An introduction to the history of Bali, Indonesia. Jintamani producing area.

Bali is the descendant of prehistoric humans who migrated from other Indonesian islands and still retains their own national personality and ethnic characteristics, as well as social values that are most suitable for their own survival and development.

Bali

Bali

According to the literature, the first people who came into contact with the outside world to change their lives were merchant ships and travelers from India. They brought Indian Buddhism and knowledge. Because of its influence, most Bali residents believe in Hinduism, which is the only place in Indonesia that believes in Hinduism. But Hinduism here is different from Hinduism in India. It is a combination of Hindu teachings and Balinese customs, called Balinese Hinduism. Buddhism in Bali continues to spread to the surrounding Java, while Islam in the kingdom of Madjapahit in Java is also affecting Bali residents. The two religious sects coexisted for a period of time, and then thousands of Indian priests, aristocrats, soldiers and artists and craftsmen came to Bali from the surrounding Java Islands to avoid Muslim victors. As a result, the Indian religious power in Bali continues to develop and grow and become the main religious sect on the island.

The island was later discovered by Westerners, and in 1585, a Portuguese ship ran aground off the coast of Bukit, drowning most of its crew and leaving only a few survivors. The survivors were well entertained. Then three more Dutch navigators landed in Bali to explore. When they went back, there was only one person, and the other two were attracted by the beautiful customs of the island and stayed. At this time, however, Bali is still a strange place for the western world. In the 19th century the Dutch decided to conquer Bali. Balinese Hindus are basically pacifists. After the failure of the struggle, they made a tragic choice: in 1906, the Balinese committed suicide in the face of gunfire in order to resist Dutch rule. In the nineteenth century, the Dutch gained control over the whole of Bali. But they keep the Balinese cultural identity unchanged.

Since then, France and Britain have also taken an interest in Bali, but they have not gained a foothold there as the Netherlands did. The civil war against the royal family since then was the most chaotic page in the history of Bali.

Indonesia became independent in 1949. After the Suharto regime was stabilized, Bali regained its vitality and became an important source of foreign exchange earnings for the Indonesian government. Nearly half of Indonesia's foreign exchange earnings from tourism come from Bali, which amounts to US $2 billion a year. Especially after the financial turmoil in Southeast Asia, foreign investment has basically stopped entering Indonesia, and the economic status of Bali is becoming more and more important. Although Bali is closely related to Java, most of the time, it develops independently in parallel with Java. Even in the Western colonial period, it basically maintained a relatively detached position.