Dutch Rule

The Dutch East India Company made vassals of the native rulers. In the 18th century the company began to change from a trading to a farming enterprise. Cotton, sugar, coffee, and indigo were grown as export crops. The Netherlands abolished the company in 1799, assuming its assets and debts. Britain occupied the Dutch East Indies, 1811–16, during the period when the Netherlands was a French ally in the Napoleonic Wars. A native rebellion raged in Java from 1825 to 1830. To restore the economy, the Dutch forced Indonesian farmers to use a portion of their land to grow crops for export under government direction. After 1870 government control was relaxed and private enterprise encouraged.

In the early 1900's, a nationalist movement began to develop and steadily gained strength. A Communist rebellion was put down in 1926. Sukarno and other nationalist leaders were exiled or imprisoned in the 1930's. During World War II, the fall of Singapore made it impossible for Dutch forces to hold the East Indies, and they surrendered to the Japanese in March, 1942. An Indonesian army was established by the Japanese to aid their expansion throughout the archipelago.