The first Hindus arrived on Bali as early as 100 BC, so it's easy to understand why the island has had some time to develop its own culture. Divided among a number of ruling rajas, occasionally batting off invaders from Java to the west and making forays to conquer Lombok to the east, the north island was finally captured by the Dutch in a series of brutal wars from 1846 to 1849. Southern Bali (Denpasar area) was not conquered until 1906 and eastern Bali (Klungkung) did not surrender until 1908. In both 1906 and 1908 many Balinese chose death over disgrace and fought en masse until the bitter end, often walking straight into Dutch cannons and gunfire. This "fight to the death" is known as puputan. Victory was bittersweet as the images of the puputan highly tarnished the Dutch in the international community. Perhaps to make up for this, the Dutch did not make the Balinese enter into a forced cultivation system as had in Java, and instead tried to promote Balinese culture through their policy of "Baliseering" or the "Balinization of Bali".
Bali joined the new republic of Indonesia in 1948. In 1965, after the failed 1965 coup d'etat, allegedly backed by the Communist Party (PKI), state-instigated, anti-communist violence spread across Indonesia. In Bali it has been said that the rivers ran red with the reprisal killings of suspected Communists — estimates of toll vary from 50,000 to 200,000. Most estimates say 80,000 - or 5-8% of the population at the time.
The current chapter in Bali's history began in the seventies when intrepid hippies and surfers discovered Bali's beaches and waves, and tourism soon became the biggest income earner. Despite the shocks of the terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005, the magical island continues to draw crowds and Bali's culture remains as spectacular as ever.
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History og Bali
