Defining the highest and lowest classes is difficult in Indonesia because scholars believed that Indonesia could be separated into the ethinic, economic, religous, and political groups, while others disagreed. But the undeniable highest class under colonial rule were the colonists. After the colonists were the generals, who were usually Javanese, and the capitalists, who were usually Chinese capitalists. The middle class was defined by the people in Indonesia who were consumers. The consumers were defined by how they bought and used their goods. The middle class, unlike the lower class who shared all of their goods, kept their their goods to themselves. The lowest class in Indonesia is difficult to define after the removal of Indonesian Communist Party in 1965. The Muslim landowners were in the lower class due to their religon. But the indigenous people and the Chinese and Arab immigrants are the lowest overall class in Indonesia due to the amount of resources they lacked. (17)
Life under the colonists rule was not simple and luxurious. Under the Japanese colonization the Indonesians suffered from long periods of starvation and many poor people were left to die in the streets. The death rate was high while colonization occurred due to the lack of funding for medicine and proper medical tools. The Dutch shot down the Indonesian's attempts for a higher education but were able to bring about some reform in education. Many men were falsely accused and killed for crimes they didn't commit and many women were raped and abused. The Dutch used communist unrest to arrest many Indonesian leaders before slowly moving in to take over Indonesia. After independence, in the 1950s, as many as 300,000 Dutch people fled Indonesia to the Netherlands. (2,11)
Among all of the injustices placed upon the Indonesians, the colonists brought great expansion to Indonesian. The Dutch also created much economic growth for the nation with the expansion of trading. At this time Indonesia had sold coffee and other materials to the Dutch to gain money. Indonesia also brought in a lot of money from the Netherlands for selling crops such as pepper, tea, and petroleum. (11,32)
Life under the colonists rule was not simple and luxurious. Under the Japanese colonization the Indonesians suffered from long periods of starvation and many poor people were left to die in the streets. The death rate was high while colonization occurred due to the lack of funding for medicine and proper medical tools. The Dutch shot down the Indonesian's attempts for a higher education but were able to bring about some reform in education. Many men were falsely accused and killed for crimes they didn't commit and many women were raped and abused. The Dutch used communist unrest to arrest many Indonesian leaders before slowly moving in to take over Indonesia. After independence, in the 1950s, as many as 300,000 Dutch people fled Indonesia to the Netherlands. (2,11)
Among all of the injustices placed upon the Indonesians, the colonists brought great expansion to Indonesian. The Dutch also created much economic growth for the nation with the expansion of trading. At this time Indonesia had sold coffee and other materials to the Dutch to gain money. Indonesia also brought in a lot of money from the Netherlands for selling crops such as pepper, tea, and petroleum. (11,32)