History of Bali

Little is known about Bali's history before the 8th century AD. There are plenty of tales and village stories, but no written records. Hinduism was brought to the island by Javanese priests; the first shrine is said to have been built on the site of today's mother temple of Besakih.

In earlier times the worship of nature gods was of great importance, and rice farming played a central role. The first rice terraces were laid out around 1000 AD – all dug by hand and threaded with a highly sophisticated irrigation system. Dewi Sri, the fertility goddess whose soul lives in the rice plant, is venerated to this day.

Princedoms and Javanese influence

The land was ruled by various small royal houses to whom the farmers owed tribute. At different times Bali came under the direct influence of its larger neighbour Java: Javanese kings conquered Bali, and marriages sealed the alliances.

As Islamic influence grew on Java, the Hindu Majapahit empire steadily lost importance. In 1478 the son of the last Indo-Javanese king fled to Bali; courtiers, priests and scholars followed him to Gelgel, near today's Klungkung in East Bali, where he was crowned Dewa Agung – great ruler.

Colonial era and the puputan

Bali, a small island in the Indonesian archipelago without riches of note for the spice trade, was of little interest to the Dutch colonial economy for a long time. Only when the Dutch sought to unite their East Indian colonies did they attempt to subjugate Bali. The proud inhabitants, above all in the south, steadfastly ignored these attempts.

In 1848 the north of Bali was conquered. When in 1906 the colonial power landed at Sanur with an overwhelming force and marched on the capital Badung, the raja of Badung (Denpasar) chose voluntary ritual death – the puputan – over colonial rule. Thousands of court members and residents died; Tabanan followed the example, and Klungkung in 1908. When the Dutch public heard of the terrible puputan, it reacted with horror: Bali was granted special status, and in 1918 a law protecting Bali from foreign exploitation even came into force.

Independence

During the Second World War the Japanese took control. On 17 August 1945 Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, proclaimed independence, which was internationally recognised in 1949. Bali became one of Indonesia's provinces, governed by a governor based in Denpasar.

Incidentally, Bali never had historiography in the chronological sense: history was – and still is – told in dance and shadow-play performances, a blend of historical tradition and current events, staged at religious ceremonies.