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Natalie Francis Emerald 11/18/13 ~5 hours (including class time) Geography: • Comparative Area: slightly less than three times the area of Texas • Climate: tropical; hot; humid; more moderate in highlands • Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains • Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver • Natural hazards: occasional loods; severe droughts; tsunamis; earthquakes; volcanoes; forest ires • Indonesia has the most volcanoes in the world (some 76 are historically active) • Environment-Current Issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes; sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest ires • Description: Archipelago (17,508 islands, 6,000 are inhabited)
Figure 1: Indonesia Origin Jakarta originated as a port town known as Sunda Kalupa at the mouth of the Ciliwung River in Western Java of the Hindu Sunda Empire. Sunda Kalupa existed in a time of religious kingdoms, wet-rice cultivation and growing trans-regional interest in the island of Java. Sunda Kalupa served as the dominant port city for the Java-centric Empire of Sunda. Over the duration its four hundred years of existence, Sunda Kalupa exported items such as pepper, rice and gold to other islands within the archipelago and to outside countries. The reason for the creation of this port city lied in the Indonesian community’s discovery of pro itable trade connections with other Southeastern Countries, which lourished since the 5th Century. Spices: Indonesia has the most volcanoes within a single country: 76, making it one of the most fertile countries in the world. The nutrient-rich soil derived from the volcanoes allowed irst wet-rice cultivators, then spice farmers, to maintain sprawling plantations on the many islands. Many of Indonesia’s greatest natural resources derive from the plantations of various food products, particularly spices. In the 15th Century, the Portuguese sailed to the Indonesian archipelago, eager to ind Sunda Kalupa in order to establish spice plantations. The Asian spice trade had come into the eyes of trade-happy Europeans, and many different nations rushed at the opportunity to gain favor with the Indonesians in order to grow pro itable spices. These spices exported from Indonesia by irst the Portuguese and later the Dutch include: nutmeg, cloves, mace, ginger, cinnamon and pepper. (see Fig.2)
Figure 2.: The spices of Indonesia
Top row-From left to right: pepper, ginger and nutmeg Bottom row: cinnamon, cloves and mace Trade and Commerce: A brief history of Indonesian Politics, Trade and Commerce Today, Indonesia leads the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Nations) and maintains the status as the country with the 16th highest GDP within the G20. However, before Indonesia gained all these titles, the country went through centuries of political strife. Dutch traders arrived from Europe to the city of Jayakarta (Sunda Kalupa had fallen to the power of the Indonesian Demak Empire) in the 15th Century, eager to monopolize the lourishing Asian spice trade. Then, the Portuguese had two trading posts at Ambon and Tidore, but the newly established Dutch East India Trading Company (VOC) quickly drove out the Portuguese. The Dutch then set in motion a Dutch-dominated trade empire headquartered in Indonesia that lasted for over two centuries. At that time, the VOC became one of the world’s wealthiest transnational companies-at the price of the lives of all citizens of the Banda Islands and slave labor forced upon indigenous Indonesians. Then, the city of Batavia (renamed once again upon occupation by the Dutch) served as the dominant trading post for the VOC Empire. Around the turn of the 19th Century, the VOC fell due to inancial pressures, but the Netherlands swooped in and of icially colonized Indonesia as a “Dutch colony”. Colonized Indonesia continued to serve as a export machine for the Dutch, as the the Dutch Government encouraged the Javanese farmers to use their farming space to grow international commodities such as indigo, coffee and sugar. Yet, in this time of so-called prosperity, the Indonesian people suffered due to coffee-leaf diseases and sugar-caused illnesses shortages. Yet, the arrival of the 20th Century revolutionized the Indonesian peoples (literally) from the Dutch. In the 20th Century, growing international pressures against the Netherlands for its “outdated” practice of colonization, combined with the efforts of the PNI (the Partai National Indonesia) independence movement, led to a dramatic shift in power. Indonesia’s fate travelled from the longtime hands of the Dutch Government to the Japanese “liberators”, who retained the severity of the Dutch Government upon occupation of Indonesia in the 1940s. Fortunately for the Indonesian people, the PNI continued to ight for independence, and with the help of British powers at the end of WWII liberated Indonesia. The newly formed Republic chose its chief liberator, the head of the PNI Achmed Sakarno, as its president, leading to decades of radical political change. **********************
Today, Indonesia, and particularly Jakarta, calls itself the Komodo economy in spirit of the giant, scaly lizards that inhabitant some of its islands. The parallel between this reptile and the 16th greatest economy lies in the fact that both act resiliently and maintain a tough-skin. Jakarta serves as the trade hub for all of Indonesia, and the economy of Jakarta focuses on limiting foreign debts in order to maintain a strong iscal “armor” against global inancial crises such as the Asian crisis of 1997 and the euro crisis of 2008. Ironically, despite the hundreds of years of trade, today Indonesia relies on exports for only 26% of its GDP. However, Indonesia currently struggles with spending, in lation, the labor market and real estate. Indonesia accepts its reputation as a formidable place for foreign investors. The real estate market of Indonesia doesn’t allow any foreign companies to buy Indonesian property, but instead makes them use elementary “rights of land use” to ensure space in Jakarta. In addition, a recent controversy over the wages of local factory workers in Jakarta led to a full-out strike halting traf ic throughout the entire city, causing foreign investors much surprise. The Economist, in regard to a Taiwanese foreign investor on the topic of this strike, states “Wages should not outstrip in lation.” Indonesia also accepts (but reluctantly) its annual in lation, but in response to the wages vs. in lation question, The Economist argues that “to say that wage rises should not exceed in lation is to say that real wages should remain stagnant-in other words, that Indonesia should never develop.” Although extreme, it remains true that Indonesia jockeys for its place in the G20 while avoiding excessive foreign debt.
Infrastructure-Public Health Services: Since its birth as a small port on the Ciliwung River, Jakarta always sought to identify itself as a predominant commercial hub. Today, the economy of Jakarta relies on inancial service, trading and manufacturing. Unlike its G20 counterpart of India, Jakarta still continues to build more skyscrapers in hope of more foreign investment and inancial opportunities. Within the manufacturing sector of Jakarta exist “electronics; automotive, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences”, claims the Jakarta Expo for 2013. However, an Op Ed article from The Jakarta Post indicates that biomedical sciences are not pursued enough. According to Jakarta-born Jennie S., “Jakartans have grown accustomed to annual dengue fever epidemics. From January to mid-March this year, “only” 437 cases of dengue fever were reported, a decrease from 530 cases last year.” This dengue fever that Jennie S. refers to is a mosquito-borne disease biologically similar to the deadly West Nile Virus in the US. Jennie S. goes on to explain that while a single case of West Nile Virus moves an entire Health Department in the US to action, the Jakarta Health Services do nothing. Public Health service problems, along with traf ic congestion and expensive real estate, continue to plague Jakarta. If Jakarta wishes to solve the problem of Public Health, the Government should de initely consider actually giving money that they currently restrain to the Public Health services. Other health problems in Indonesia include the oppressive smog from traf ic, coronary diseases from lack of food regulations and exposure to noxious gases from open sewers. Strict Public Health policies combined with Governmental support should help with the sewer, disease and food problems. Unfortunately, if Jakarta wants to rid itself of smog, it will have to do something about the traf ic issues. Jakarta currently suffers from miserable traf ic in its central business sector, and the problem grew so great that the Government created a “3-1” car policy; which prohibits less than three people in a car during the rush hour. Yet, traf ic symbolizes economic prosperity, and for Jakarta, that certainly rings true. The New York Times estimates that 9 million people live in Jakarta while 2.5 million more commute from the surrounding suburbs for work. Jakarta of today came far from its meek origins as a ishing village, but as it struggles with nationwide issues of deforestation and other environmental pollution problems, Jakarta should reconsider its focus on the industrial in order to help save the rapidly diminishing geographical (namely environmental) traits that once de ined the archipelago as the treasured “Spice Islands” for foreign investors. Works Cited
Bradshur, Keith. "Real Estate Heating up in Indonesia." The New York Times [Jakarta, Indonesia] 15
Oct. 2013: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. 2013/10/16/business/international/real-estate-heating-up-in-indonesia.html? pagewanted=2&_r=0>. The CIA World Factbook. N.p.: n.p., n.d. The CIA World Factbook. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html>. "History of Jakarta." Berita Jakarta. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. english/AboutJakarta/HistoryofJakarta.asp>. "Indonesia: History." Global Edge. Michigan State University, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. globaledge.msu.edu/countries/indonesia/history>. "Jakarta Facts." 28th Trade Expo Indonesia 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. www.tradexpoindonesia.com/jakarta-facts>. "The Komodo Economy." The Economist 18 Feb. 2012: n. pag. The Economist. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227>. S., Jennie. "Jakarta's Public Health and Living Standards." The Jakarta Post. N.p., 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. health-and-living-standards.html>. "The Spice Trade and the Dutch Conquest of Indonesia." promotingbali.com. promotingbali.com, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.