The effects of Dutch colonial rule on Indonesia
by Adi
The main reason that the Dutch arrived in Indonesia was for the spice trade. After the Dutch had colonised Indonesia, over time they felt that the spices belonged to them as the colonisers and began to exploit the Indonesian people. After this had begun to occur the Dutch tried to trick the Indonesians.
They approached the local people by extending the hand of friendship. The Indonesian people soon began to trust the colonisers, but this is where the problems began. They soon had the locals at odds with each other through what was known as “divide et impera” (meaning to make individuals fight one other or “divide and conquer”), which allowed for the Dutch to gain dominance over the people. Once they had gained control of the people they then managed to gain control of the land, including the spices and natural resources of the country. The Dutch took advantage of the Indonesians as they were poorly educated.
These tactics worked for the Dutch for 350 years! The Indonesian people struggled for survival whilst the Dutch colonisers lived like kings.
Colonisation has been beneficial to the Indonesian people in the form of technology. The Dutch had to teach the locals how to operate machines so they could maintain an effective workforce. This led to the people becoming more aware of how to counteract the colonisers in order to gain their own future independence.
Soekarno and Hatta led the Indonesian people in the fight to gain independence. They led a successful campaign which resulted in the Dutch colonial power eventually leaving Indonesia. Our legacy for the colonisation of Indonesia is that we have been given the opportunity to become better educated through the Dutch teaching our forefathers how to use the technology that was used throughout the 350 years of Dutch colonial rule.