A Brief History of Indonesia

Compelling story of the history and ancestry of the archipelago islands in Indonesia. The epilogue chapter was most compelling for me as the author major earthquake of 2004 and the presidentS elected subsequently.

There once lived a man named Rakai Pikatan. He was the man who puts an end to the mighty Sailendra dynasty in Java, and in the year 856 he ordered his men to build a temple that match Sailendra's masterpiece, the Borobudur. The temple has since been known as the Prambanan.Few centuries later in 1357, Majapahit's king Hayam Wuruk appeared to attempt to forge an alliance with the Pajajaran kingdom in West Java, by promising to marry princess Pitaloka, the daughter of the Pajajaran king. But when the Pajajaran wedding party arrived in Majapahit's capital, prime minister Gajah Mada informed them that the princess would merely becomes a concubine and that they should surrender to their East Java overlord. Surrounded by hostile Majapahit forces, the Pajajaran men bravely refused and put up a fight, but they were all eventually slaughtered, including the princess.Meanwhile, in 1811 the archipelago almost had its independence from the colonial Dutch. Following Napoleon's attack on the Netherlands, the British decided to consficate and disband Napoleon Dutch's colonial grab in the East Indies. The British originally gave the order to British governor-general in Calcutta, Lord Minto, to "overwhelm the Dutch forces, destroy their fortifications, dish out their guns and ammunition to the locals, and hand the island over to the Javanese." But what prevent the independence was one act of disobedience by Lord Minto. He dismantled the Dutch forces within a few weeks, but then installed Raffles as his lieutenant-governor in the archipelago with free rein to rule the colony as he pleased. And the rest, as they say, is history.History is messy, brutal, and oftentimes blurry. For many centuries to come the temples of Prambanan were buried and the locals only know the folktale version of its history - where a man built a thousand temples overnight as a condition to marry princess Roro Jonggrang - and they do not even know who Rakai Pikatan is.Students of history in Indonesia would also likely to learn Majapahit as the peaceful empire that unite the whole archipelago. While in reality, they obtain the majority of their territories by force and in some instances even only claim them without ever setting foot on the land. And just like Srivijaya before them, Majapahit was more of a powerful kingdom claiming control to a small population of traders and port cities beyond their stronghold capital, rather than an empire.And these misconceptions of history sums up how historical accounts are being perceived in Indonesia.This book is about the Rakai Pikatans of Indonesian history, and not the Roro Jonggrangs. About the likes of kingdom of Majapahit (not the empire) and its day to day struggles and ugly realities. It is about the intriguing origins of many historic names, the lost opportunities and the very human decision made by the likes of Lord Minto that changed the course of history. It is in short an attempt to straightening up the facts of Indonesia's past.The book is also about the forgotten truth. About the equally important role Sutan Sjahrir played beside Soekarno and Hatta in the independence movement for Indonesia. About Budi Utomo that began as an organisation to lobby for more education for Indonesia's elite class in a Dutch-controlled government, and not an anti-colonial revolutionary organisation as they usually perceived. It is about how the Japanese was sympathetic with Indonesian independence movement and was actually administering towards an independence for Java in September 1945 (with the rest of Indonesia follow suit shortly), before Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed a month before that and Indonesian revolutionaries had to take matters into their own hands for independence.But most of all, it is a book that explains every sequences that lead to many different realities in Indonesia today. For instance, contrary to popular believe, the Dutch were actually respectful to the local royal kingdoms during their occupation, they even forged useful alliances with some of them that mutually benefit everyone. And it was exactly these alliances that caused these kingdoms' eventual demise, with the simple fact that since almost all of them were allies with the Dutch they resisted the national independence cause that was centered in Jakarta, that is, apart from Yogyakarta. Which is why after the independence only Yogyakarta's sultanate survived and go down in Indonesian history as one of the heroes.All in all, it is a well-crafted and very well-researched book, written in a careful ways so that the facts, the speculations and the myths are clearly distinguished. It is the most complete historical account on Indonesia that I have read so far, and it is the number one book I would recommend to anyone who wants to know about Indonesia.

The book is for anyone who wants to understand Indonesia and its nuances. The reader will be able to appreciate how this land of abundance with over 17,000 islands is held together. The anachronistic approach especially in the early parts of the book is a a bit difficult to keep up with, but once you have ploughed through the back and forth, you are rewarded with colourful accounts and funny stories that complete the picture beautifully.In my 5 years of travel to Indonesia I have felt a positive spirit among its people, its forests, its volcanoes and its birds. This book tries to capture that unique Indonesian spirit beautifully.

This is an excellent book. I enjoyed it very much. Hannigan told me everything I wanted to know about Indonesia in a straight forward and entertaining way. The remarkable thing to me about Indonesia, and really South Asia is how nice people can be on the surface and how mean they can be to each other under some circumstances. From 1965 until the present "democratic" era millions of Indonesians killed each other. Vietnam, Cambodia, to some extent Laos experienced similar violence. Thailand, where I live, hasn't had the same scale of violence, but the "Land of Smiles" can be pretty tough on its own people too. Asia is wonderful but go to bed early.

On a trip through Indonesia, with little knowledge of the country, I found this book extremely informative and enjoyable to read. I appreciate the points of interest and nation as a whole much more now that I understand how Indonesia developed over the past 2,000-or-so years. You could likely read all or most of this book on a long haul flight from US or Europe.

This book achieves its goal of providing a general narrative of the development of the vast and diverse nation of Indonesia. If you're planning to travel there or begin to study it, I would highly recommend this book.

I found this book useful in understanding some of the cultural diversity of Indonesia. It answered many of the questions that arose while visiting the country. I would recommend it to anyone visiting from a Western country. The narrative is engaging. Delicate social and historical matters are treated, at least from my European-grown perspective, objectively. The book is brief enough to be read during the long travel time required to reach Indonesia from the West, and brief enough to leave the reader wanting to know more about this country.

An excellent book covering the time from the first inhabitants to present day. One criticism I have is the lack of detail covering the fight for independence from the Dutch. If you travel round Indonesia many roads and public buildings are named after freedom fighters but these are not mentioned in the book However I concede that a brief history cannot include much detail of every period.

A Brief History of Indonesia is a 277 page account of the country beginning in prehistory and concluding in the present day. In eminently readable fashion Tim Hannigan has put together a tremendous account of Indonesian history through its early Indianisation and the Hindu-Buddhist era, the coming of Islam, the early colonial period, the long rule by the Dutch, and the complexities of the 20th and 21st centuries. The work does not claim ot be the authority on any of the periods in question but it is a great starting point for an understanding of what made Indonesia.Inevitably the work is a little weaker on the prehistory than the more recent times. An understanding of Indonesian prehistory is much better served by the popular history of  Guns, Germs and Steel . It doesn't help that the fictional accounts which start each chapter are inevitably much more imagined for such a long time ago. These little fictional interludes at the start of each chapter are actually pretty good as the later chapters arrive, the work improves greatly as a whole through its duration and is well worth investing in after the rocky start.The level of description of the early recorded history of Indonesia is impressive. This is a well-researched book. The depiction of various entities that arose prior to the arrival of Islam is nicely described. The narrative ties in the construction of places like Borobudur and Prambanan in a way that connects these ancient sites to locations easily understood by a modern reader.The description of place is always difficult for history. Hannigan uses an artful form in describing the place as the archipelago. He avoids political connotations by doing so and it is a convenient shorthand. Inevitably, some parts of the archipelago are better served in the narrative than others. This is largely a Java-centric work. That is perhaps inevitable given the predominance of Javanese people and culture in this region. Places further afield get less description, some such as Borneo or Papua do not really feature that much at all given their sheer geographic size.Places like Java and Sumatra are well covered. The coming of Islam is a defining feature in the archipelago and Hannigan covers it well. This is not Islamisation through conquest unlike so many other places. Hannigan does not imply what this means in practice but leaves the reader to understand the syncretic form of worship that resulted.Much of the book covers the colonial period. The arrival of the Portuguese and the way their traders began to muscle in on the spice trade is fun to read. Of course so much more of the history is the story of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch are never the colonial monsters the revisionists of the 20th century often proclaimed. Individual Dutch colonial leaders are assessed on their own merits, their personalities and policy inclinations given due weight.It is fascinating to read of the colonial government and its efforts to keep order in obscure parts of the archipelago. The lives of the colonists are clearly not always easy or happy. An interesting insight to show how those marooned on the outer islands also lived a life of hardship. The death rates among colonists are not given a huge amount of attention but there is enough to show that the Dutch East Indies was not an easy place to live.The brief interlude of British rule under Raffles comes under some scrutiny. Tim Hannigan is no great fan of Raffles and that clearly shows. Raffles is put into context and described as being part of his time rather than some kind of exception. British rule is not given the plaudits or positive comparison with the Dutch that popular legend has ascribed it.The one person who does fare extremely well in Hannigan's analysis is Alfred Wallace. Of course Wallace never had to take the kinds of tough decisions of those in positions of power. Nevertheless, Wallace's research and his recognition of the boundary between Asian and Australasian fauna and flora still has echoes today.Hannigan's historical analysis keeps its sharpness through the 20th century. He takes apart some of the mythology surrounding the independence leaders in a clear and objective way. Sukarno in particular is given a realistic portrait as a brilliant leader prone to womanising and impetuousness. Sukarno's importance to Indonesia is undoubted and Hannigan gives him plenty of space in the narrative. Modern attempts by the PDI-P to rehabilitate his image are ill at ease with the erratic nature of his actual leadership and the autocracy he ushered in.Hannigan probably does not go far enough in outlining Sukarno's failings. In particular the failure of Konfrontasi is not barely a blip in the tale. It is strange that a work of this kind does not include description of the impact on Sukarno's leadership of his main military defeat. Konfrontasi is a crucial part of the events which eventually toppled Sukarno so it is a bit odd not to read about it here.The man who followed Sukarno has in modern times been demonised. Suharto was clearly a dictator despite his Golkar party's participation in democracy. He was though a steading hand for a country often on the verge of tearing itself apart. Hannigan is fair in his assessment of Suharto. The problems of corruption, particularly related to his family are not detailed with too much description but they are there as a reminder of the corrosion that resulted in Suharto's eventual downfall.The work finishes with the democratic era. Hannigan rushes through it fairly quickly which feels right as much of it is not really history yet given the recency. The various democratic leaders are given short shrift for their failings but the promise of hope that the last President in the story offers is a reminder of how far Indonesia has come.Some of the major incidents in Indonesia are covered. The Indian Ocean tsunami and subsequent impact on the Aceh peace process feature. Also within the narrative is the brutality conducted against Timor-Leste just as it became independent. Some things are clearly missing though. The environmental degradation of Sumatra through the palm oil plantations is not really addressed. Nor is the scale of the military assault against the Papuans which includes thousands of deaths from bombing raids, something an account of 20th century Indonesian history surely cannot ignore. Tensions with the local Chinese community crop up including accounts of massacres from previous centuries. It would have been interesting to read why such violence has recurred throughout Indonesian history.Inevitably a book that covers the entirety of a country's history will struggle to cover everything in depth. What A Brief History of Indonesia achieves so brilliantly is that it provides such a readable window into the country and provides such well-researched and reasoned analysis of such a fascinating part of the world. Guns, Germs and Steel

The Author has obviously done an enormous amount of research to uncover the facts, myths and legends behind the history of this remarkable country. The book makes an ideal companion to his earlier work, "Raffles and The British Invasion of Java", which I reviewed in March 2015 and is also well worth the read.Although, Raffles is briefly mentioned in this account, the book deals with the rise of Indonesia from prehistoric to modern times. It is an ideal buy for anyone wishing to visit Indonesia and I highly recommend this as a must read for anyone wishing to understand how colonial powers engage dominance over the countries they rule.I bought a signed paperback copy from the author last July which I gave to my daughter before she returned to where she has been living in Indonesia in April and purchased a Kindle copy for myself. Of the two I prefer the paperback as the layout makes it easier to flick between the photographs at the centre of the book and the rest of the text.

It is exactly what it says on the tin: A Brief History of Indonesia. I found the early stuff somewhat confusing, almost inevitably really, with a lot of names I could neither pronounce nor remember, although I'm not sure that anyone could have done a better job than the author did here. As a European I started to find the book really interesting with the arrival of the Portuguese. From that point onwards I found the book an easy, interesting, and often humorous read. Excellent.

Well written history, an excellent beginner's guide to Indonesia's complicated history.

Indonesia’s rich history is brilliantly explored in this book, delving deep from its prehistory to the post new order Indonesia. Easy to read for non-academics and a wonderful introduction for anyone to Indonesia.