Indonesia — winning and building independence

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A short statement read by Sukarno (with Hatta) on 17 August 1945, declaring Indonesia independent within days of Japan's surrender in WWII.

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To pressure them into declaring independence immediately, fearing delay would let the Allies restore Dutch colonial rule.

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The 1945–49 struggle — combining armed resistance and diplomacy — that forced the Dutch to accept Indonesian independence.

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Indonesian militias and civilians resisted British-Indian troops for three weeks, showing mass commitment to independence despite being poorly armed.

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The Linggadjati Agreement (1946) and the Renville Agreement (1948) — both saw territorial concessions in exchange for recognition, later broken by Dutch offensives.

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It captured Sukarno and Hatta but triggered international condemnation; the US threatened to cut Marshall Plan aid, forcing the Dutch to negotiate seriously.

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The Round Table Conference concluded with the Netherlands formally transferring sovereignty to Indonesia, though Dutch New Guinea remained under Dutch control.

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An Islamist rebellion beginning in 1948 in West Java, seeking an Islamic state rather than Sukarno's secular republic.

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Rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi driven by outer-island resentment of Javanese political and economic dominance, covertly supported by the US.

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Sukarno's system from 1957–59 that replaced parliamentary rule with centralised presidential authority, justified as necessary for stability but also concentrating power in Sukarno himself.

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Armed struggle (Surabaya, guerrilla war) proved Dutch rule was too costly to sustain; diplomacy (Linggadjati, Renville, UN/US pressure) converted that fact into internationally recognised sovereignty — neither alone was sufficient.

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Unifying a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands with hundreds of ethnic groups, a Java-dominated government, weak administration, and severe economic difficulties.