Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 160

disputes, known as the Three Wars of Succession. The last
one (1746-57) divides the empire into three sultanates,
two at Solo and one at Yogyakarta. The Dutch then
subjugate the entire territory.
1799 The VOC folds and the Dutch government (under a
French Protectorate) takes possession of its territories.
1811 The British, under Sir Thomas Stamford Ra es,
attack and pick off the islands one by one, landing at
Batavia in 1811.
1816 With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the territories
return to the Dutch, who are soon embroiled in bloody
disputes with opponents of their rule.
1830 The Dutch devise the Cultural System whereby
Javanese farmers must grow cash crops for sale in Europe
at a huge profit. Java becomes one giant plantation, to
the detriment of indigenous farmers.
1870 onwards The Dutch gradually implement more
progressive policies, but this coincides with some devas-
tating natural disasters. Later, irrigation, healthcare and
education programmes are started.
1894-1920 The Dutch expand into previously indepen-
dent territories: Lombok in 1894, Bali in 1906 and Aceh in
1908. By 1910 the Dutch have conquered nearly all of
Indonesia; West Papua is the last to fall, in 1920.
1927 Achmed Sukarno founds the pro-independence
Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI). The Dutch outlaw the
party and imprison Sukarno in 1931, later exiling him.
1942-45 Indonesia is occupied by the Japanese.
August 17, 1945 Sukarno reads a Declaration of
Independence, but it is not recognized by the Allies, who
return the territory to the Dutch.
1946-49 War with the Dutch, who withdraw in
December 1949. The new Republic of Indonesia is estab-
lished with Sukarno as president.
1949-65 Sukarno presides over a system he calls guided
democracy - in reality authoritarian rule. He forges ties
with the Soviet Union, and is sympathetic to the commu-
nist party, against the Indonesian army.
September 30, 1965 A group of communists (with
whom Sukarno is thought to be in cahoots) abduct and
execute a number of leading generals, claiming they are
preventing an army-led coup. General Suharto eventually
seizes control from them.
1965-67 Suharto launches a purge against the commu-
nists, during which it's thought at least 500,000 people
die. He restores relations with the West and aid pours into
Indonesia. In 1967 Suharto is named acting president.
1970s Indonesia benefits from rising oil prices - its
biggest export.
December 1975 Indonesia invades East Timor, which had
been granted independence by Portugal the previous year.
1997 Southeast Asia's currency crisis. The value of the
rupiah plummets. There are widespread demonstrations,
and riots take place in major cities.

May 21, 1998 Suharto steps down after 32 years and his
vice-president, B.J. Habibie, takes over. In early November
there's more rioting, with demands that Suharto be tried
on charges of mismanagement and corruption.
1999 Though the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle,
led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter, win
the elections, Indonesia's parliament chooses Gus Dur as
president, with Megawati vice-president.
1999 East Timor gains independence. Other far-flung
Indonesian provinces begin to become more vocal - and
violent - in their struggle for sovereignty.
2002-05 There is a series of bombings - first in a night-
club and Irish bar in Kuta, Bali, in 2002, and next at the
Marriott in Jakarta in August 2003, the Australian Embassy
in September 2004, and Bali again in October 2005.
December 26, 2004 A devastating tsunami hits the
country, leaving more than 160,000 Indonesians dead
or missing.
August 15, 2005 A peace deal is signed between the
Indonesian government and separatist Free Aceh Movement
(GAM), ending three decades of fighting.
January 2008 Suharto dies. His legacy is mixed: he
oversaw the country's economic growth, but was accused
of - and evaded prosecution for - massive corruption, and
many human rights abuses, including the deaths of
hundreds of thousands.
July 17, 2009 The bombings of the Ritz-Carlton and
JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta kill nine people and injure
more than fifty.
September 2009 An earthquake with a magnitude of
7.6 rocks the city of Padang in West Sumatra; more than
1300 people are killed and more than one million people
are left homeless.
October 25, 2010 The eruption of Mount Merapi in Java
kills 353 people and causes the evacuation of 350,000
while covering Borobudur in volcanic ash.
June 2012 Bombmaker Umer Patek is sentenced by a
Jakarta court to 20 years in prison for his role in the 2002
Bali terrorist attacks.
June 2013 Government fuel price hikes spark violent
protests.

4

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta Airport and
Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport are the main
international air gateways into Indonesia,
with direct flights from several Australian
cities and destinations throughout Asia.
he archipelago also boasts international
airports at Medan, Makassar, Manado,
Surabaya and Yogyakarta - with
connections mainly with other Southeast
Asian airports.