Indonesia, long term The Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian Indonesia and Republic of Indonesia) is a transcontinental country located primarily in Southeast Asia6. Of the 13,466 islands counted to date, 922 are inhabited2 making it the largest archipelago in the world. With an estimated population of 270 million, it is made up of more than 1,100 ethnic groups and speaks more than 700 languages, making it the world’s fourth most populous country and the first Muslim-majority country by number of believers. Indonesia’s capital will be relocated to the Republic of Jakarta from 2024 to a new city called Nusantara on the island of Borneo.
in the 1st century BC. The Indonesian archipelago J.-C. is an important trading area with India and China at the center of the network centered on Fu-nan. The leaders of this Indonesian port city adopt Indian cultural, religious and political models. From the 7th century, the center of trade shifted to the kingdom of Sriwijaya in southern Sumatra. In the 8th century, a thriving rice culture developed in Central Java, enabling several kingdoms to erect fine religious monuments. This is the beginning of the Indonesian classical period.
With the decline of the Silk Road, the Malacca Strait became a major maritime crossroads for trade between Indonesia and China on the one hand and India and the Middle East on the other. The Indonesian archipelago was soon integrated into an international commercial network dominated by Muslim traders. The port’s princes are gradually converting to Islam.
During the Great Age of Discovery, in the 16th century, European powers sought direct access to the spice-producing Moluccas. In 1511, the Portuguese from Goa conquered Malacca and settled there. The Dutch drove them out in 1605. In the 17th century, they settled in Java, eliminating rivals in the eastern part of the archipelago. The island was marred by the War of Succession by the Mataram Kingdom, which gradually ceded part of its territory to the Dutch. In the 19th century, colonists were able to begin economic exploitation of the islands and apply their laws to the rest of the archipelago. At the beginning of the 20th century, national movements were born. In 1945 Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesia’s independence. The 1950s were marked by many separatist movements. After the events of 1965-66, General Suharto came to power. He resigned in 1998, allowing the country to begin the democratization process.
Across many islands, Indonesia has many distinct groups based on culture, language and religion. The Javanese are the most representative population in terms of numbers and political influence. As a single nation and nation, Indonesia has developed a common identity by defining a national language called “Indonesian” (one of the Malay forms) and respecting diversity and religious pluralism within the Muslim majority.
Despite being populated and densely populated, Indonesia has vast wilderness areas, and although this heritage is diminishing due to increased human activity, Indonesia offers great biodiversity.
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