Proclamation of Independence

So, ontologically, Indonesia is not a description of reality, but a prospect of will; not the point of arrival (achievement), but the point of departure (struggle).

To determine where we are going and which route we should take, we must remember where we came from and why we left.

With a little more analysis, we can clarify that Indonesia was never actually colonized. Those that were colonized were the kingdoms in the archipelago, which were gradually integrated with different intensities into the Dutch colonial government unit (private, then state)—with a brief break from colonization by other nations. The name Indonesia itself, as a political entity and a replacement for the Dutch East Indies, was only introduced at the beginning of the 20th century.