In August 1945, a handful of people raised a homemade cotton flag and, on behalf of 68 million compatriots, announced the birth of a new nation. With the fourth largest population in the world, inhabiting islands that span an eighth of the globe, Indonesia became the first country to rid itself of colonial rule after World War II. This will be our fascinating SDG topic, known by our core book’s title “Revolusi”.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eyewitness testimonies, renowned scholar and celebrated author David Van Reybrouck captures a period of extraordinary tumult and chaos to tell the story of Indonesia’s momentous revolution. Encompassing several hundred years of history, he details the formation of the Dutch East Indies, the Japanese invasion that followed, and the young rebels who engaged in armed resistance once the occupation ended. British and Dutch troops were sent to restore order and keep peace but instead ignited the first modern war of decolonization. America, too, became embroiled with the Indonesians’ fierce struggle for freedom. That struggle inspired independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Arab world.
Our SDG will explore this vivid history of a nation that most will probably know little about. The reading is fast moving and captivating. And we expect the discussion to be equally lively when we explore this most interesting Indonesian history.
Week 1 Prologue
Chapter 1: The VOC Mentality
Chapter 2: Assembling the Jigsaw Puzzle, read to page bottom of page 43
Week 2 Chapter 2: Assembling the Jigsaw Puzzle, read from page bottom of page 43
Chapter 3: The Colonial Steamship
Week 3 Chapter 4: ‘Flies Spoiling the Chemist’s Ointment’
Week 4 Chapter 5: Silence
Week 5 Chapter 6: The Pincer and the Oil Fields
Week 6 Chapter 7: The Land of Rising Pressure
Week 7 Chapter 8: ‘Colonialism is Colonialism’
Week 8 Chapter 9: ‘Our Blood is Forever Warm’
Week 9 Chapter 10: ‘Free! Of! Everything!’
Week 10 Chapter 11: ‘An Errand of Mercy’
Week 11 Chapter 12: The Trap
Week 12 Chapter 13: ‘Unacceptable, Unpalatable and Unfair’
Week 13 Chapter 14: ‘A Big Hole that Smells of Earth’
Week 14 Chapter 15: Into the Light of Morning
Epilogue
Van Reybrouck, David. Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World. W. W. Norton & Company, 2020 (Americn Edition 2024)