Indonesia Proclaims Independence

The Dutch had ruled the islands of the East Indies for centuries, but Japan's occupation from 1942 ended their administration. Japan allowed nationalist leaders such as Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta a public role, hoping to win local support, and trained Indonesian militias. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, young activists pressed Sukarno and Hatta to act before the Allies returned. On 17 August 1945 they proclaimed Indonesian independence in a short statement read in Jakarta.

Sukarno set out the Pancasila, five principles for the new state, including belief in God, national unity and democracy, designed to unite a diverse population of many islands, languages and religions. Indonesian, a standardized form of Malay, was adopted as the national language. The Dutch, however, refused to accept the proclamation, and the first British and Dutch troops arrived weeks later. The proclamation began a four-year struggle over who would govern the archipelago.