Indonesia declared its independence on August 17, 1945, after more than three centuries of Dutch colonial rule. The event was marked by a proclamation made by Sukarno, the country’s first president, and Mohammad Hatta, its first vice president.
The seeds of Indonesian independence were planted in the early 19th century, when Indonesian nationalists began to resist Dutch colonial rule. In 1920, the nationalist movement was formalized with the establishment of the Indonesian National Party (PNI). In 1928, a group of …