As distinct as Balinese life is, its people and culture originated elsewhere. Evidence of settlement goes back to the Neolithic period of around 3000 B.C., but the culture flourished under Chinese and Indian influences, including the introduction of Buddhism and Hinduism beginning in 800 B.C. Bali was ruled periodically by the Javanese. With the rise of Islam on the mainland, the last Javanese Majapahit king fled Jakarta for Bali in 1515, cementing the island's Javanese influence and affecting a renaissance in art and culture that would survive years of Muslim incursion.
The first real Western presence was established in 1601, when a Dutch contingent came to set up formal relations and establish trade. Attempts to expand relations were largely rebuffed -- even as the Dutch East India Company expanded throughout the area -- but Balinese slaves were shipped to Dutch and French merchants nonetheless. In the era of Napoleon, Holland's East Indian holdings passed first to the French and then to the British, who returned them to the Dutch in the peace agreement following Napoleon's Waterloo defeat in 1815. After protracted struggle, the Dutch fully secured control in 1909.
A steady stream of European settlers and visitors followed -- doctors and teachers at first, then the first tourists, artists, and cultural explorers. By the 1930s, Bali's reputation as a magical paradise was spreading rapidly, and such figures as anthropologist Margaret Mead and artist Walter Spies frequented the island.
World War II saw an exodus of foreigners with the arrival of Japanese troops. For Indonesians, it was a time of both strain, under the brief Japanese occupation, and revelation, in light of the withdrawal of Dutch control. Shortly after the end of the war in 1945, Nationalist Party founder Sukarno, a thorn in the side of the Dutch since the 1920s, announced a declaration of Indonesian independence and was named president. The Dutch withdrew under international pressure in 1949, allowing the creation of the Republic of Indonesia, a tentative federation.
Hindu Bali was suspect under the rule of Muslim Jakarta, and the island was hit very hard by economic collapse. In 1965, Suharto seized control in response to a staged communist coup, and bloody conflicts continued for several years. As many as 100,000 Balinese were killed as suspected communists or as ethnic Chinese.
Under Suharto, the military gained a far-reaching influence over national affairs. For the next 3 decades, until the major economic crisis of 1997, Indonesia enjoyed a period of prosperity in spite of Suharto's embezzling autocracy. During this time, and with government attention, Bali rose to prominence as a top tourist destination in the region.
In just the last half century, Bali has undergone remarkable change and weathered turmoil on the Indonesian mainland. The riots and protests that erupted in Indonesia in 1998 were the result of 3 decades of military rule and struggles to bring the world's fourth most populous country into the modern global economy. Chafing under the yoke of President Suharto, the Indonesians finally revolted, with demonstrations turned into riots that made headlines around the world. In June 1999, Indonesians witnessed their first free parliamentary election since 1955, ousting Suharto. But riots, bombings, and separatist protests continued to plague the country, specifically in Aceh and Irian Jaya. On May 20, 2002, East Timor was internationally recognized as an independent state after a protracted struggle. Indonesia achieved a tentative peace under a provisional government headed by President Megawati, the daughter of Sukarno (predecessor to Suharto). Megawati inherited political instability and an economic crisis, but addressed corruption and the military's human rights record.
The elections in July 2004 brought ascendancy to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and a certain peace prevails in the wake of a surge toward democracy. Despite the recent bombings in Jakarta and alleged terror cells throughout the archipelago, many countries have lifted travel restrictions as visitors rediscover Indonesia.
