THE GENERAL OVERVIEW ABOUT JAVA ISLAND OF INDONESIA
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Java island of Indonesia is one of the largest island and the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in Indonesia. It is located in a chain of volcanic mountains forms an east west spine along the island. With a population of 135 million (excluding the 3,6 million on the island of Madura which is administered as part of the East Java province), Java is also the world’s most populous island, and one of the most densely populated places on the globe. Java island is home from 60 percent of the Indonesian population. The capital city of Indonesia “Jakarta” also located on the western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Budhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesia struggle for independence during the 1930 – 1940s. Java was also occupied by the Imperial Japanese army from 1942 through the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1945, and this put a temporary end to all thoughts of independence. Java dominates the Indonesian social, political, and economic life.

It has three main languages, though Javanese is dominant, and it is the native language of about 60 million people in Indonesia, most of whom live on Java. Most of its residents are bilingual, with Indonesian as their first or second languages. While the majority of the people of Java are Moslem, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures. It is divided into four provinces, west java, central java, east java and banten plus two special region Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

Java lies between Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north and Christmas Island to the south. It is the world’s  13th largest island. Java surrounded by Java sea in the north, Sunda strait in the west, Indian Ocean in the south and Bali strait and Madura strait in the east. Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin, it contains thirty-eight mountains forming an east west spine which have at one time or another been active volcanoes. The highest volcano in Java is Mt. Semeru (3,676m). The most active volcano in Java and also in Indonesia is Mt. Merapi (2,968m).

More mountains and highlands help to split the interior into a series of relatively isolated regions suitable for wet-rice cultivation, the rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world. Java was the first place where Indonesian coffee was grown, starting in 1699. Today, coffea Arabica is grown on the Ijen Plateau by small holders and larger plantations. The area of Java is approx. 139.000km2. The island’s longest river is the 600km long Solo river. The river rises from its source in central Java at the Lawu volcano, then flows north and eastward to the its mouth in the Java sea near the city of Surabaya.

Temperaturs throughout the year average 22 to 29 degree C with humidity average up to 75%. The northern coastal plains are normally hotter averaging 34 degree C during the day in the dry season. The south cost is generally cooler than the north, and highland areas inland are cooler again. The wet season begins in October ending in April during which rain falls mostly in the afternoons and intermittently during other parts of the year. The wettest months are January and February. While West Java is wetter than east Java and mountainous regions receive much higher rainfall. The Parahyangan highlands of West Java receive over 4,000mm annually, while the north coast of East Java receives 900mm annually.

HISTORY

Fossilized remains of Homo erectus, popular known as the Java man dating back 1,7million years were found along the banks of the Bengawan Solo river. The island's exceptional fertility and rainfall allowed the development of wet-field rice cultivation, which required sophisticated levels of cooperation between villages. Out of these village alliances, small kingdoms developed. The chain of volcanic mountains and associated highlands running the length of Java kept its interior regions and peoples separate and relatively isolated. Before the advent of Islamic states and European colonialism, the rivers provided the main means of communication, although Java's many rivers are mostly short. Only the Brantasd and Sala rivers could provide long-distance communication, and thus their valleys supported the centres of major kingdoms. A system of roads, permanent bridges and toll gates is thought to have been established in Java by at least the mid-seventeenth century. Local powers could disrupt the routes as could the wet season and road use was highly dependent on constant maintenance. Subsequently, communication between Java's population was difficult.

HINDU - BUDHIST KINGDOM ERA

The Teruma and Sunda kingdoms of western Java appeared in the fourth and seventh centuries respectively. However, the first major principality was the Medang Kingdom which was founded in central Java at the beginning of the eight century. Medang's religion centred on the Hindu God Shiva, and the kingdom produced some of Java's earliest Hindu temples on the Dieng Plateau. Around 8th century the Sailendra dynasty rose in Kedu Plain and become the patron of Mahayana Buddhism. This ancient kingdom built monuments such as 9th century Borobudur and Prambanan in central Java.

Around 10th century the centre of power shifted from central to eastern Java. The eastern Javanese kingdoms of Kediri, Singhasari and Majapahit were mainly dependent on rice agriculture, yet also pursued trade within the Indonesian archipelago with China and India.

Majapahit was established by Wijaya and by the end of the reign of Hayam Wuruk (r. 1350-89) it claimed sovereignty over the entire Indonesian archipelago, although control was likely limited to Java, Bali and Madura. Hayam Wuruk's prime minister, Gajah Mada, led many of the kingdom's territorial conquests. Previous Javanese kingdoms had their power based in agriculture, however, Majapahit took control of ports and shipping lanes and became Java's first commercial empire. With the death of Hayam Wuruk and the coming of Islam to Indonesia, Majapahit went into decline.

SPREADY OF ISLAM AND RISE OF ISLAMIC SULTANATES

By the end of the 16th century, Islam, through conversion firstly amongst the island's elite, had surpassed Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion in Java. During this era, the Islamic kingdoms of Demak, Cirebon and Banten were ascendant. The Mataram Sultanate became the dominant power of central and eastern Java at the end of the 16th century. The principalities of Surabaya and Cirebon were eventually subjugated such that only Mataram and Banten were left to face the Dutch in the 17th century.

COLONIAL PERIODS
Java's contact with the European colonial powers began in 1522 with a treaty between the Sunda Kingdom and the Portugese in Malacca. After its failure the Portuguese presence was confined to Malacca, and to the eastern islands. In 1596, a four-ship expedition led by Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutch contact with Indonesia. By the end of the 18th century the Dutch had extended their influence over the sultanates of the interior. While the Javanese were great warriors, internal conflict prevented them forming effective alliances against the Dutch. Remnants of the Mataram survived as the Surakarta (Solo) and Yogyakarta principalities. Javanese kings claimed to rule with divine authority and the Dutch helped them to preserve remnants of a Javanese aristocracy by confirming them as regents or district officials within the colonial administration.
Java's major role during the early part of the colonial period was as a producer of rice. In spice producing islands like Banda, rice was regularly imported from Java, to supply the deficiency in means of subsistence. In 1811, Java was captured by the British, becoming a possession of the British Empire, and Sir Stamford Raffles was appointed as the island's Governor. In 1814, Java was returned to the Dutch under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.

In 1815, there may have been 5 million people in Java. In the second half of the eighteenth century, population spurts began in districts along the north-central coast of Java, and in the nineteenth century population grew rapidly across the island. Factors for the great population growth include the impact of Dutch colonial rule including the imposed end to civil war in Java, the increase in the area under rice cultivation, and the introduction of food plants such as cassava and maize which could sustain populations that could not afford rice. Others attribute the growth to the taxation burdens and increased expansion of employment under the cultivation system to which couples responded by having more children in the hope of increasing their families' ability to pay tax and buy goods. Cholera claimed 100,000 lives in Java in 1820.

The advent of trucks and railways where there had previously only been buffalo and carts, telegraph systems, and more coordinated distribution systems under the colonial government all contributed to famine elimination in Java, and in turn, population growth. There were no significant famines in Java from the 1840s through to the Japanese occupation in the 1940s. Ethnological factors are also thought to have contributed to the increase in population. In Java, there was no absolute preference for boy babies which was significant in Java where agriculture depends on the labour of both men and women. Furthermore, the age of first marriage dropped during the nineteenth century thus increasing a women's child bearing years.

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