A Brief History

Bali was first visited by the Chinese immigrants, traders, and settlers who roamed the Malay Archipelago between 3000 and 1000 BC Trade and commerce were more prevalent in this area of the world between 1000 BC and 100 BC than westerners realize. The Chinese introduced bronze, and the Indians Buddhism. Also about this time the people started the cultivation of rice and started the process of terracing the hilly slopes of the island resulting in the present rice terraced landscape.

In the 700’s and 800’s, the people of East Java gradually accepted Hinduism while still revering Buddha as a teacher and wise sage. This combination found its way to Bali and combined with the local animist to form the Balinese Hindu belief. It is a basic Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu dominated form of Hinduism with the lesser gods controlling their particular sectors of life. You will find ancient Balinese gods and belief in the mix.

From 900 to 1300 the family of King Udayana, his son Airlangga ruled East Java while his younger son, Anak Wungsu ruled Bali. In 1343 the army general, Gajah Mada annexed Bali to the Javanese empire of Majapahit founded in 1320. As Islam was establishing its roots in Java, the Majapahit scholars, teachers and members of the ruling class took refuge in Bali. It was a calm serene place and they flourished. The Balinese remained separate from the intrigue and politics of Java and was never invaded by the Javanese Muslims.

In the 1500’s the Europeans were establishing trading posts and forts in Asia. The spices and resources of Indonesia’s islands attracted with the Dutch being the predominant influence in the Java/Bali area while the local Batu Renggong kingdom based near Klungkung ruled Bali. They built many temples administration buildings firmly establishing the style of stone work, carpentry, roofing, woodcarving and crafts associated with Bali to this day.

About 1850 or so the Dutch began to establish tighter rule in Bali. There were many conflicts resulting in the deaths of many Balinese people. This went on until a particularly bloody series of incidents concerning the looting of a Dutch shipwreck in Sanur in 1904. The public outcry from the Netherlands succeeded in keeping Bali from the mass transformation to huge plantations seen on other islands. The arts, crafts and culture were valued as much as the commerce the Japanese invaded Indonesia and “liberated” the Indonesian people along with vast quantities of rice, oil, wood and slave labor. The end of WWII saw the Dutch attempt to re establish rule but the colonial days of Indonesia were over. There was a war for Independence from August 1945 until August 1949 resulting in the Republic of Indonesia being recognized as an independent country by the United Nations.

The first leader of modern Indonesia was President Sukarno until the 1960s when President Suharto took control. The time between independence and the late 1990s were days of growing pains, political upheavals, economic roller coaster rides and technological developments. Indonesia is now ruled by a democratically elected president and each state or Provence has a much larger say in the local government than ever before.

Bali has moved ever forward in the tourist industry while retaining its island paradise environment and attitude.