Republic of South Maluku

Uncommon card · No. 194867

The Republic of South Maluku (Indonesian: Republik Maluku Selatan), also known as the Republic of the South Moluccas (Dutch: Republiek der Zuid-Molukken), was an unrecognised Indonesian secessionist movement that claimed the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram, which currently make up most of the province of Maluku. The Dutch conquest exerted colonial control across the archipelago in the 19th century, establishing a unitary administration. The borders of present-day Indonesia were formed through colonial expansion finalised in the 20th century. After the occupation by the Japanese Empire during World War II ended in 1945, nationalist leaders on Java unilaterally declared Indonesian independence. Early organised indigenous resistance came from the South Moluccas with support and aid from the Dutch government and military. The South Moluccan rebels initially clung on to an early post-colonial treaty prescribing a federal form of statehood. When that treaty, agreed between the Dutch government...

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