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Java
Overview
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Geography
The island of Java has an area of 132,000 square kilometers and is located between the islands of Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. It is bordered by the Java Sea to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south. Java is a long, narrow island and is known for its many volcanoes, which extend in a ridge along the center of the island. The climate of Java varies along with the terrain - the plains and lower areas of Java are hot and humid, while the mountainous areas are cooler.
Home to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, Java is the center of Indonesian political life. Java is divided into three provinces - West Java (capital Bandung), Central Java (capital Semarang), and East Java (capital Surabaya). There are also two special territories - Jakarta, the capital city and Yogyakarta, the Javanese cultural center.
Population
Java is the most densely populated island in Indonesia. Its approximately 120 million inhabitants constitute nearly 60 percent of the entire population of Indonesia. The overcrowded condition of Java prompted the government's policy of transmigration, which began during colonial times and continued during the administrations of Sukarno and Suharto.
There are two major ethnic groups in Java - Javanese and Sundanese - each speaking its own language, yet the Javanese constitute two-thirds of Java's population. An Austronesian people, related to the people of Malaysia and the Philippines, the Javanese are located principally in Central and East Java, as well as in most of the north coast of Java. West Java is mainly populated by Sundanese, while Madura Island, off the northeast coast, is home to the Madurese people. The Tenggerese, an ethnic group that claims to descend from the 15th century Javanese-Hindu kingdom of Majapahit, live in the easternmost end of Java, on the slopes of Mt. Bromo. They speak Tenggar, an ancient dialect of Javanese and, unlike the majority of Indonesians, practice Hinduism, mixed with elements of animism. The Badui, an ethnic group that eschews modern amenities such as electricity and manufactured products, inhabit the westernmost end of Java. They are apolitical and uninterested in territorial hegemony and interested only in spiritual matters. For these reasons and due to their geographic isolation, they have been left to themselves for the most part by successive governments in Indonesia. The Badui speak Sundanese. In urban areas throughout Java, there are also communities of ethnic Chinese. Jakarta, the capital city, is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities. While Bahasa Indonesia is the official language of Java, each cultural group continues to speak its own separate language.
Religion
Java is more than 90 percent Muslim, although there are Hindu and animist traditions as well, a reflection of the Hindu empires that presided over Java in its early history.
History
Java has a long history of human inhabitance. Java Man, the oldest known fossil of Homo erectus, estimated to be 500,000 years old was found in East Java. Around 3000 BC, migrants from southern China and Indochina began populating the archipelago. Located along the main sea route to the Spice Islands and China, Java was heavily influenced by Indian and Chinese travelers and Hinduism and Buddhism took root around 450 AD, particularly in central and eastern Java. Hindu-Javanese kingdoms developed in central Java, where architectural wonders including Borobudur and Prambanan were built.
Islam arrived in Java beginning in 1376 AD, when Muslim settlers arrived in eastern Java. Gradually the Hindu kingdoms were usurped by Muslim sultanates, although their cultures were absorbed, not destroyed. In 1619, the Dutch East India Company arrived in Java and set up their main trading station at Batavia, the site of present-day Jakarta. Over the next 200 years, the Dutch gained control over most of Java.
In 1740, the Dutch became alarmed at the growth of the Chinese population in Java, an ethnic group that had been present for hundreds of years and were highly involved in the local trading economy. They arrested many, triggering rumors that led to a massacre of an estimated 10,000 ethnic Chinese by the Dutch and Javanese. Many who escaped to other parts of Java began a resistance movement, which others in Java joined. The Dutch ended the resistance movement within a few years. During the Napoleonic Wars, in 1811, the British captured Java and ruled it for five years before restoring it to Dutch control. Resistance to Dutch rule began soon after, beginning with an unsuccessful Javanese revolt, which lasted from 1825 to 1830.
During World War II, the Japanese destroyed the Dutch East Indies fleet and occupied Java for the duration of the war. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, Sukarno, who had emerged as the key Indonesian nationalist leader, declared Indonesia's independence. Following the war for independence, Sukarno located the center of government for the new state in Jakarta.
Economy
Java is the location of the majority of Indonesia's manufacturing, with most industry centered in Jakarta and Surabaya. Bandung is a major textile center. Due to Java's fertile lands, it is also a major agricultural producer. Most of Indonesia's sugarcane and kapok are grown in Java. Rubber, tea, coffee, tobacco, cacao, and cinchona as well as a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown at highland plantations where the climate is cooler. Rice is grown in the lower areas and plains of Java and is the main small-farm crop. There are oil fields and mines for tin, gold, silver, copper, coal, manganese, phosphate and sulfur in the northeast. Tourism is also a major industry in Java, due to its scenic beauty, volcanoes, and historic landmarks of Hindu and Buddhist culture.
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