6 ATLASES
History of Indonesia in maps
Indonesia as it appears in 6 interactive history atlases, from 1750 to 1991: the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
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What was Indonesia before it was Indonesia? The sections below follow this land through every era covered by the Maps of History atlases: who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed. Each line links to the dated map. Modern borders serve as an approximation, as each atlas says on the map itself.
The Dutch East Indies (mod. Indonesia) · Industrial Revolution
| Colony or dependency — the opening position |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Dutch East Indies · WWI
The Dutch East Indies (mod. Indonesia) · Road to WW2
| Colonial empires & possessions — the opening position |
ROAD TO WW2: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Indonesia · WW2
The Dutch East Indies held the oil Japan sought in the Pacific war (Ch. 7). Japanese occupation broke Dutch authority, and two days after Japan’s surrender the nationalist leader Sukarno declared independence. The Netherlands fought a four-year war to retain control and lost.
| Western Allies — the opening position | |
| Axis-occupied | |
| Western Allies |
Indonesia · Cold War
Indonesia hosted Bandung in 1955, where the Third World named itself (Ch. 8). Sukarno’s balancing act ended with an army takeover in 1965–66 and the massacre of perhaps half a million alleged communists. Western lists and approval abetted one of the era’s worst atrocities, which was long left off maps. Under Suharto, Indonesia remained Western-aligned for three decades.
| NATO & core Western allies — the opening position | |
| Non-aligned & neutral | |
| US-aligned states |
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Indonesia · Refugee crises
Boat people reached Indonesia’s Anambas islands, and in 1979 Indonesia offered Galang for a UNHCR processing center. Tens of thousands waited and studied there before resettlement. The camp closed in 1996; its grounds, including a cemetery and a refugee-built chapel, are now a memorial park. Like Malaysia and Thailand, Indonesia did not sign the Refugee Convention.
| First asylum open — the opening position | |
| First asylum open | |
| First asylum restricted | |
| First asylum open |
REFUGEE CRISES: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Related
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