H.J. de Graaf (1899–1984)

Before he became famous as his generation’s foremost historian of Java, Dr. De Graaff had been a history teacher at various secondary schools in the Dutch East Indies. He had been an advocate of a benign kind of colonialism. You find this reflected in this History of Indonesia, published in 1949 when Indonesia became independent. Dr. De Graaff had intended to include more of the Indonesian side than in the books of his predecessors, who mostly relied on foreign (Western, Chinese, and Arab) sources. Given the limited native sources of information available, he integrated some of the legends from the babads: his experience as a history teacher clearly shines through. Given his opinion on colonialism, Dr. De Graaff is somewhat more positive (or should I say “tolerant”) about the more controversial figures of colonial rule than later generations.

Various newer histories have since replaced this 500-page book, however few in Western languages cover the prehistory of Indonesia and the various “outer islands” as extensively as this book. Funnily, he also included the Dutch colonies and trading posts administered from Batavia. The short chapters (of limited interest) on Taiwan, Ceylon, Nagasaki, and the Cape of Good Hope make Indonesia look like the centre of global empire.

Although I seemed to have encountered some errors in this first edition, I found the book still quite readable, although I skipped a few chapters where I had read newer books.… (meer)

The Islamisation of Indonesia is a process that has been on-going since the European Middle Ages. Particularly in Java (but not in neighbouring Bali), Islamic principalities started to replace Indianised Hindu and Buddhist states of sometimes high cultural standing.

It is an interesting question why this occurred, and why people found Islam more appealing than Hinduism or Buddhism (and why this did not apply to their brethren in Burma, Thailand and Cambodia). In India, the Moguls brought Islam from Central Asia, and managed to convert mainly lower cast Hindus. In Java that conversion was more, but certainly not fully, complete.

If you check sources like Wikipedia, it becomes clear rather quickly that the reasons for this conversion are still shrouded in mystery, due to limited reliable sources of information.

This book does not answer this question either. It deals with Java during the 15th and 16th century from the fall of the great Hindu kingdom of Majapahit until the rise of Mataram on the south of the island.

During this century the trading cities on Java's northern coast dominated. The population was of mixed ethnic descent, including quite a few Chinese Muslims and Chinese Muslim converts. These towns were predominantly Islamic. They got the upper hand, developed into states, and managed to conquer the old order.

The authors of this book painstakingly try to bring some order in vague and dispatched sources, but cannot really answer the question why. They do however mention some interesting aspects.

An important factor is the classless character of Islam, that must have been appealing to the traders in these northern towns on an otherwise stratified island, an element that is still important in Java today. Also, the new states brought labourers to their land in order to free up the elite for administration and war. The egalitarian character of Islam should have helped to override older local traditions and marital pacts.

As said, the book deals mainly with state formation and war. Because the authors do so with great care, the book is somewhat boring to read. In between you find some limited information on Javanese cities in the 15th and 16th centuries. E.g. I never realised that the kretek town of Kudus is actually named after al-Quds, Jerusalem.… (meer)