The finding of a few traces of Stone Age people
in Bali indicates that the island was inhibited very early in
prehistoric times. With the mediation of Java, Indian traders
brought and influenced Hinduism culture. Inscriptions on a stone
pillar near Sanur from the IX Century were the earliest written
records. In the XI Century, the influence of Hinduism from Java
spread into Bali.
Bali was under Javanese Kingdom's control when Singasari Dynasty
conquered Bali in 1284. The autonomy was regained by Balinese
Kingdom when Pejeng Dynasty rose to power. Javanese Kingdom ruled
back in Bali after the great Majapahit Dynasty defeated Pejeng
Kingdom in 1343. In the XV Century, after Islam played a major
influence in Java, The Majapahit Kingdom collapsed and many Hindu
people from Java moved to Bali and enriched the cultural nuance.
Dutch sailors were the first European came to Bali in 1597. In
the 1600s, After the Dutch established trade treaties with Javanese
princes and struggled in the spice trade with the Portuguese,
the Dutch became more interested in profit.
The Dutch landed military forces in Northern
Bali in 1846 and used Balinese salvage claims over shipwrecks
as an alleged reason. Conspiring with the Sasaks of Lombok, the
Dutch tried to defeat the King of Bali. Finally, the Sasaks changed
their point of view and slaughtered the Dutch. The incident made
Dutch invading Bali with a heavy military force. After the attack,
the northern part of Bali was under Dutch's control and the ties
with Lombok severed. The southern part of Bali also lost its autonomy.
In 1904, another salvage clash resulted in Dutch warships appearing
off Sanur.
After taking five days for Dutch troops to reach Denpasar, the
Dutch urged the Kingdom of Bali to surrender. Balinese monarchs
and religious leaders decided to take the moral path of a suicidal
Puputan - a fight to the death - rather than surrender. First
the palaces were burnt, then - dressed in their finest jewelry
and waving golden blades-the King led the royalty and priests
confronted the Dutch and their modern weapons. The Dutch pleaded
the Balinese to surrender, but the Balinese refused to do so and
had choose to die rather than surrender. Almost 4000 Balinese
died in this war.
Finally, The entire island came under Dutch control and became
a part of the Dutch East Indies. Despite the extensive overture
to colonization, Japanese took control of Bali and other part
of in Indonesia in World War II.
After the independence of Indonesia, it took
almost more than four years to persuade the Dutch for not going
back in charge in Indonesia. In 1946, Balinese resistance group
was wiped out in the Battle of Marga. The Dutch finally recognized
Indonesia's independence in 1949. In 1965, an attempted coup d'état
blamed on communists led to Sukarno's collapse. General Suharto
suppressed the coup and emerged as a foremost political figure.
In Bali, local communists were professed as a hazard to traditional
principles and the caste system because of their manifesto. Religious
traditionalists took advantage of the post-coup hysteria and led
a hunt against communist loyalists. Mobs began to kill people
suspected communists. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people were
killed, at a time when the island's population only totaled 2
million.
During the Suharto's administrations, the government
of Indonesia looked the west for alliances and investment. In
Bali, the tourism industry played the major role and the establishment
of infrastructure and supporting facilities were done. These efforts
created not only a dramatic economic growth but also the dislocation
of local populations and disturbance of many traditional communities.
Many Balinese feel that Javanese interests dominate the industry
and the locals have slight control over its growth.
