Aggression During the 1930s, in the wake of the economic depression that resulted in unemployment, wage cuts and increased protests, the government resorted to repression and press censorship to check nationalism. Sukarno and other nationalist leaders were languishing in jail until . The Dutch Sukarno surrendered to the Japanese in the East Indies in March . Some opposed the Japanese and organised secret resistance.
Some led by Sukarno and Hatta believed that the best method of achieving independence would be to support the Japanese. In the last phase of the war the Japanese decided to negotiate the terms of independence with the Indonesian leaders. Coming of Independence But after Japanese evacuation, in accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference, British forces landed in the East Indies in September . They released about , prisoners of war, mainly Dutch.
The Dutch had reoccupied nearly all the East Indian islands except Java and Sumatra, ruled by Sukarno. The Dutch refused to recognise the rule of Sukarno. Yet he refused to relinquish his office as President. So the British-occupying force arranged negotiations which led to Dutch-Indonesian Agreement.
This resulted in Dutch recognition of Java and Sumatra as an independent republic, leading to the merger of the rest of the islands to form a federation known as the United States of Indonesia. Subsequently, the Dutch attempted to disrupt the peace in Indonesia twice, but the pressure of world opinion, led by Jawaharlal Nehru as well as the UN Security Council, led to a settlement favourable to Indonesia at the end of . A round table conference held at The Hague adopted a constitution for the independent state of Indonesia. In December Indonesia became an independent state.
Signing of the Peace Treaty Outbreak of World War II and its Impact in Colonies The Philippines About islands named after the Spanish prince Philip, son of King Charles V, came to form the Philippines. Like the East Indies, the Philippines had experienced European rule since the sixteenth century. Spanish colonisation began with the