Sumatra
(2000 pop. 42.7 million). Sumatra, Indonesia's second-largest and westernmost island, is populated by a number of distinct peoples, including the Acehnese, Minangkabau, Batak, and Malay. Its earliest major states were coastal trading kingdoms; these were often situated on river mouths, where they could control the flow of goods up and down stream. From the late seventh century onwards, the state of Srivijaya was the most powerful Sumatran empire, until it was eclipsed in the fourteenth century. The first evidence of the arrival of Islam in Sumatra comes from Marco Polo, who visited the island c. 1292. The nineteenthcentury witnessed profound changes: politically, Dutch colonial rule was gradually imposed throughout the entire island; and since the 1860s the introduction of plantation crops, especially tobacco and rubber, and the exploitation of oil have turned Sumatra into the archipelago's richest export area. Under the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), the island was administratively united with Malaysia, but in 1945 local nationalist leaders supported the pro-Republican cause, bringing Sumatra under Indonesian control. In 1958 a rebel government, the PRRI (Revolutionary Government of the Indonesian Republic), was announced in Sumatra. This rebellion was crushed in 1961, consolidating the hegemony of Java over the outer islands, and the heavily Javanese army over other political forces. Since Suharto stepped down in 1998, decentralization, regional autonomy, federalism, and separatism have once again become hotly debated issues throughout Indonesia, especially in the Sumatran provinces Aceh and Riau.
Further Reading
Carle, Rainer, C. E. Cunningham, and B. Dahm, eds. (1987) Cultures and Societies of North Sumatra. Berlin: Reimer.
Marsden, William. (1975) The History of Sumatra. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Ricklefs, Merle C. (1981) A History of Modern Indonesia. London: Macmillan.
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