Page 30 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

the Christian Ambonese to use the Malay language then the Dutch government used them
in the government and—of course—the military.
In the meantime the historical dynamics kept going on. The 17th century to the end
of the 19th century was a critical era for the islands now called as Indonesia. It was at that
time when the power of the kingdom which had shown itself since the fall of Malaka and
Majapahit—Aceh-Darussalam, Banten, Goa-Tallo and even Ternate and Tidore—should
face the power of the West, which got more successful to be dominated by the Dutch. The
period of three centuries could also be said as a period full of agitation. So when the 19th
century had been entered then there were just some sultanates which were still strong to
face the Dutch that had made its existence official as a “colonial country”. It was in this era
also that the Dutch not only succeeded in establishing new cities in some regions which
had been ruled but also started to run government affairs. Even since the middle of the
19th century, the Dutch government established schools for the purpose of employee
candidates which might help in arranging the local people. This effort had been tried
by the Dutch since the end of its power. But it could be imagined that the regions with
most chances to the study—except in two-three cases—were also the regions with the
longest time of Dutch occupation. When the 20th century came, then all of the regions
of Nusantara world could be said under the power of the Dutch India. At that time there
were some regions where the local societies had begun to know the life of the city, with
heterogeneity and racism-discrimination in nature.
It can be imagined how unavoidable the colonial nature is but the life of the city can
also be more open for opportunities for various groups despite the differences in ethnic,
religion and even economic level to get to know even understand each other. In religious
education, which is always maintained, it has been accompanied by general education, it
can also be imagined that the barriers which distract the relationship among ethnic groups
get more open. If since the end of the 19th century some cities in Java Island and one-two
cities in Sumatra have known the newspaper, then since the beginning of 20th century
some other cities outside Java and Sumatra has also started to know the newspaper and
realized the meaning of news exchange in societal life. If the printing culture has started
to become part of society’s life then it will be not just what happens in other places can
possibly be known but also what is being thought of or considered about by the people
from other regions might have also been understood.
That is about life in the city, which is heterogeneous and discriminative, which can give
awareness of equality with some part of immigrants and the people who inhabit other

30 Introduction

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