Dutch East Indies

Netherlands East Indies
Nederlandsch-Indië Nederlands-Indië Hindia-Belanda
Dutch colony
1800–1949
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem "Wilhelmus" (Dutch) "'William"
Map of the Dutch East Indies showing its territorial expansion from 1800 to its fullest extent prior to Japanese occupation in 1942.
Capital		Batavia
Languages		Indonesian / Malay Dutch Indigenous languages Chinese Dutch-based creole languages
Religion		Islam Christianity Hinduism Buddhism
Government		Colonial administration
Head of state
•	Chairman of the Executive Authority of the Batavian Republic    1800-1800 (first)	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
•	Queen    1948-1949 (last)	Juliana
Governor-General
•	1800–1801 (first)	Pieter G. van Overstraten
•	1949 (last)	A. H. J. Lovinka
History
•	Dutch East India Company in Indonesia	1603–1800
•	VOC nationalised	1 January 1800
•	Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies	Feb 1942 – Aug 1945
•	Independence proclaimed	17 August 1945
•	Dutch recognition	27 December 1949
Population
•	1930 est.	60,727,233
Currency		Dutch East Indies gulden
Preceded by Succeeded by Dutch East India Company in Indonesia United States of Indonesia Netherlands New Guinea Republic of South Maluku
Today part of		Indonesia  Malaysia
a.	^ Occupied by Japanese forces between 1942 and 1945, followed by the Indonesian National Revolution until 1949. Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945. Netherlands New Guinea was transferred to Indonesia in 1963.

 Malaysia

The Dutch East Indies (or Netherlands East Indies; Dutch: Nederlands(ch)-Indië; Indonesian: Hindia Belanda) was a Dutch colony. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Dutch government in 1800.

During the 19th century, Dutch possessions and hegemony were expanded, reaching their greatest territorial extent in the early 20th century. This colony was one of the most valuable European colonies under the Dutch Empire's rule, and contributed to Dutch global prominence in spice and cash crop trade in the 19th to early 20th century. The colonial social order was based on rigid racial and social structures with a Dutch elite living separate from but linked to their native subjects. The term Indonesia came into use for the geographical location after 1880. In the early 20th century, local intellectuals began developing the concept of Indonesia as a nation state, and set the stage for an independence movement.

Japan's World War II occupation dismantled much of the Dutch colonial state and economy. Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared independence which they fought to secure during the subsequent Indonesian National Revolution. The Netherlands formally recognised Indonesian sovereignty at the 1949 Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference with the exception of the Netherlands New Guinea (Western New Guinea), which was ceded to Indonesia in 1963 under the provisions of the New York Agreement.