REMINISCING
THE PAST OF BALI
The finding of a few traces of Stone Age people
in Bali indicates that the island was inhibited very early in prehistoric
times. With the mediation of Java, Indian traders brought and influenced
Hinduism culture. Inscriptions on a stone pillar near Sanur from
the IX Century were the earliest written records. In the XI Century,
the influence of Hinduism from Java spread into Bali.
Bali was under Javanese Kingdom's control when Singasari Dynasty
conquered Bali in 1284. The autonomy was regained by Balinese Kingdom
when Pejeng Dynasty rose to power. Javanese Kingdom ruled back in
Bali after the great Majapahit Dynasty defeated Pejeng Kingdom in
1343. In the XV Century, after Islam played a major influence in
Java, The Majapahit Kingdom collapsed and many Hindu people from
Java moved to Bali Hotels in Bali
and enriched the cultural nuance.
Dutch
sailors were the first European came to Bali in 1597. In the 1600s,
After the Dutch established trade treaties with Javanese princes
and struggled in the spice trade with the Portuguese, the Dutch
became more interested in profit.
The
Dutch landed military forces in Northern Bali in 1846 and used Balinese
salvage claims over shipwrecks as an alleged reason. Conspiring
with the Sasaks of Lombok, the Dutch tried to defeat the King of
Bali. Finally, the Sasaks changed their point of view and slaughtered
the Dutch. The incident made Dutch invading Bali with a heavy military
force. After the attack, the northern part of Bali was under Dutch's
control and the ties with Lombok severed. The southern part of Bali
also lost its autonomy. In 1904, another salvage clash resulted
in Dutch warships appearing off Sanur.
After taking five days for Dutch troops to reach Denpasar, the Dutch
urged the Kingdom of Bali to surrender. Balinese monarchs and religious
leaders decided to take the moral path of a suicidal puputan - a
fight to the death - rather than surrender. First the palaces were
burnt, then - dresse |