Indonesia, which was settled mainly by people from Malaya and Oceania, became a mixture of various cultural backgrounds, due to the different influences brought into the country. From the third to the thirteenth century, Hinduism and Buddhism served as the major religions. They were brought to the country by certain Indian kingdoms that dominated the land. Soon after, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Arabic and other traders brought Islamic influences into existence. These new ideas and traditions replaced most of the Indian religions. From the years 1602-1798 the Dutch East India Company controlled most of Indonesia. The Dutch brought in new ideas for agriculture and cultural values. During the eighteenth century, they introduced coffee and other new crops, as well as established more of a monopoly control on trade. During World War II, Japan started getting involved with the islands and began encouraging many Indonesians to gain control of their independence.

    Sukarno, ruled from 1945 to 1965. The Asian Communist nations, as well as the military supported him. Under his ruling, the economy declined and Indonesia started loosing assistance from Western nations due to closer ties with the Communists. In August 1950, a unitary state of Indonesia replaced the RUSI, which stood for Republic of the United States of Indonesia. This new form of government wanted to change Indonesia into a viable state from the peoples and cultures. In September of 1965, Suharto led an anticommunist revolt, which resulted in 250,000 soldiers that died while fighting. The presidency was then given over to Suharto in March 1967.

    His goals were to stabilize the economy to promote foreign investments. He looked to the West for this economic support, as his country gradually pulled together. They rejoined the United Nations and became a founding member of ASEAN.

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