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What is Bali's history?
Home » Bali » Bali - History and Overview » What is Bali's history?It is believed that the history of the Balinese people began around 2500 BC when the first travelers to Bali settled there. Around 100 BC, Indian Hindus arrived in Bali and began officially recording the island’s history. The Hindu Majapahit Empire on the island of Java started a Balinese colony in 1343, and in 1500 when the empire fell, many of those people moved to Bali.
In 1597 Cornelis de Houtman, a Dutch explorer, fell upon Bali to the great approval of the Dutch who then established a trading post there. By the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company was also on its way to Bali. After the series of colonial wars from 1846 to 1849, the Dutch were firmly in control of Bali though they allowed the people extensive freedom to run their own local government and maintain their culture.
In World War II, Bali was conquered by Japan and soon became a piece of the Republic of East Indonesia; then in 1948, part of United States of Indonesia. Sadly, Bali has seen many years of war and widespread murders, such as in 1965 when members and friends of the Communist Party of Indonesia were hunted and slaughtered, and in 2002 when a 3-year series of bombings began, killing many tourists and locals.
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