Timor-Leste (East Timor)
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Located in the Indonesian archipelago is one of the newest countries in the world, Timor-Leste, or as it's sometimes known in English, East Timor. While geographically very close and pretty much surrounded by Indonesia, Timor-Leste has had a very different history from that of Indonesia. Their histories diverged when they became colonies by different countries, and this all came to a head in the 20th century.

Learn more about Timor-Leste and its long, painful path to independence on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Quince. I don't think most people would consider me the most stylish guy. I don't really see the point in spending a ton of money to try to be fashionable. But with Quince, I can get high-end, versatile pieces at prices that I can actually afford.

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I'm guessing that most of you are probably not familiar with the nation of Timor-Leste. If you've heard of it, you've probably just heard of it and don't know much about it. Timor-Leste isn't a very big country. It ranks 152nd in the world by population, with a bit under 1.4 million people, and 154th in the world by area at 14,874 square kilometers or 5,743 square miles.

Geographically, it's part of the Indonesian archipelago. It's mostly located on the east end of the island of Timor, which itself is on the eastern end of the chain of islands known as the Sunda Islands. There is also a small exclave of Timor-Leste called Oikusei, which is on the western side of the island. It's due north of the northernmost point of the state of Western Australia.

One of the most interesting facts about the country is that the name Timor comes from the Malayan Indonesian word Timur, which means east. The island was named this way because it's located on the eastern side of the Indonesian archipelago. Leste means east in Portuguese. So Timor-Leste literally means east-east. Ethnically, the people of Timor-Leste are the same as those who live in West Timor, Indonesia.

So if the people there are pretty much ethnically the same as the other people on the island, and if they're geographically on the same island, then why is Timor-Leste a separate country? That is the entire point of this episode. Archaeological evidence suggests that human habitation on Timor dates back at least 42,000 years, with early settlers likely arriving during periods of lower sea levels when land bridges connected parts of the island to Southeast Asia.

The earliest known archaeological site is Lenehara Cave in the eastern end of the island, containing rock art and artifacts dating to around 30,000 to 35,000 years ago. The indigenous population of Timor primarily belongs to Austronesian and Papuan ethnolinguistic groups. The Atoni people dominated the western portion of the island. The Tietam people established themselves in the central regions.

The Mambai, Kamek, Galoi, Baikino, and other groups occupied various territories across the island. Linguistic evidence suggests that there were at least two major migration waves. An earlier arrival of Papua-speaking people, possibly around 7,000 years ago, and later an Austronesian migration which took place approximately 4,000 to 3,000 years ago.

Pre-colonial Timor was organized into numerous small kingdoms and chiefdoms called Rhinos, a Portuguese term that was applied later to these entities. These political units were hierarchical societies led by the Luari, which were kings or chiefs which claimed divine ancestry, the Dato, who were nobles who served as regional administrators and advisors, and the Emarino, who were commoners who formed the bulk of the population.

Each Reno typically controlled a specific territory centered around a sacred house that served as both a political and spiritual center. Marriage alliances between royal houses created complex networks of allegiances and obligations. Before colonization, the island was never unified under a single ruler. Instead, fluid alliances and rivalries created a dynamic political landscape in which power frequently shifted between competing realms.

Before the Europeans arrived, Timor was part of an extensive regional trading network which had links as far as India and China, using Malay and Javanese traders who acted as middlemen. Timor was best known for its sandalwood, which was highly prized all throughout Asia. Sandalwood is a fragrant hardwood tree native to South and Southeast Asia, known for its aromatic oil and fine-grained timber.

It was highly prized in India, China, and the Middle East for use in incense, perfumes, traditional medicine, and religious rituals, making it a valuable commodity in regional trade networks. Everything changed on the island of Timor in the 16th century. Portuguese traders first arrived at Timor around 1515, drawn by the lucrative sandalwood trade. Over time, Portuguese influence expanded, though their control remained limited to coastal areas for centuries.

For almost two centuries, it was basically just a stop for traders and nothing more. There was no permanent presence on the island. In 1702, the Portuguese established a formal colony on Timor and set up their capital at Leifau in present-day Oikousse and then later moved to Dili, the current capital of Timor-Leste, in 1769. While the Portuguese were setting up a colony on the island of Timor, the Dutch were busy colonizing pretty much everything else in the region.

The rise of the Dutch East Indies began with the expansion of the Dutch East India Company in the early 17th century. The Netherlands, who at the time were a rising maritime power, sought to challenge the Portuguese and Spanish dominance in the lucrative spice trade of Southeast Asia. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was established as a state-backed trading company with the authority to wage war, negotiate treaties, and establish colonies.

The Dutch initially focused on the Malakas, aka the Spice Islands, but soon expanded to Java, Sumatra, and other parts of the archipelago. By the mid-1600s, the Dutch East India Company had defeated Portuguese and local resistance, establishing Batavia, modern-day Jakarta, in 1619 as their colonial capital. The Dutch used alliances, military force, and monopolies to dominate regional trade, particularly in nutmeg, cloves, and pepper.

The one thing they did not have a monopoly on was sandalwood. It should come as no surprise that the Portuguese and Dutch became rivals. The Dutch worked for years to undermine the Portuguese sandalwood trade, eventually setting up their own presence on the western side of Timor. Both Portugal and the Netherlands allied with different Timorese kingdoms to expand their influence on the island. The Portuguese relied on the powerful Wehali kingdom and the Catholic Church to maintain control.

the Dutch allied with the Kupang and other local rulers, offering protection and trade incentives. The division of the island led to several low-key skirmishes between the two sides for decades going into the 19th century. In an attempt to put an end to the disputes, Portugal and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Lisbon in 1859, which recognized West Timor as a Dutch colony and confirmed East Timor as a Portuguese territory.

Unfortunately, it left some areas under disputed control on the island, leading to continued tensions. The 1916 Treaty of the Hague further clarified the island's status by establishing a firm border agreement, clearly delineating Portuguese Timor in the east and Dutch Timor in the west. The division of the island wasn't just a political boundary. The two sides of the island followed very different cultural paths.

The Portuguese introduced Catholicism, which became deeply rooted in East Timorese society, and maintained a weak administrative presence, allowing local rulers to retain significant autonomy. In contrast, West Timor, which the Dutch controlled, became more integrated into the larger Dutch East Indies economy and administration. Over time, the result was a divergence in religion, politics, and, to an extent, language.

The next big event in the history of the island took place during the Second World War. The Japanese took over the island, and over 60,000 Timorese were killed during the conflict. When the Japanese left, it resulted in a power vacuum. The Dutch had been occupied by the Germans and were in no position to be defending or even administering their colonies. In 1945, Indonesia declared independence, and in 1949, they were recognized as an independent country by the Netherlands.

West Timor, which was controlled by the Dutch, became part of the new nation of Indonesia. East Timor, however, remained under Portuguese control. For the most part, the Portuguese kept their remaining colonies after the war. A fascist government came to power in Portugal in 1933, and unlike other countries, they did not actively decolonize. However, in April of 1974, the government fell in what was known as the Carnation Revolution.

one of the top priorities of the new government was to give up its colonies immediately. In 1975, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe all became independent. But in the case of East Timor, the Portuguese basically just abandoned it. In 1974 and 1975, political parties emerged in East Timor with different visions for the future. One wanted independence, one wanted continued relations with Portugal, and one wanted to join Indonesia.

After a brief civil war, the pro-independence faction gained control of most of the territory and unilaterally declared independence on November 28, 1975. The new independent Democratic Republic of East Timor lasted for nine days.

That was because on November 7, 1975, Indonesia launched a full-scale invasion with tacit approval from Western powers, particularly the United States and Australia, who were concerned about the left-leaning politics of the faction that won the civil war. Indonesia, for its part, believed that all former European possessions in the archipelago belonged to Indonesia.

The Indonesians had previously done this when they took over Dutch New Guinea in 1963 after the withdrawal of the Netherlands. Indonesia formally annexed East Timor as its 27th province in July of 1976, and the occupation was marked by extreme violence and human rights abuses. Approximately 1,000 to 200,000 East Timorese, out of a population of just 650,000 at the time, died due to fighting, famine, and disease.

Widespread use of torture, arbitrary detention, forced displacement, and sexual violence was used in East Timor. Perhaps the worst single incident was the Santa Cruz Massacre. On November 12, 1991, Indonesian forces killed 250 peaceful protesters at a cemetery in Dili. Indonesia implemented transmigration programs to settle Indonesians in East Timor, attempted to impose the Indonesian language and culture, and restricted traditional practices.

Despite these efforts, resistance continued throughout the occupation. For over 25 years, East Timorese fought against the Indonesian government. The struggle was both a military one and a diplomatic one. The key resistance leaders included Shenana Guzmao, Jose Ramos Horta, and Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenez Bello. The later two were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for their work towards a peaceful resolution.

With the end of the Cold War and the international recognition of the extreme human rights abuses happening there, international support for East Timorese independence grew. The fall of Indonesian President Suharto in 1998 created an opening for change. His successor unexpectedly offered East Timor a referendum on special autonomy with Indonesia and independence as the alternative.

On August 30, 1999, under UN supervision, 78.5% of East Timorese voted for independence.

Following the announcement of the results, pro-Indonesian militias, supported by elements of the Indonesian military, unleashed a campaign of violence that killed approximately 1,400 people, forced nearly 300,000 people into West Timor as refugees, and destroyed about 70% of East Timor's infrastructure by systematically raising towns and villages. International pressure finally led to the deployment of an Australia-led international force for East Timor in September of 1999.

The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor then governed the territory from October 1999 until independence. East Timor officially became an independent country on May 20, 2002, as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the first new sovereign state in the 21st century. After independence, problems didn't disappear immediately. In 2006, tensions within the military and police led to a security crisis requiring more international peacekeepers.

There were also attempted assassinations of President Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Guzmão on the same day in 2008. And I was in Dili on the day of the assassination attempts, and things were crazy on the ground that morning. It is something I will never forget. Timor-Leste has become more stable in the years after independence. They signed a development deal with Australia for the development of their oil fields off their coast, which has become a significant source of revenue.

Nonetheless, Timor-Leste remains one of the poorest countries in Asia. When I visited Dili in 2008, almost every building in the city had some signs of damage from the conflict, including bullet holes and missing roofs. It's been 17 years since I visited, and honestly, I would like to return to see the country in a better light. While Timor-Leste did achieve its goal of becoming independent, it did so by paying a terrible price.

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