVRO-AL), using a Canadian design and local wood supplies.

June Pangeran Surjodiningrat founds Pakempalan Kawula Ngayogyakarta as a cultural organization for the people of Yogya [Yogyakarta], which becomes very popular.

Japanese found Borneo Oil Company [Kalimantan].

Eruption of Gunung Merapi kills 1300.

Jamiyatul Washliyah [?] is founded with strong participation of [native population of] Karo Batak [tribe in Northern Sumatra].

Around this time the effects of the worldwide economic depression began to hit. Exports of sugar and other cash crops to industrial nations dropped, and Japanese imports grew. There was some growth of industry in the cities in the 1930s as well, which was supported by the Netherlands Indies government as a counter to Japanese imports.

1931

Destruction of rain forest near Palembang in the 1930s - Holland colonialism in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

"Ladang" [farm land]: land being cleared for slash-and-burn cultivation near Palembang, 1930s. Perhimpunan Indonesia [Indonesian Union] is taken over by Communists; Sjahrir and Hatta are expelled.

April [National] PNI [Perserikatan Nasional] is dissolved and replaced by Partindo [Partija Indonesia; Indonesian Party]. Some PNI members, including Hatta, are disappointed.

December Sjahrir founds Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia [National Education for Indonesia] with Hatta ("PNI-Baru").

[baru (indon.): new].

Sukarno released by de Graeff.

King of Bone is restored by the Dutch to govern with local self-rule.

De Jonge is Gov.-Gen. until 1936.

Netherlands Indies government tightens press censorship.

Ong Hok Liong founds the Bentoel cigarette company.

Some important Dutch figures in Batavia were actually sympathetic to Sukarno during this period, including Van Mook, who wrote an anonymous newspaper article criticizing the treatment of Sukarno by the government. (Van Mook later served as Lieutenant-Governor of the Indies from 1945-48, during the independence struggle).

1932

Sukarno joins [the national] Partindo; interest in Partindo rises.

August Hatta returns from the Netherlands.

Mohammed Natsir, age 24, takes charge of new Persatuan Islam schools [schools of Islam Association], writes that Islam must be the basis of the new Indonesia.

Dutch require independent schools to get permission from the government to operate; factions in the Volksraad unite against the idea.

Map of Indonesia in the last colonial times of Dutch East Indies showing autonomy - Holland colonialism, Nederlands-Indië; Delf, Asahan, Siak, Pontianak, Kutai Ternate, Tidore, Buton, Wajo, Bima, Sumbawa, Surakarta, Yogyakarta

Zelfbesturen [self administrations]
"Zelfbesturen" were areas where the Netherlands Indies government allowed local rulers to govern the internal affairs of their lands. Local rulers
-- did not have power beyond their borders
-- and they generally did not have jurisdiction over Europeans or Chinese living in their territories.

1933 February 5 Mutiny of Dutch and Indonesian sailors on the Dutch naval vessel Zeven Provincien [Seven Provincies]. The mutiny was due to unhappiness with low wages, but the Netherlands Indies government views it as a political rebellion.

Netherlands Indies suppresses independent schools and political leaders in Minangkabau.

August Sukarno, Hatta, Sjahrir are arrested. Sukarno is exiled to Ende on Flores without a trial.

Oost-Indische Leger [Dutch East Indian Army] is renamed KNIL (Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger [Royal Indian Army from the Netherlands]).

Meetings of the [communist] PPPKI umbrella group are banned.

(PPPKI: Permufakatan Perhimpunan Politik Kebangsaan Indonesia [Congress of the Indonesian National Political Consensus]). 1934 Dutch begin protectionist drive to keep out less expensive Japanese products in favor of more expensive Dutch ones.

Dutch pressure PKN [Protestant Church of the Netherlands] to renounce overt political activity.

[PKN: Protestantse Kerk in Nederland].

February Hatta and Sjahrir are arrested and sent to the Boven Digul concentration camp in West Irian [New Ginee].

Dutch ban congress of [nationalistic] Partindo.

Nahdlatul Ulama [NU, revival of the religious scholars] youth wing, "Ansor", is founded.

[Ansor (arab.): "assistant", in the context of arabic "al-ansar", the assistants of Muhammad while marching from Mecca to Medina].

Tjokroaminoto passes away.

Around this time, there was a political crackdown on fascists and communists in the Netherlands, along with the attacks on nationalists in Indonesia.

1935

Street vendor in Batavia, 1935. Al-Ittihadiah (modernist Islamic association) founded at Medan.

Nahdlatul Wathan, an organization for Islamic education, is founded on Lombok [revival of alternative beliefs].

[Muslim orthodox] Nahdlatul Ulama [NU; revival of religious scholars] issues a ruling that the Netherlands Indies is a nation where Islam can be practiced, and should be defended against Japan.

December Budi Utomo [Noble Endeavor] and Persatuan Bangsa Indonesia [Indonesian National Union] combine to form Partai Indonesia Raya [Party of Great Indonesia] or [abbreviation] "Parindra" [lion]. Membership includes Thamrin and Dr. Sutomo; it also includes some pro-Japan members. The new party calls for independence through cooperation with the Dutch. 1936 Van Starkenborgh is named Governor-General; holds title at least until 1945.

Hatta and Sjahrir are moved to Banda [banned?].

July "Sutarjo Petition" is published, calling for independence for Indonesia within ten years.

September 29 Volksraad votes to support petition for autonomy for Indonesia within the constitution of the Netherlands.

First becaks [ricksha on three wheels] in Batavia.

November [Nationalistic] Partindo disbanded.

Dutch geologists discover evidence of mineral wealth--iron, copper, silver, and gold - in West Irian [New Guinee].

Dutch pilots of KNILM, the Dutch colonial airline, in the late 1930s.

Indonesians had almost no opportunity to rise to jobs at this level. In 1937, a group of young Indonesian men in Bandung led by Tossin, and supported by a local businessman, built a homemade airplane called the PK-KKH. In the face of heavy skepticism, the plane safely made a transcontinental flight to the Netherlands, China and back.

Stacks of rice ready to be threshed and milled, Lampung, 1930s.

In the 1930s, there was increased promotion of agricultural techniques to increase yield and control soil erosion, particularly on Java, where larger populations needed better food supplies. By this time, half of the agricultural exports of Indonesia came from Indonesian-owned lands, rather than Dutch or other foreign-owned plantations. In 1900, almost none of the agricultural exports came from Indonesian-owned lands.

1937 May 24

Gerakan Rakyat Indonesia founded [Indonesian National Movement]: "Gerindo" [grindstone]. It includes Yamin and Amir Sjarifuddin. As an organization it supports independence, but tends to cooperate with the Dutch against the Japanese.

September 21 MIAI founded: Majlis Islam A'laa Indonesia [Islamic group for God in Indonesia], umbrella group for cooperation between
-- Muhammadiyah [Muhammadverein]
-- Nahdlatul Ulama [NU; revival of religious scholars]
-- Persatuan Islam [Islam Association]
-- and other Islamic groups.

December 17 Antara news service founded [integral news service].

Javanese settlers boarding a bus to a new transmigration colony in Lampung, late 1930s.

After about 1936, the Netherlands Indies government increased its sponsorship of transmigration activity dramatically in an attempt to relieve population densities on Java and Madura. Propaganda booklets were published and distributed, free films were shown in villages, and the programs were extended to include Sulawesi and Kalimantan as well as Sumatra. Despite the extra efforts, the number of transmigrants leaving Java in the 1930s equalled less than 10 % of the increase in population during the same time.

A propaganda postcard distributed to transmigrants by the Netherlands Indies government telling: "Colonization Land is Rich"

 The settlers were supposed to write messages back to their home villages on Java telling about the "good life" in the new transmigration colonies. By 1940 there were about 200,000 Javanese living in transmigration colonies.

1938

Gov.-Gen. A.W.L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachouwer - Holland colonialism, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

Gov.-Gen. A.W.L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachouwer, the last full Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies. (Van Mook would only be named Lieutenant Governor after the war). Van Starkenborgh was forced to surrender the Indies to Japanese forces in March 1942, and was sent to Korea as a prisoner of war. By the late 1930s, the Dutch were building up their defenses at Surabaya, Amboina, Cilacap and other bases, in apprehension of Japanese expansion in the area. Yet, the Dutch resisted arming Indonesians for defense purposes. Sukarno, still under Dutch custody, is moved to Bengkulu.

First outsiders reach Baliem Valley on Irian Jaya [New Guinee].

Dutch hold council of Tapanuli to support Batak local rulers.

Netherlands Indies institutes [racistic] "adat law" in Minangkabau and Banjarmasin.

Moscow tells PKI to stop anti-Dutch activities.

Persatuan Arab Indonesia formed [Arabic Indonesian Union] from existing Arab Muslim organizations.

November 16 Netherlands government rejects the 1936 autonomy petition for Indonesia. 1939 Pakubuwono X of Surakarta passes away, Pakubuwono XI is new Susuhunan.

Pakubuwono X was a huge man, very much loved by the people of Surakarta, who predicted that after his rule there would be no more like him.

Japanese occupy Spratly Islands [between today's Vietnam and Malaysia].

May PUSA (Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh [Union of all muslim religious scholars in Aceh]) is founded by Muhammad Da'ud Beureu'eh to coordinate anti-Dutch activities in Aceh.

Gabungan Politik Indonesia or GAPI is formed [Federation for Indonesian Policy], an umbrella group of nationalist organizations. Thamrin is a major promoter.

Kartosuwirjo and followers split from Partai Sarekat Islam, taking much of its support in West Java with them.

December [Nationalistic] GAPI organizes Kongres Rakyat Indonesia [Indonesian People's Congress], a large representative meeting in Batavia, which presents the demand for full elected parliament for the Indies.

Telegraph office in Batavia, late 1930s - Holland colonialism, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

1940
February Dutch again reject autonomy for the Indies.

February 13 Japan repudiates treaty of arbitration with the Netherlands.

March 18 Hamengkubuwono IX becomes Sultan of Yogya.

May Netherlands falls to Germany. [Racistic] Dutch government flees to [racistic] London.

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