East Timor essays

East Timor essays East Timor is located on the small island of Timor (slightly smaller than Maryland). This land is situated between Indonesia and Australia. The other half of the island is Indonesias province of West Timor. This small territory of East Timor is currently under a U.N. transitional government with total sovereignty scheduled for 2002-2003. The past of East Timor has been littered with Imperialism. Starting mid 1500s when Portugal colonized the territory through Japanese occupation during WWII, and again a return to Portuguese rule. Then in the wake of Portuguese de-colonization and civil war, a brutal military occupation by its new neighbor Indonesia. In 1509 the Portuguese arrived in the area of East Timor. They established their first settlements there in 1633. During the time before 1859 these two colonial powers signed a treaty establishing a boundary that divided Timor into the Dutch controlled west and the Portuguese controlled east. During Portuguese control many members of the native population where enslaved. In 1910 a rebellion of native peoples was suppressed after an n 18-month war for independence. During WWII The Empire of Japan occupied the Island of Timor. The Japanese also occupied all of the surrounding islands of Indonesia. During the occupation there was brutal fighting and nearly 40,000 East Timorese where killed in the struggle. After Japanese forces withdrew at the end of the war, rebellion broke out in Indonesia and in east Timor. Indonesias revolt against the Dutch was extremely successful ending in Indonesias independence. While in east Timor the rebellion was quickly and brutally put down by the Portuguese military. The Portuguese would remain in control until 1975 (despite U.N. calls for self-determination) when Portugals government was overthrown by its own military, which began a process of de-colonization. It is during this time that...