History History

Appearance of the Java man.

The most beautiful evidence of this Bronze Age are the famous drums(mokko). It is in Bali that the famous "moon of Péjéng" was discovered in Pura Penataran Sasih. Although it is called a drum, there is no membrane that must be hit. The drum resonates by itself. So it is a real percussion instrument. According to the legend, it is the wheel of the chariot of the goddess of the moon (Sasih means moon) which would have been detached and fallen from the sky.

Foundation of the Srivijaya Empire, at the location of present-day Palembang, South Sumatra.

Sanjaya founds the Mataram Empire, in the center then in the east of Java.

Construction of the Borobudur temple under the Mataram Empire.

The oldest inscription discovered in Bali dates from 914 (Blanjong charter). It is a small stone column found in Sanur referring to the Adipatih Sri Kesari Varmma, that is to say to the king Sri Kesari Varmma, mention made in Old Balinese and Sanskrit. It seems that the Old Balinese language was already in evidence at that time and had already broken free from Sanskrit. There is mention of "walidwipa", the island of Bali.

Victory of Srivijaya over Mataram.

Although a Javanese text, the Carita Parahyangan attests to the conquest of Bali by the Sanjaya dynasty in 730, Hinduism spread to Bali under the reign of King Airlangga between 1019 and 1049.

Airlangga is the son of a Javanese princess and the Balinese king Udayana. Having fled to East Java when his uncle lost power, Airlangga gradually reconquered the Javanese kingdom and became king.

It is likely that particularly close ties were forged during his reign and the course of the 12th century. At his death, he divided his territory into two parts, the kingdom of Janggala and that of Kediri, which claimed the kingship of its neighbor and annexed it in the middle of the 12th century.

Bali preserves a part of its autonomy during the reigns of the princes Jayasakti (1146-1150) and Jayapangus (1178- 1181). In 1222, Ken Arock decides to build a new capital in Malang (Singosari). His successor, Kertanegara, invaded Bali in 1284, but had to face the Mongolian invasion of the emperor Kubilai Khan in 1292.

While the Chinese troops try to settle on the Javanese territory, Ràden Wijaya uses them against one of the successors of Kertanagara, then turns against these same invaders. In 1293, he installed the new capital near Trowulan (Java). This new dynasty takes the name of Mojopahit.

Gajah Mada invades Bali and brings it under Mojopahit's influence again by defeating the Balinese king Dalem Bedaulu.

The Mojopahit empire knew its highest glory under the reign of Hayam Wuruk (from 1350 to 1389) and his minister Gajah Mada. During this troubled time in Java, Bali regained some of its autonomy, especially as the Pejeng dynasty increased its power.

This king will have a legendary destiny for the Balinese. When Gajah Mada came to Bali, he went to King Bedaulu, known for his magical powers. This king, to prove his strength and supernatural powers, had cut off his own head and then put it back in its place without any trace of injury. This boast angered Shiva, who decided to replace the king's head with a pig's head. From that day on, the king was called Bèda Ulu, "different head". It was forbidden to raise the head to stare at him under penalty of death. From then on, the sovereign, weakened, saw his supremacy called into question.

It is in the poem "Nagarakertagama" that we discover the names of the countries subordinate to Majahapit.

Gajah Mada then decides to set up an expedition against the Balinese sovereigns and establishes a vassalage placed under his orders, in Samprangan, near Gianyar.

The vassal I Dewa Ketut Tegal Besung, brother of the dalem of Mojohapit whom he judged incompetent, decided to leave Samprangan. He settled in Gelgel in order to establish a court inspired by that of Mojopahit. Gelgel remained the most important Balinese kingdom until the second half of the 17th century.

Following several quarrels of succession, the kingdom of Majahapit disappeared (fall in 1527).

The Portuguese conquered Malacca, in Malaysia.

Arrival of the first explorers in Bali. First, without going to the island with Magellan, then in 1580 when Francis Drake landed and explored it.

The Javanese empire in full discomfiture, certain charismatic figures, of which the priest Nirartha, take refuge in Bali. They seem to have introduced the beginnings of what will constitute the current principles of Balinese religion and its durability by the great sacerdotal principles. This fine flower of the Mojopahit empire, poets, musicians, dancers, painters, asks for protection to the Balinese kings, who welcome them with fervor.

A Dutch fleet of 4 galleons, led by Cornelis de Houtman, set sail for Banten with Portuguese navigation charts. This expedition is considered a success. About twenty voyages are undertaken, always with success.

Cornelis de Houtman discovered Bali during his second voyage in 1597, which he nicknamed "young Holland". He befriended the king of Gelgél.

At this time, the refinements of the court reached their peak. Several lords, vassals of Gelgel, nevertheless showed a certain independence and established their power over small fiefdoms. Some even went so far as to defy the authority of the Déwa Agung. This was the case of Gusti Agung Maruti, the king's prime minister, who chased him away and settled on the throne. The king and the chased princes will seek an alliance with their former vassals before founding a new kingdom in Klungkung. From this time onwards, a plethora of small kingdoms or seigniories gradually gained independence from Klungkung and Gelgel, which disappeared in the middle of the 17th century.

Birth of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

The VOC set up its headquarters in Batavia. It was Jayakarta (Jakarta) renamed by the Dutch in honor of the Germanic tribe of the Batavians. The VOC was very active in the Moluccas (eastern Indonesia), Java, Sumatra, but little in Bali. Nevertheless, with the establishment of a slave market, the Balinese took advantage of it to sell their prisoners.

Fall of Malacca in the hands of the Dutch.

This is a very important aspect of the way in which the city is organized, as well as the way in which the city is organized and the way in which the city is organized. This is the paradox of slavery, which will help these small fiefs to free themselves from the royal tutelage. The presence of the Dutch in Java allows the Balinese kingdoms to monetize their highly prized slaves. Moreover, this situation of atomization of the Balinese royal forces reinforces the Dutch policy of expansion. Bali did not pose a threat and its kings provided the manpower necessary to impose a colonial way of life. The kingdom of Mengwi was established in East Java while Karangasem conquered Lombok. Gradually, a group of lordships managed to impose its specificity: Klungkung, Badung, Tabanan, Karangasem, Buleleng, Gianyar, Bangli, Jimbrana and Mengwi form the backbone of the various royal powers.

Surapati, a former Balinese slave who escaped from Batavia and took refuge in the mountains south of the city, attacked a VOC troop. His descendants participated in various wars between Javanese princes against the VOC, until the last representative of the lineage was captured in 1777.

The VOC was forced into bankruptcy at the end of the 18th century, and this situation led to the beginning of the Dutch colonial empire with its moral requirements and codes of conduct. The Balinese kingdoms that practiced slavery suffered. Their market dried up and they were forced to look for other outlets.

The Netherlands having become a French province, Bali found itself in contact with a Franco-Dutch administration. The "iron marshal" Daendels was chosen as governor general.

Occupation of Java by the English. At the end of this period, the British returned the East Indies to the Dutch.

Revolt of Diponegoro or war of Java.

The Dutch chose the pretext of the plundering of a shipwreck by Balinese to conquer Bali from the north. A flotilla of 23 warships and 3,000 men armed with guns landed at Buleleng in June 1846 and fought against at least 50,000 Balinese armed with kriss and spears. The palace of Singaraja was destroyed and the Dutch forced the rajah of Buleleng, under humiliating conditions, to sign a treaty of submission, to pay a reparation fine of 400,000 guilders and to accept the installation of a permanent garrison.

The violation of this treaty leads the Dutch to lead another punitive expedition in June 1848. They opposed a young prince, Gusti Ketut Jelantik, who took the head of the Balinese army and forced the Dutch to capitulate, after being surrounded in the fort of Jagaraga. This vexing situation for the Dutch forces them to constitute an army whose declared goal is now to subject Bali by all the means.

In April 1849, they gathered 60 warships, 5,000 infantrymen and 4,000 mercenaries to fight the 20,000 men that the rajah of Buleleng had been able to gather. Gusti Ketut Jelantik, now a national hero, was killed and Buleleng subdued. The other kingdoms, reluctant to ally themselves with their congeners, were nevertheless resigned to obey the Dutch demands. Buleleng and Jembrana depend on the administration of the Dutch government, while political and economic control is subordinated to colonial controllers (the former: Heer van Bloemen Waanders).

The Dutch tamed the rebellious kingdoms, consolidated their power and developed coffee cultivation.

In 1894, they fought the Balinese kings of Lombok and imposed legal and military control over the island.

The kingdoms of Karangasem and Gianyar, on the advice of the king of Ubud, recognize the Dutch sovereignty while keeping a semblance of autonomy. The three kingdoms of the south are left to face the colonial authority: Badung, Klungkung and Tabanan.

In 1904, once again, the Dutch used a looting of a Chinese wreck off Sanur as a pretext to extend their domination over southern Bali.

The king of Badung refused to compensate the Chinese ship flying the Dutch flag. On September 14, 1906, Dutch troops landed north of Sanur and on September 20 bombed Badung (now Denpasar). The king of Pemecutan, his family and his subjects committed suicide or killed themselves their wounded, accomplishing the puputan, the fight to the death, ritual sacrifice (more than 4 000 deaths).

The Dutch troops decided to march westward and subdue the rajah of Tabanan who escaped by committing suicide. Only one rebel kingdom remained: Klungkung, which fell into their hands after a new puputan in 1908.

Following these massacres, which aroused great emotion in the Netherlands, the colonial government undertook to impose its conception of an "ethical policy. However, refusing to take into account the Balinese hierarchical subtleties, a system of almost slave-like chores was put in place: the Kerja Rodi.

A gigantic eruption of Batur, followed by an earthquake, caused many victims in 1917.

The Dutch, strongly criticized by the colony itself, decided to reinforce their "humanitarian" policy by multiplying the hospitals, pacifying the few jolts of resistance to Dutch authority and undertook to gradually give back to the pacified kingdoms their autonomy and the application of their own laws.

Tourism begins with the establishment of a weekly shipping service between Singapore, Batavia and Bali.

Foundation of the PKI (Indonesian Nationalist Party).

Prohibition of PKI.

In 1929, the restoration of the legitimacy of the kingdoms was ensured during a great ceremony held at Besakih (mother temple of Bali).

The crisis of 1929 has repercussions on the colony, but, little by little, the Dutch officials and administrators undertake a real development of the Balinese tourist attractions to erase their disastrous image of ruthless colonists. Bali is presented as a paradise to foreign tourists who visit.

Invasion of Indonesia by Japan.

Independence of the archipelago. The Balinese mobilized in order to get their hands on the arsenal of the Japanese navy that had administered the island during the war.

A struggle began between the Balinese who were in favor of independence and the traditional rulers who saw their power and privileges melting into a new hierarchy of power.

A 29-year-old resistance colonel, Ngurah Rai, perished in a bombing raid in Marga with 95 fighters after a battle that, in the eyes of the Balinese, resembled past puputan . The resistance defeated, the Dutch decide to base the headquarters of their "Republic of East Indonesia" (NIT) by appointing the prince of Gianyar, Anak Agung Gedé Agung, Prime Minister of the new state, which thus responds to the revolutionary Republic of Sukarno installed in Java.

After the Dutch attempt to invade Jogjakarta, the Balinese prince turns against the Dutch and precipitates the fall of the state of Eastern Indonesia. Definitive victory of the independence.

The Dutch grant independence. Sukarno is elected the country's first president.

Despite the factional struggle in the years following the actual seizure of power, Bali remained loyal to Sukarno for political and sentimental reasons. The president's mother is Balinese. This attitude will earn it to become a separate region in 1958 and encourage Sukarno to encourage Indonesian tourism in Bali.

During these years of political uncertainty, Balinese society was divided into two strong convictions. The high castes (especially the satria and wesya) support the PNI (Indonesian Nationalist Party) while the sudra and part of the high caste brahmins support the PKI.

At first, it was believed that it was a coup d'état fomented by the PKI, leading to a repression by the communists (between 400,000 and 700,000 deaths in Indonesia). However, it was Sukarno's successor, General Suharto, aided by the military, who apparently instigated it.

There was a resumption of economic growth, but only due to oil and the green revolution. Suharto dreams of American-style modernity. The capital is covered with buildings, Bali is called to open to tourists.

But one political party was ruling everything without sharing: the Golkar, Suharto's party, implacable with the opposition parties who had a hard time facing this ogre.

After the collapse of Portuguese colonialism, the Indonesian army invaded East Timor, with the approval and arms of the United States. In vain, the United Nations Security Council ordered Indonesia's withdrawal from East Timor: within months, thousands of Timorese were killed and East Timor's oil reserves were annexed.

Timor eventually became independent again in 2002.

The country sank into economic problems (inflation, student revolts, betrayed trust between the people and his government ...), Suharto is pushed to resign. Habibie, 61 years old, was elected president.

Abduraham Wahib (elected in October 1999) was removed from office and replaced by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter. She became the first female president of a Muslim country and caused a scandal by removing her veil in front of the cameras.

Attack against tourist facilities in Bali (202 dead, mainly tourists) which shatters the myth of the Balinese paradise and sows misunderstanding among the Balinese people. Two kamikaze bombs exploded in a bar and club in Kuta, and a third one in the American consulate in Denpasar (without victim).

These events were the first massive suicide bombings in the area, and the worst in Indonesia to date.

33 Indonesians were sentenced to two and a half years in prison. It seems that the Islamic extremist organization Jemaah Islamiyah considered tourist bars as a place of sin. Their spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, was arrested in 2004 and sentenced to two and a half years in prison, and released in 2006. Three of the suicide bombers sentenced to death were executed on November 8, 2008. In March 2010, one of the masterminds of the attack, Dulmatin, was killed by Indonesian police in a raid.

Legislative and presidential elections: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is elected president (61% of the votes against the outgoing president).

Three years after Indonesia's bloodiest attack, Bali and its tourist economy were again shaken by attacks on several outdoor restaurants in Jimbaran and one in the heart of Kuta. 27 people died, including 3 terrorists.

The European Transport Commission has blacklisted all Indonesian airlines, including the national airline Garuda.

Tsunami in West Sumatra, 500 victims. Eruption of the Merapi volcano in Java, 300 victims. Several hundred thousand people are evacuated.

Joko Widodo, nicknamed Jokowi, was elected president of Indonesia. His accession to power marked a turning point, as it was the first time in Indonesian history that a candidate from the middle class, with no political, military or family ties to the former dictatorship, had acceded to this position.

Nearly 4 million tourists counted in the year.

Launch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the World Ocean Summit in Bali (CleanSea).

The Agung volcano erupts. 25 000 people are evacuated.

Series of earthquakes on the island of Lombok. The first of magnitude 6.4 occurred on July 29. The second hit the island on August 5, and was recorded at 7 on the Richter scale. Then on August 9, Lombok was hit again with an earthquake of magnitude 5.9. These earthquakes killed 555 people and injured nearly 1,500.

Re-election of the outgoing president, Joko Widodo, against Prabowo Subianto.

The state of health emergency in Indonesia is announced in mid-March, without confinement but with social distancing measures. Closure of borders to foreigners.

The closure of the borders to foreigners has had a strong impact on the economy of the country and Bali, which lives mainly from its tourist activity.

In mid-July, the Indonesian government announced more than 2.5 million positive cases of Covid-19, including 67,000 deaths.

Bali is one of the priority areas for vaccination.

Bali is beginning to emerge from the crisis after the gradual reopening of borders. Tourism, the island's economic mainstay, is slowly recovering, but health restrictions remain in place to ensure the safety of visitors and residents alike. Vaccines have been widely deployed, particularly in tourist areas, and the island has achieved a high vaccination rate. However, the island faces significant economic challenges, with affected sectors such as the hotel and restaurant industries struggling to regain their pre-pandemic dynamism.

With the lifting of the main health restrictions, Bali is experiencing a marked upturn in tourist activity. Hotels, restaurants and shops are gradually reopening, while international travellers are returning in droves. Local authorities continue to promote health protocols to ensure visitor safety. The island, which relies heavily on tourism, is gradually regaining its economic vitality.

The latest Indonesian presidential elections took place on February 14, 2024. Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Defense and former Special Forces Commander, won in the first round with 59.5% of the vote. President Subianto is due to take office on October 20, 2024, in accordance with constitutional provisions. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the outgoing president, has been appointed vice-president. Prabowo has a controversial military background, including human rights allegations, but he has won the support of young voters thanks to a strong presence on social networks.