Indonesia — nationalist movements and Japanese occupation
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Flip to reveal answersWhen was the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) founded, and on what base?
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All 12 Flashcards — Indonesia — nationalist movements and Japanese occupation
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Question
When was the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) founded, and on what base?
Answer
1920 — the first mass Indonesian nationalist organisation, built on plantation workers, railway employees and the urban poor.
Question
What happened in the PKI revolts of 1926–27?
Answer
Local PKI branches rose up in West Java (Nov 1926) and West Sumatra (Jan 1927) without full national leadership backing; Dutch forces crushed both within weeks.
Question
What was the Dutch response to the 1926–27 revolts?
Answer
About 13,000 arrests and roughly 1,300 exiles, many sent to the remote Boven-Digoel camp in Dutch New Guinea.
Question
Who founded the PNI, and when?
Answer
Sukarno, in 1927 — after the PKI's crushed revolts left a gap for a new, broader nationalist movement.
Question
How did the PNI's approach differ from the PKI's?
Answer
The PNI united people across class and religion around one national identity; the PKI was rooted in class struggle among workers.
Question
What was 'Indonesia Accuses!'?
Answer
Sukarno's 1930 defence speech at his Bandung trial, which turned his prosecution into nationalist propaganda and made him a hero even while imprisoned.
Question
When did the Dutch East Indies fall to Japan?
Answer
8 March 1942 — the Dutch colonial army surrendered within weeks of the Japanese invasion.
Question
Why did the 1942 Dutch surrender matter so much for nationalism?
Answer
It shattered the myth of European invincibility that Dutch rule had rested on for decades — Indonesians saw an Asian army defeat their colonial rulers.
Question
What was romusha?
Answer
Forced labour conscripted by Japan (several hundred thousand to over a million Indonesians) to build roads, railways and airfields, often under brutal conditions.
Question
What was PETA and when was it formed?
Answer
Pembela Tanah Air ('Defenders of the Homeland'), formed by Japan in October 1943 — an Indonesian militia that trained around 35,000+ young Indonesians in modern warfare.
Question
How did Japanese occupation both exploit and mobilise Indonesians?
Answer
Exploited: romusha forced labour, rice requisitioning causing famine. Mobilised: released Sukarno/Hatta as figureheads, formed PETA, promoted Indonesian language and youth groups.
Question
What happened on 17 August 1945?
Answer
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesian independence, two days after Japan's surrender to the Allies and before the Dutch could reclaim the colony.
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Topic 12.7 hub
The emergence of independent states in Southeast Asia (1900–1990)
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