Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Teachers’ Reference 教師
參考
Enquiry
Question
Why did decolonisation movements take place in Southeast Asia?
Content Closely related to the History curriculum (S4-6)
Learning
Objectives
Knowledge

The Indonesian experiences of seeking independence

The major modes of independence movements in Southeast
Skills
Asia

To observe and comprehend

To establish historical images and think creatively

To analyse

To compare, illustrate and explain sources
Attitude

To be inquisitive and willing to think

To care about and respect historical experience of other nations and to understand with empathy the development of
Indonesia and Southeast Asia
Teaching flow:
Teachers may select or modify the activities in this teaching plan so as to suit the learning needs of their students.
A
C
E
F
Items
Introduction
Activity 2
Extended
Activity 1
Extended



Format
Define key words

Enquiry
Questioning
B Activity 1

Interpret concept maps

Watch and discuss the documentary
(Ch. 1-3;
00:00-04:21)
Role Play
Cartoon
Teaching
Objectives

To outline main points to arouse learning motives

To comprehend a brief outline of the topic

To provide historical images to enhance interest and effectiveness in learning and teaching
D Activity 3

DBQ exercise

To respond to the enquiry question from a






Content
What is ‘decolonisation’?
Why did decolonisation movements take place in
Southeast Asia?
Concept Maps (1) and (2)
Brief introduction of
Indonesian experiences of striving for independence in the 20 th century
Students
’
views of Dutch and Japanese colonial rules
Indonesians’ different views of Dutch and Japanese rule
 new perspective
To respond to the enquiry

Comparison of the main features of Dutch and question, and cater for
Japanese colonial rule

Students’ design of role play learners’ dialogues diversity

To respond to

Students use “Dutch
1

Activity 2
G
Extended
Activity 3
H
Extended
Activity 4

Chessboard
Game: Causes of the success of Indonesian independence

Design
Extended
Reading

Self-directed learning the enquiry question, and cater for learners’ diversity

To respond to the enquiry question

To encourage extended reading and self-directed learning
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Colonial Rule” and “Rule under Japanese Occupation” as topics to design and discuss relevant cartoons and DBQs

Causes of the success of
Indonesian independence

Through making analysis and inference of causes listed on the chess board, students familiarize modes of decolonisation

Reading: The Way of a Boy ;

Watching documentary:
“
Hua-Ren-Yi-Min-Shi (the
History of Chinese
Immigrants
”
)
Key word What is ‘decolonisation’?
 ‘Decolonisation’ is a process in which a colonial power withdraws its colonial rule from its colony and returns its ruling power to the locals.

Decolonisation occurred in colonies all over the world, such as Africa,
South American, and Southeast Asia, after the Second World War.
Enquiry question
Why did decolonisation movements take place in Southeast Asia?
Think about this:

Why was there the emergence of decolonisation movements in Southeast
Asia?

Why did decolonisation movement occur in Indonesia?

What are the different modes of the decolonisation movements in the
Southeast Asian countries?
2

Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Impetus from thoughts and religion
Disappointment with political policies
Nationalist movements in other countries
Advancement in communication gave impetus to nationalism
Internal
Factors
Causes of
Decolonisation of
Southeast Asian colonies
External
Factors
Nationalism enhanced by the two World Wars
Impetus from the middle class
Exploitation by colonial rulers
Japanese occupation of
Southeast Asia
Communism seen as a way to liberation
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Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Political
Consultation
Modes of Decolonisation in
Southeast Asia
Armed
Struggle
Sovereign
Support
Step 1 Before watching the documentary:

You are going to watch a documentary which describes the development of Indonesia before and after independence in the 20 th century.

Do you remember the three modes of decolonisation of Southeast Asia?
When watching the documentary, use Table 2 to jot simple notes on the mode of the Indonesian decolonisation.

How did Holland and Japan rule Indonesia before its independence?
Study Table 1 on
‘
Relevant descriptions in the documentary’, watch the documentary and then fill in the relevant description of the documentary.
Step 2 Watch the documentary (00:00 – 04:21)
Step 3 After watching the documentary:

What is the mode of Indonesian decolonisation?
(Armed struggle)

Exchange with your neighbour the notes you have just taken.
Step 4 Assuming you are an Indonesian of the time, tell your classmates your views of the mode of Dutch and Japanese administration. Use Table 2 to complete the task
Table 1
Relevant descriptions in the documentary
Holland

Interested in Indonesian spices, the
Dutch India Company set up a base for

Japan
Using the slogan of “Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity”, Japan occupied spice trade in Indonesia. [00:52-01:22] Indonesia in the excuse of liberating
4


The Dutch forced the Indonesians to grow agricultural products beneficial to
Dutch economy.

The Indonesians had to pay heavy taxes.

All forces resisting Dutch colonial rule were suppressed. [01:22-01:47]
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Southeast Asia. [01:47-03:17]

Japanese military government was harsher and more dictatorial than the
Dutch colonial government.
[01:47-03:17]
 Japanese soldiers looted the peasants’ food products and transported them to their barracks. [01:47-03:17]
Do you know? Initially the Japanese colonial government was quite friendly to the
Indonesians. But later on, it looted excessively.
Table 2
17 th Century - 1942 1942 - 1945
If I were an Indonesian, I would …
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Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Challenging question:
Compare the characteristics of Dutch and Japanese colonial rule.
What are the similarities and differences between the administration of Dutch colonial rule and that of Japanese occupation? Explain your answer with reference to the documentary, and using your own knowledge.
Features of Dutch Colonial
Rule
Features of Japanese Occupation
Administration
Similarity
Difference
According to the documentary:

Exploited Indonesia in pursuit of economic benefits, thus arousing resistance of the Indonesians.

After occupying the Indonesian territory, both the Dutch and the Japanese made their best efforts to capture the resources and cheap labour. [01:22-
02:53]
According to the documentary:
Dutch colonial rule focused on economic benefits.
[00:52-01:47]
My own knowledge:
In the excuse of liberating Asia, Japan replaced the White and occupied Indonesia, using the slogan of “Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity”.
According to the documentary:
Japan approved and supported Sukarno and
Mohammad Hatta to declare independence of Indonesia. [02:53-03:17]
Source A
In 2007, an Indonesian expressed on the Internet his views of Dutch and Japanese rule over
Indonesia. Below is an extract of his views.
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Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
...a renowned Indonesian author notes: “With the arrival of the Japanese ... everyone was full of hope, except for those who had worked in the service of the Dutch”.
...the Dutch stole millions of dollars of resources, including royal treasures and heritage from Indonesia... Over 80% of our cultural heritage was stolen by the Dutch.
...The Dutch excluded Javanese and other Indonesians in politics, administration, and the military... the Dutch caused the Java War (1825-30)... a bitter guerrilla conflict in which
200,000 Javanese died...
The Dutch enforced growing of export crops... They raised the land tax and created economic problems.
...We Indonesians will never forget the Dutch slavery and rape of our nation...
Source B
The extract below shows the view of Japanese occupation of another Internet user in the same year.
...the Japanese killed more Indonesians than the Dutch ever did. According to UN data, the figure is about 600,000. I heard that the number of Indonesians killed by the Japanese is about 75,000. The number of forced labor deaths is still unknown. The number of Indonesian forced laborers conscripted by the Japanese is unknown...
Question 1
How did the writer of Source A see the Dutch administration of Indonesia?
Why did he see it in such a way? Explain your answer by citing two evidences in the source. (2+4 marks )
Suggested answer

View:
The author of Source A holds a very negative view of Dutch rule. He holds that the Dutch imposed forced labour on the Indonesians and ravaged their country. (2 marks)

Causes and Evidences: (any two) (2+2 marks)
-
The author of Source A holds such a view because the Dutch took away millions of resources, wealth and cultural heritage during their colonial rule.
-
In addition, the Dutch prohibited the Javanese from participating in politics or joining the government and the army. Moreover, the Dutch killed, directly or indirectly, 200,000 Javanese in the Java War.
-
The Dutch also forced the Indonesian farmers to work, and increased taxes on them so as to exploit them.
Question 2
Following Question 1. With reference to Activity 2, identify two examples from the documentary to support the view of the author of Source A.
(2+2 marks)
Suggested

The Dutch forced the Indonesian people to grow agricultural products
7

answer
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference beneficial to the Dutch economy; the Indonesians had to pay heavy taxes.

Forces that opposed to Dutch colonial rule were all suppressed.
Question 3 To what extent are the views of the authors of Sources A and B similar with regard to Japanese and Dutch rule over Indonesia? Explain your answer with reference to the sources.
(8 marks)
Suggested answer
To a large extent, the views of the authors of Source A and Source B with regard to Japanese and Dutch rule are different.
Author of Source A Author of Source B
Similarities
Difference
Both authors of Sources A and B hold negative views towards
Dutch rule over Indonesia. They both hold that the Dutch killed the Indonesians.
The author of
Source A does not describe Japanese rule.
The author of Source B holds the view that the damage to Indonesia caused by the
Japanese was far greater than that caused by the Dutch. He also holds that the
Japanese killed a lot more Indonesians than the Dutch did, despite the lack of accurate figures. For example, the Japanese carried out a number of massacres, and it was estimated to have caused death to 75,000
Indonesians.
Differentiated instructions

There are two versions for this activity: “Creative Version” and
“Matching Version”. Teachers may choose either version to suit the students’ different modes of creative thinking.

Teacher may allow students to choose either version first, and then form groups with classmates with the same choice to prepare the answers.
Classroom Activity: Role Play (Creative Version)
Students are to form into groups of five, with each group playing the roles in each period, and design a dialogue of their views of colonial rule (maximum 80 words), and then do the role play.
Period Role Dialogue rule (maximum 80 words)
8

Dutch Colonial
Rule (17 th century to 1942)
Indonesians
Dutch
Japanese
Occupation (1942 to 1945)
Indonesians
Japanese
Dutch
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
(Answer Open-ended)
(Answer Open-ended)
(
Answer Open-ended
)
(
Answer Open-ended
)
(
Answer Open-ended
)
Classroom Activity: Role Play (Matching Version)
Students are to form groups of five, with each group playing the roles in each period, and match out a dialogue of their views of colonial rule, and then do the role play.
Period Role Designed Dialogue
Period of
Dutch
Colonial
Rule (17 th century to
1942)
Period of
Japanese
Occupation
(1942 to
1945)
(A)
Indonesians
(B) Dutch
(C)
Indonesians




1) Liars! The Japanese claimed that they come to liberate us.
In fact they are worse than the
Dutch!”

2)
“The Dutch colonists want us to help grow the spices, but they do not share with us the fruits of our labour. They should know that spices are special products of our country.”

3)
“They even said that they would have us White people driven out of Southeast Asia.
Now although we’ve been defeated, and are kept in concentration camps. But very soon we’ll control Indonesia once again. ”
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(D) Japanese 
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference

4) “Goodness! … This place is so rich in natural resources!
Let’s also convert those barbarians to our religion.”
(E) Dutch 
Classroom Activity: Role Play (Matching Version)
Answers
A2 B4 C1 D5 E3
Step 1 Draw two cartoons in the relevant spaces below: one is about ‘Dutch Colonial
Rule’, and the other ‘Rule During Japanese Occupation’. Add a caption to each cartoon to express the life of the Indonesians at the time.
Differentiated instructions
Teachers may choose to have individual or group activity according to their students’ learning needs and interests.
Source C
Below is the cartoon about Dutch Colonial Rule (17 th century to 1942).
Caption Cartoon
(Answer
Open-ended)
(Answer Open-ended)
10

5)
“We’ll liberate Southeast Asia by carrying through the idea of Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity. The Whites are nothing.”

Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Source D
Below is the cartoon about Japanese Occupation Period (1942 - 1945) you designed.
Caption of
Cartoon
Cartoon
(Answer
Open-ended)
(Answer Open-ended)
Step 2 Teacher may choose some of the work for presentation or discussion.
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Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Step 1 Try the game below. Start from the bottom-left square.
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Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Step 2
After playing the game, consider various factors that contributed to the independence of Indonesia with reference to the hints in the game and using your own knowledge (may refer to textbook), and then fill in the table below with various examples.
Internal Factors
Factor Exploitation by colonists
Impetus from the middle class
Example According to the documentary,
Dutch rule aroused resistance
[00:52-
02:19]

Hatta became
President of the
Indonesia
Union

Sukarno announced principles for setting up an
Indonesian republic
Advancement in communication gave impetus to nationalism
Improvement in communication enabled
Indonesia islands to stay in touch.
Impetus from thoughts and religion

Western education facilitated understandin g of the injustice of colonial rule.

Budi Utomo set up in
1908

Sarekat Islam set up in
1911
Disappointment with political policies
Parliamentary reform of the
Indonesians in
1920s failed
External Factors
Factor Nationalist movements in other countries
Example

Indonesians followed example of the
Egyptian
Reform
Movement.

Success of
1911
Revolution in China.
Rise of Japan

Japan replaced the Whites by controlling
Indonesia in
1941.

According to the documentary:
During WWII, the Japanese launched aggressive wars in the
Pacific Region in the excuse of
“Greater East
The two
World Wars favoured the growth of nationalism

US
President
Woodrow
Wilson advocated national self-determi nation at the
Paris Peace
Conference.

In WWII, the colonial powers were defeated by the
Japanese,
Communism as a path to liberation

The 1917
Russian
Revolution made
Indonesians believe that
Communism could bring
Indonesia independence.

Indonesian communists staged large-scale uprising in
1948 to
Japanese occupation of
Southeast Asia

According to the documentary:
Japan supported
Sukarno in setting up
Indonesian
Republic
[02:50- 03:10]

Japan exercised oppressive rule over
Indonesia
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Asia
Co-Prosperity
Sphere.
[01:40- 02:00]
Step 3
Answer the following question. thus destroying the myth of
White superiority.
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference overthrow
Dutch rule
Which factor do you think is the most important in contributing to the decolonisation movement of Indonesia? Support your answer with reference to the table above and using your own knowledge.
(Answer open-ended)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Extended Reading :
The Way of a Boy and Hua-Ren-Yi-Min-Shi (
華人移民史
)
Upon completing the learning activities above, students should have an idea of what Dutch
14

Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference and Japanese rules of Indonesia were. However, are they able to see historical incidents from different perspectives? Through activities above, students in general may understand how the Indonesians saw the Dutch and Japanese administration. However, how did the
Dutch see the Japanese occupation of Indonesia? How did the Chinese see Japan’s administration over Southeast Asia?
Students who want to know more about Dutch and Japanese administration of Indonesia may read the book named The Way of a Boy: A Memoir of Java. The author of the book is
Ernest Hillen, a tea-leaf planter who lived with his family in Java before the Second World
War. He describes the everyday life of his family in prison when the Japanese occupied
Java.
Ernest Hillen, The Way of a Boy: A Memoir of Java, New York: Penguin, 1995.
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外在因素
Indonesia: Deconolisation / Teachers’ Reference
Self-directed learning
Documentary recommended:
Hua-Ren-Yi-Min-Shi (
華人移民史
), produced by RTHK http://programme.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=overseaschinese&p=4681&m=archive&page=1&item=100
Hua-Ren-Yi-Min-Shi (
華人移民史
), Episode 4
Before the 20 th
century, most governments in Southeast Asia adopted the policy of “using the
Chinese to rule the Chinese”, mostly for the reason that the Chinese paid taxes on time and could maintain social order. However, sometimes the colonial rulers would feel uneasy with the large number of Chinese. For example, anti-Chinese activities occurred in Manila as early as in the Ming Dynasty. Nevertheless, most Chinese living in Southeast Asia would obey the colonial government of the place they lived in, and seldom got involved in politics. They believed that someday they would return to their hometown in China.
After the Second World War had ended, the Southeast Asian countries became independent one after another. The People’s Republic of China was also founded. Due to political reasons, the overseas Chinese could no longer travel between Southeast Asia and China freely like they used to. When they chose to reside in a foreign place for good, they began to face issues such as assimilation and identity. Chinese exclusion even occurred in some countries. http://programme.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/overseaschinese&d=2010-01-02&p=4681&e=101159&m=episode
End
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