If there’s a first thing I would like to describe about Indonesia, is that it is a country (you don’t say!), that lies in the equator. It lies between two continents and oceans; between Asia and Australia, for the ocean, it lies between the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It is a country which lies on the equator. The world Indonesia itself is actually a portmanteau, which consists from two words; Indus, which means Indian, and Nesos, which means island(archipelago). So, Indonesia means Indian Archipelago , or an archipelago that lies in the India. Indonesia is also famous by the name “Nusantara”, which practically means the Indonesian region and its surroundings. Starting from the 7th century or so, people in the past refer Indonesia as Nusantara. The national ideology of Indonesia is the ”Pancasila”, the national anthem is “Indonesia Raya”, and the motto, in Sanskrit is “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, which means different but one, or Unity In Diversity.

Indonesia is the largest archipelago country in the world, comprising 17.504 tropical islands (yes, they are all tropical); some inhabited or even unnamed! Each (at least, most) island offers different natural view and culture due to the diversity of Indonesia. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world after China, India, and the United States. Back in 1960s, Indonesia ranked 5th; Soviet Union (Russia) was on the list. Indonesia is also a country with the most Moslem population in the world; from 260 million population today, 230 million of them are Moslems. Indonesia has diverse cultures to offer; these cultures usually influenced by Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Western, and many more. Indonesia’s national language is Bahasa Indonesia. The language is quite similar to Malay language, except for some words and perhaps grammar.

Indonesia has a long shortlist (well, it’s not short, let’s just call it list) of historic events, one that

captures the world’s attention; in the 7th century, a kingdom called Sriwijaya in Sumatra have a

close relationship in terms of religion and trade with China and India. Sriwijaya defeated its

neighbor Malayu kingdom and unites the Nusantara region at the time, and thus Sriwijaya

emerges to be a naval maritime power. Also in 13th century, a kingdom called Majapahit, under the

command of Gajah Mada conquered most of Nusantara region at that time, and thus, many people

called it as the “Golden Age”.

After that, during the 15th-17th century, European explorers began to explore Indonesia, usually after

reading stories about the region which at that time was so precious, it was more expensive than gold!

Many European countries began to compete each other to obtain the spice, and if possible, all the

natural resources from Indonesia, as part of their Gold, Glory, and Gospel campaign. As far as I know,

in 1509, the Portuguese managed to invade the Mollucas Islands and , where the precious spices

were produced. And so, they were kicked out in 1595. And then, on 1521, the Spanish invaded 

North Celebes (now Sulawesi), only to be kicked out in 1692. In 1596, a Dutch explorer 

Cornelis de Houtman sailed to Banten in West Java, which considered to be the first Dutchman

to explore Indonesia. Later in 1602, the Dutch managed to invade and rule Indonesia for about

3 centuries. Well, some say, that the Dutch wasn’t truly invading Indonesia, as some define invade

differently. Well, that doesn’t matter.