Image: Atlas van Stolk
One of the myths of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia is that the Dutch colonized Indonesia for 350 years. This assumption is certainly misleading because it assumes that the Dutch have colonized the archipelago since they first set foot here. Whereas Dutch colonialism faced strong resistance in various regions in the archipelago, even war broke out. That is, it is not correct to say that Indonesia was colonized for 350 years by the Dutch.
One of the regions that fought back was Bali. In the mid-19th century the Dutch wanted to conquer Bali, so 2,400 troops were sent to conquer Bali. The Dutch used the pretext of the 'right of shipwreck' to attack Bali. The right of captivity is the right of the Balinese king to take captive ships that sank in the waters of Bali and their belongings.
On May 7, 1848, ships carrying Dutch troops landed in Buleleng. The Balinese troops retreated to the Jagaraga area where a fierce battle took place there which killed 200 Dutch soldiers. As a result, the Dutch were forced to leave and only returned a year later.
The picture above is a painting depicting the Balinese war, from the moment the Dutch landed in Buleleng to the fierce battle in Jagaraga.
The Jagaraga War proved that it was not true that Indonesia was colonized for 350 years by the Dutch, even Aceh had only fallen in the 20th century, meaning that it had only been under Dutch control for a few decades.