Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies was a colony in Java and Eastern Indonesia (Southeast Asia) that lasted from 1800 to 1949 CE, about 149 years. Its people spoke Germanic languages (Gothic, Frankish, English, German, Dutch, Norse).

The Dutch state took over the VOC's possessions, imposed the Cultivation System of forced cash crops on Java from 1830 and conquered the outer islands by about 1910. Indonesia's war of independence forced a transfer of sovereignty in 1949.

See Dutch East Indies on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1800 to 1949 CE

Duration

149 years

Type

Colony

Region

Java and Eastern Indonesia, Southeast Asia

Language family

Germanic

Capital

Batavia

Came from

• Aceh Sultanate 1496 to 1903 CE
• Dutch East India Company (VOC) 1605 to 1799 CE

Became

• Indonesia 1945 CE to the present

Events in Southeast Asia during its time

• 1815 Eruption of Tambora
• 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty
• 1883 Krakatoa erupts
• 1896 Philippine Revolution
• 1942 Fall of Singapore
• 1945 Indonesia declares independence

Neighbours in Southeast Asia

• Indonesia 1945 CE to the present
• Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
• Bruneian Sultanate c. 1368 to 1888 CE
• Sultanate of Sulu c. 1405 to 1915 CE
• Aceh Sultanate 1496 to 1903 CE
• Spanish Philippines 1565 to 1898 CE
• Johor Sultanate 1528 to 1824 CE
• Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam) 1782 to 1932 CE
• Nguyen dynasty 1802 to 1945 CE
• Konbaung dynasty 1752 to 1885 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE, Europe
• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Europe
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE, Europe
• Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE, South Asia
• Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE, South America
• New Spain 1521 to 1821 CE, Mesoamerica and Caribbean
• Viceroyalty of Peru 1542 to 1824 CE, South America

Questions