| The site of Trinil
on Java is famous for the discovery there in 1891 of fossilized remains of Homo
erectus, or "Java man," and indicates that the island was the site of
human activity as early as 800,000 years ago. The colonization of Java apparently took
place from mainland Southeast Asia, and domestic agriculture is known to have been
practiced there as early as 2500 BC. Indian traders began arriving in Java from about the
1st century AD, and the resulting Hindu Indian influence developed and flowered in the
kingdom of Mataram
in the 8th century AD. The Mataram kingdom was centred in south-central Java and was ruled
by the Shailendra dynasty. Although originally followers of Saivite Hinduism, the
Mataram dynasty's later kings accepted Mahayana Buddhism. From this era, in
the late 9th and early 10th centuries, date the great Buddhist monuments constructed at
Borobudur, Mendut, and many other sites in Java.As the power of Mataram
declined, a state in eastern Java briefly gained prominence until it came into conflict
with the powerful Srivijaya empire of the island of Sumatra and was thus destroyed
in 1006. The king Erlangga managed to reunite and reinvigorate
this state during his reign (1019-49), however. During Erlangga's reign, literature and
the arts flourished, and the Hindu epics were translated from Sanskrit into Javanese for
the first time, thus opening the way for the diffusion of Hindu thought among the common
people. Erlangga divided his kingdom between his two sons, of whom the ruler of Kediri
(along the Brantas River) became the more powerful. This area remained the centre of
Javanese culture until the 13th century (while western Java remained under Srivijaya
rule). The Kediri kingdom became an entrepôt for the spice trade, and Muslim traders from
India as well as Chinese merchants visited its ports.
The political centre of Java then
moved to the kingdom of Singhasari, in the Malang
Highlands of eastern Java. The greatest king of this dynasty was Kertanagara
(reigned 1268-92), who unified Java and extended his power to southern Borneo, Bali, and
other eastern islands. Upon Kertanagara's inopportune death, his kingdom collapsed and was
succeeded by the Majapahit empire of eastern Java, which
was founded in 1293. The Majapahit dynasty gained control of most of the Indonesian
archipelago, including even the former Srivijayan territories in Sumatra. The
architect of this mighty empire was the prime minister Gajah Mada
(reigned 1331-64). The Majapahit dynasty began to decline in the late 14th century,
however, and it most likely fell early in the 16th century, when the last vestige of
Indo-Javanese rule was destroyed by the followers of Islam.
Muslim traders had visited the
Indonesian archipelago for centuries, but it was only in the 15th century that the
Majapahit kingdom was seriously affected by competition from them. As the Muslim
international trade network in the region grew, the coastal Javanese faced the choice of
fighting or joining the Muslims, and many eventually did the latter. A number of Javanese
ports in eastern Java thus broke away completely from the moribund Majapahit empire in the
early 16th century. Several Muslim kingdoms were also established in central and western
Java, in part because the Sundanese in western Java, less influenced by Hindu colonization
in earlier times, adapted Islam more rapidly. Padjang, Mataram, Preanger, Cheribon,
and Bantam all became independent Muslim states in Java in the 16th century. One of these
states, Mataram, the last great Javanese kingdom, achieved dominance over eastern and
central Java in the 1580s.
Dutch ships first visited Java in
1596, and the Dutch East India Company
soon established trading posts on the coast, along with a headquarters at the town of
Batavia (Jakarta), which came under Dutch control in 1619. Beginning in the 1670s, the
Dutch East India Company began to assert its control over Java's various Muslim kingdoms;
the states of western Java recognized the company's sovereignty in the last quarter of the
17th century, and the north-central and northeastern districts followed suit in 1743. In
1755, what remained of the Mataram kingdom was broken up into two Dutch vassal states,
Surakarta and Jogjakarta. Java's peasantry grew rice, indigo, sugar, pepper, and coffee
under a system of forced deliveries that the Dutch levied on the native aristocracy.
The Dutch East India Company ceased
to exist in 1799, and the Dutch government took over the administration of Java.
After a brief period of British rule in 1811-16, the island returned to Dutch rule. A
serious Javanese revolt in 1825-30 against the Dutch was suppressed at great expense.
Throughout the 19th century, Java was the most intensively developed and closely governed
of all the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and it quite naturally became the focus of
Indonesian nationalism in the early 20th century. Beginning in 1903, the Javanese were
admitted to a steadily increasing part in local government, and in 1925 Indonesians were
given a majority in the volksraad (people's
council). Java was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.
Java became part of the newly independent Republic of Indonesia in 1950.
The
land.
Java is 661 miles (1,064 km)
long from east to west and ranges in width from about 60 miles (100 km) at its centre to
more than 100 miles (160 km) near each end. A longitudinal mountain chain, surmounted by
many volcanoes, runs east to west along the island's spine and is flanked by limestone
ridges and lowlands. Java is highly volcanic, yet serious eruptions are few; only 35 of
its 112 volcanoes are active. In the west the volcanic peaks are clustered together,
becoming more widely spaced in the central and eastern parts of the island. The highest
volcano is Mount
Semeru, at 12,060 feet (3,676 m). A series of discontinuous plateaus lies south of the
volcanic belt and reaches an elevation of about 1,000 feet (300 m).
Most rivers in Java run northward,
since the central mountains that form their watershed lie somewhat closer to the southern
than to the northern coast. Some rivers do run southward, however. The largest rivers on
the island are the Solo
and the Brantas, in Java's eastern portion. These and many smaller rivers are a source of
water for irrigation but are navigable only in the wet season, and then only by small
boats.
Java's climate is generally hot and
humid throughout the year. Maximum temperatures are found in the plains along the northern
coast, but in the mountains it is much cooler. The high humidity often makes the climate
debilitating. The northwest monsoon season, from November to March, is rainy and cloudy,
while the southeast monsoon, from April to October, brings some rain but generally is
sunny. Annual rainfall at Jakarta
averages about 69 inches (1,760 mm). The average daily maximum temperature at Jakarta is
86º F (30º C), and the minimum is 74º F (23º C). At Tosari (elevation 5,692 feet
[1,735 m]) in the interior highlands, the highs and lows average 72º F (22º C) and 47º
F (8º C). Java's soils are very fertile because of periodic enrichment by volcanic ash.
Java's rich vegetation is southern
Asian, with Australian affinities; more than 5,000 species of plants are known. Dense rain
forests abound on the damp slopes of the mountains, while thick bamboo woods occur in the
west. The island's fruit trees include banana, mango, and various Asian species. Teak,
rasamala, and casuarina trees and bamboo occur in forest stands, together with sago palms
and banyan trees. Teakwood is one of Java's major exports.
Among the island's fauna are the
one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, and banteng (wild ox), though these species are now
restricted to the more remote areas. The island is also home to monkeys, wild pigs, and
crocodiles; about 400 species of birds; 100 species of snakes; 500 species of butterflies;
and many types of insects. |
