JAVA

Between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, the earliest recorded Indonesian kingdom existed on the island of Java, known as the Salakanagara Kingdom. These were the centuries when entire southeast Asia had non-Islamic Indianised kingdoms, and Java had a range of names such as: 

• Salakanagara (130-362 AD)
• Tarumanagara (358-669 AD)
• Kalingga 
• Sunda (669 - 1579)
• Galuh (669 - 1482)
• Shailendra (650 - 1025)
• Srivijaya Empire (founded on Sumatra island in 650 AD but later expanded to Malaya, Java and Thailand)
• Medang
• Blambangan (13th to 18th centuries; last Hindu kingdom of Java)
• Mataram (Hindu kingdom; 716 - 1016)
• Himbar Buana (Sumedang Larang; part of Sunda-Galuh Kingdom, later to be established as an Islamic kingdom in the 16th century)
• Kahuripan (1019 - 1045)
• Panjalu (Kediri; 1042 - 1222)
• Janggala (1045 - 1136)
• Singhasari (Spread across various Indonesian islands; 1222 - 1292)
• Majapahit Empire (or Wilwatikta; spread across various islands centred in Java; 1293 - 1527)

Islam spread in Indonesia majorly because of trade impacts and Muslim merchants marrying the local inhabitants. The weakening of the Majapahit Empire led to the emergence of various Islamic kingdoms that first started in Sumatra and Malaya and later to be spread throughout Java. And hence, around the 14th century, the Indonesian islands had certain Muslim kingdoms sprawling up, and in Java, this occurred during the 15th century onwards. 

• Sultanate of Cirebon (1447 - 1679)
• Demak Sultanate (1475 - 1578)
• Banten Sultanate (1527 - 1813)
• Sultanate of Pajang (1568 - 1588)
• Kalinyamat Sultanate (1527 - 1599)
• Mataram Sultanate (1586 - 1755)
• Jipang Sultanate (a vassal state of Demak Sultanate; 16th century)

Similar to how Indian history has unfolded with the chronology of Hindu-Buddhist states preceded by Islamic Empires and, consequently, European colonisation, Indonesian history follows a related pattern. During the colonisation era starting from the 15th-16th centuries, European conquests spurged on Indonesian islands with the same initiators - the English, the Portuguese and the Dutch. While the Portuguese encircled themselves in pockets (in both India and Indonesia), the Dutch emerged as the chief conquerors of the islands. 

But among all the bigger islands, this post highlights the history of Java for the very reason that this island bore the capital of the colonial Dutch East Indies and today's Indonesia. It is also the most populous island of Indonesia, and nearly 60% of the country's population resides here. In fact, out of the 10 largest Indonesian cities, eight are in Java. The island is also part of the Hindu epic Ramayana, and the Javanese version (known as the Kakawin Ramayana) of it mentions as one of the places (Yavadwipa) where the monkey king Sugriva dispatched his sena to look for Sinta (Sita) under the instructions of Lord Rama. 

The names of Java haven't changed throughout the modern period, although during the ancient era entire Indonesian archipelago was known as Dvipantra before the arrival of the Europeans. This is another of the several examples of colonisers simplifying and diluting the complex history of non-European lands where they simply named the archipelago 'Indian Islands' for the lack of innovation. On other sources, the Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and Java islands were known as the Greater Sunda Islands. 

European exploration of Indonesia (and Java) started in 1603 with the arrival of the English East India Company at Bantam Bay, Java. This is again why Java is important, as this was where the European colonisation of Indonesia started. For a good three decades, the Indian ports of Masulipatam (Machilipatnam), Ft. St. George (in Chennai) and all the English factories on the Coromandel Coast reported to Bantam. A year ago, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company settlement started. The Anglo-Dutch rivalry opened ideas in English heads to establish Company Settlements in India. In 1610, the British fort at Jakarta was burnt down, and the remaining site was reinstalled as Batavia by the Dutch, thus strengthening the rule of VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) on the islands. 

Around two centuries later, a heated tiff between the English and the Dutch led to a brief British rule on Java in 1811 that lasted until 1816, when Java was restored to the Dutch under Netherlands East Indies. A century ago, Java had an interesting share between the English, Dutch and the Mataram Sultanate, with the eastern block ruled as the Blambangan Kingdom. But even when the Dutch rule was established, Java had a group of four Princely States, collectively known as Vorstenlanden, that existed till Indonesia achieved independence. The states, namely Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Mangkunegaran and Pakualaman. The Dutch part was divided into the West (5 Residencies), Central (5 Residencies) and East (7 Residencies). 

During the 1940s, when Indonesia slowly paved the door of independence, Sumatra and Java entered the race first, and while most of these islands were free, small pockets on both islands were still under the Dutch till 1949. The Republic of Indonesia state succeeded the numerous intermediate unions in 1949, thus shaping the country into what it is today. 

Below is a recreated map of Java originally sketched by Edward Stanford (1827-1906), dating 1865. Interestingly, the original name of the map here is mentioned as the 'Asian Archipelago.'