History

It is generally believed that the earliest inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago originated in India or Burma. In 1890, fossils of Java man (homo erectus), some 500,000 years old, were found in east Java. Later migrants ('Malays') came from southern China and Indochina, and they began populating the archipelago around 3000 BC. Powerful groups such as the Buddhist Srivijaya Empire and the Hindu Mataram kingdom appeared in Java and Sumatra towards the end of the 7th century. The last important kingdom to remain Hindu was the Majapahit, which was founded in the 13th century. Powerful kingdoms rose in East Java after the decline of Central Java's power in the tenth century. Between 1055 and 1222, Kediri kingdom prospered and expanded. During the reign of King Erlangga both East Java and Bali enjoyed a lucrative trade with the surrounding islands and their arts flourished. About 1300 a.d, Majapahit dynasty began an empire that was to dominate the entire archipelago, the Malay Peninsula and part of the Philippines. Majapahit also established profitable trade relations with China and other countries of the South East Asian region. The subsequent spread of Islam into the archipelago in the 14th century forced the Majapahits to retreat to Bali in the 15th century.

By this time, a strong Muslim empire had developed with its centre at Melaka (Malacca) on the Malay Peninsula. Its influence was short lived and it fell to the Portuguese in 1511. The Dutch displaced the Portuguese and began making inroads into Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company based in Batavia (Jakarta) dominated the spice trade and took control of Java by the mid 18th century, when its power was already in decline. The Dutch took control in the early 19th century and by the early 20th century; the entire archipelago - including Aceh and Bali - was under their control. Magnificent mountain scenery include the crater and sea of sand at Mount Bromo, the "sulfur mountain" Welirang and rugged Dien Plateau. Little of the Majapahit Empire's former glory still stands in East Java today with the exception of temple ruins and some archaeological discoveries. East Java's claim to fame in modern history is its vanguard role in the struggle for independence against colonial forces in 1945.