Why did Britain give Indonesia back to the Netherlands? (Short Animated Documentary)

During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain seized the Dutch East Indies to prevent it from enriching France. After Napoleon was defeated, Britain chose to hand it back, so why? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.
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[@chrisr3788]

The answer to any question that starts with “Why did Britain…” is almost always “…To inconvenience France”

[@CharlieKellyEsq]

I don't know why... France just surrenders anyway. Have they ever won a prolonged war?

[@ShadyIndividual513]

@@CharlieKellyEsq "France just surrenders anyway. Have they ever won a prolonged war?" Napoleonic wars: Am I a joke to you? France in WW1: Am I a joke to you? btw, give a timeframe for 'prolonged', as without that timeframe you cant really pin what separates an 'average' war from a 'prolonged' war. edit: guy deleted his comment, idk why edit 2: omg i didnt think of the hundred years war, ty commenters for reminding me and forgive me. it was nearly 6am when i made that comment, i didnt wanna go too far into memory when i didnt have to.

[@nerfherder4284]

😂

[@SilverFang2789]

"Netherlands gets Indonesia back and that's the bottom line cause James Bissonnette said so."

[@nerfherder4284]

@ShadyIndividual513 sorry but any past victories are nullified by their pom pommed beret wearing naval collapse in WW2, let alone the fact that half the country was sort of part of the axis. Also WW1 was not a French victory w/o US involvement, stalemate at best.

[@TheTrex9000]

Letting the Dutch keep their empire so the UK wouldn't have to decolonize is the most British thing ever.

[@lawbringer9857]

@TheTrex9000 Typical Pro Gamer move by Britain. That's why we're the GOAT of empire 😎

[@LOLERXP]

@@lawbringer9857 You do realize it didn't work, right?

[@gwaptiva]

And then the USA made reconstruction aid to the Dutch subject to letting Indonesia go, so off she went

[@jakej2680]

​@@gwaptiva Yeah you don't hear too much about the US's role in decolonization following WW2. Granted the strategy changed after the cold war really got going, but still.

[@kameronjones7139]

​@@lawbringer9857 it didn't work

[@Tomtiedom12]

Good video. Note: Ceylon (nowadays Sri Lanka) was also part of the Dutch colonial empire and kept by the British after Napoleon's fall.

[@somersetfan1]

Would that be because of their Tea?

[@X_Numb]

@somersetfan1 Don't know the reason but probably due to the proximity to the East Indies? It's small and close enought to be easy to integrate it in the already existing colony.

[@EEEEEEEE]

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[@zombieslayer1468]

i was gonna comment this

[@viduralakmina1]

Its the same reason they wanted to keep the cape of Africa. British controled the Indian Ocean from naval bases located in Sri Lanka.

[@MrHasugur]

Having done my bachelor thesis about the Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, I just want to add/correct an interesting part to this. The Dutch republic (actually the Stadholder) and the British crown actually made a deal (the so called Kew Letters) to secure each others colonies when either of them would be invaded by France. As the French did invade the Dutch republic and installed their puppet regime in the Netherlands (Batavian republic), the British did invade Dutch Indonesia. However they felt the right to do so because of the Kew Letters.

[@maxdavis7722]

I’m sorry the Dutch planned to conquer the whole of the British empire with their navy and protect it from France if Britain fell?

[@arthurreede4478]

@@maxdavis7722 I mean they were better equiped than the French when it came to dominance over the sea

[@gankbank789]

@@maxdavis7722depends on the time period but i believe the dutch even had an arguably stronger navy than england/britain until the 1700s as well

[@5thMilitia]

​​​@@gankbank789 The French navy temporarily overtook the Dutch and English navies in strength in the late 17th century, but the combined Anglo-Dutch navies crushed the French one. From the late 1690s onwards Britain became the clear Maritime superpower with the Dutch following in second at a distance, until France and Spain overtook the Dutch Republic in the mid 18th century

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

@@5thMilitia Back in the 17th century, of course, England and Holland had been colonial rivals until the rise of Louis XIV and the Glorious Revolution (in which William of Orange became English King as well as Dutch Stadholder) made them allies against France

[@tailortelhais1744]

Few things have made me go "Huh, history sure is arbitrary, isn't it?" more than learning that Britain decided to keep half of Guyana because it was profitable and they wanted it for themselves while also sort of wanting the Netherlands to prosper.

[@amadeus1940]

realpolitik baby

[@snaporatz]

I wonder about what happened behind the scenes... Was the British government worried about needing to pay compensation to VOC shareholders and were pressured by rich and powerful Britons to not annex it?

[@willfakaroni5808]

@@snaporatzno

[@SiPakRubah]

The same thing happened when the British controlled Sri Lanka and South Africa back then

[@meganthropusmagericus1548]

​@@snaporatz VOC are already bankrupt at that time.

[@micahbush5397]

I'm starting to realize that a lot of British foreign policy over the past few centuries has basically been, "We don't want to have to get involved on the Continent. Better to have someone else who can do it for us."

[@5thMilitia]

The Dutch have nearly always been the crucial continental ally for the British. There are not other nations in the world who have fought so many wars and battles on the same side. No, not even Portugal and Britain

[@brad5426]

I mean yeah. No world empire nation can indiscriminatly steam roll every single land. Not even the Romans got as influential as Britain.

[@Dave_Sisson]

Well there were quite a few nasty Anglo - Dutch wars in the mid 1600s. But when the Dutch Statholder became King William III (aka Dutch Billy) after England's "Glorious Revolution" in 1688, most animosity ended and the two countries have been friends ever since.

[@5thMilitia]

@@Dave_Sisson you forgot the fourth Anglo-Dutch War and the days of the Batavian Republic

[@Dave_Sisson]

@@5thMilitia From memory, I think the 4th war finished 4 or 5 years before William became king? And as discussed in the video, the Batavian Republic was just a Napoleonic French puppet regime and neither the Dutch people nor the House or Orange had any control or influence over what it did.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I thought this was going to be about what happened after World War II, so I was slightly surprised when it was about the Napoleonic Wars instead. Fascinating as always!

[@jbradley8659]

Same

[@OnionIlan]

This actually did happen aswell during the end of WW2 but some islands were technically under Australian control for a while

[@EEEEEEEE]

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[@zombieslayer1468]

yes, he mentioned that in the video@@OnionIlan

[@accessthemainframe4475]

Netherlands was gifted Indonesia back twice and they still lost it. They're like the friend you know not to lend stuff anymore.

[@twinfeathers]

“We already have so much to manage, can’t be bothered right now.” -British Empire

[@royhe3154]

If I had a nickel for every time the British returned Indonesia to the Dutch, I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.

[@deadon4847]

If you had a nickel for every time someone posted a lame James Bissonette comment you'd be Bill Gates rich.

[@karellen4913]

There just so happens to be a lot of nickels in Indonesia. Is that somehow related lol.

[@JackRabbitSlim]

@@deadon4847 If you had a nickel for every time someone posted a lame James Bissonette comment you'd be James Bissonette rich.

[@PakBallandSami]

Note: One of the Dutch king Lodewijk Napoleon's generals, Herman Willem Daendels, was dispatched to serve as governor-general of the East Indies, headquartered in Java, in 1806. Daendels' mission was to fortify Javanese defenses against an imagined British invasion. On January 5, 1808, he arrived in Batavia (now Jakarta), where he succeeded the outgoing Governor General, Albertus Wiese. He increased the number of troops, constructed new roads throughout Java, and enhanced the island's internal governance.

[@sskuk1095]

And then?

[@PakBallandSami]

@@sskuk1095 As the colony got ready for the threat posed by the British, Daendels ruled with harshness and martial law. He constructed new military barracks and hospitals, as well as new arms factories in Semarang and Surabaya and a military college in Batavia. He constructed Fort Lodewijk in Surabaya and destroyed the Batavian Castle, erecting a new fort at Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara). His most well-known accomplishment, though, was building the Great Post Road.

[@lucinae8510]

One of the Dutch King? Lodewijk?

[@Hyde_Hill]

@@lucinae8510 Actually the first Dutch king. One of Napoleon's younger brothers installed by Napoleon. Also known as Louis Bonaparte.

[@lucinae8510]

@@Hyde_Hill That was my first guess at what Lodewijk meant, but ‘One’ and ‘Dutch’ don’t apply to him. He obviously wasn’t a native Dutch, and since he was a puppet ruler with no ties to the House of Orange Nassau, is often not listed or briefly talked about in the Dutch monarchy.

[@Ooilei]

One thing I've learned from all these history clips is the British government can be, or at least seems to be, extremely generous sometimes, like giving Indonesia to the Dutch, letting France be a victorious nation after WWII, etc., but it's all usually because they either don't have the man power to keep controlling something indefinitely or it costs too much money and they don't want to fork over the extra cash

[@UkSapyy]

Exactly! The British played the tune of diplomacy simply because it was overstretched or couldn't afford it. When it had the resources, it was disgustingly systematic in the name of gain and the nations it created learned from that. Horrifically calculated was the British Empire. I'm a Brit FYI.

[@DomWeasel]

Often enough it wasn't that it would cost too much in the long run (often enough future profits would more than compensate) but that it would cost too much in the now. British conservatives HATED parting with any amount of money and preferred to hoard their wealth. The Napoleonic Wars are a good example of this. Britain was the world's leading economy and supplying most of Europe with arms and money to the fight L'Empereur and yet Wellington was constantly struggling with a lack of funds for his own army. It's evident that he was forced to effectively embezzle his own government to stretch what money they grudgingly parted with; claiming expenses that didn't exist so he could spend the money elsewhere. Like the construction of the Lines of Torres Vedras. He knew that British government would never consent to the cost of building them, so he concealed their existence from them.

[@Redphosphorus7773]

What about the abolishment of slavery? I don't think that it benefited the British government in any way, they've spent massive amounts of manpower and money on crushing the international slave trade. That's pretty benevolent.

[@1toncheese]

@@Redphosphorus7773 We used it as an excuse to beat up our competition, the laymans motive was pure but the politicians were doing it for power and appearances

[@A_Person7307]

​@Redphosphorus7773, it did have a benefit actually. By abolishing the slave trade Britain appealed to its own population, while using the fact that other nations didn't abolish the slave trade as a cudgel in foreign affairs (like when it threatened Brazil to end slavery).

[@TheOGDisco]

Something, something James Bisounette joke. Obviously.

[@AGamerthatregretsalot]

Fr

[@scientificnameofpigs]

Because James Bisounette threatened the British into doing that

[@TheOGDisco]

@@scientificnameofpigs that works

[@beans00001]

We should talk about the McWhopper more

[@MCsCreations]

He's always guilty of something.

[@TheBrowncoat2112]

“Because making money was popular” has to be the most understated thing I’ve ever heard on this channel.

[@ElladanKenet]

Giving Indonesia back is also a big feather in the diplomacy cap for Britain. It shows they can be reasonable and trusting (regardless of how much of either they actually are). It at least gives the appearance.

[@kingofcards9516]

Yeah, the Brits will focus on appearing good rather than being actual decent people.

[@PresindentofPain]

Buying goodwill and then proceeding to commit innumerable crimes against the Boers in South Africa.

[@ElladanKenet]

@@kingofcards9516 Yeah, it's morally shady, but it DOES yield results.

[@EEEEEEEE]

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[@andrefasching1332]

They at least carry the burden or responsoblity instead of doing anything and then blaming it on the USA when it goes wrong.

[@umang3227]

The east india company already had Straits Settlements in that region. They were already over extended and would also acquire Singapore in 1824

[@Castrate-]

It was 1819 that raffles founded modern singapore. The dutch simply removed their opposition to Singapore control in the second Anglo Dutch treaty of 1824.

[@jannegrey593]

You always manage to find such interesting topics that are packaged as bunched of trivia. Very useful as well. Both trivia and now people know what to look for, if they want to research it more. Even if they didn't know about this 5 minutes earlier.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

The tiny bits plus trivia keeps me dancing across fields of flowers!

[@jannegrey593]

@@Chris-ut6eq Yup

[@EEEEEEEE]

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[@XXXTENTAClON227]

I like to think he just regularly studies history until he finds something that makes him think “why on earth would they do that?”

[@jannegrey593]

@@XXXTENTAClON227 To be fair, there are so many moments in history when you can ask this question that he has enough material to still be releasing videos in 41st Century ;)

[@itwaswalpole]

In fact there was an even earlier time when the Anglos controlled parts on Indonesia. In the mid 17th century England controlled a small Indonesian island called Pulau Run and the Dutch really wanted it. After a few years of fighting and most of the Royal Navy being destroyed in Chatham England sued for peace. In exchange for this island and a few other colonies England was given New Amsterdam, later renamed as New York.

[@5thMilitia]

The Dutch actually already controlled the Island. According to the treaty that ended the first Anglo-Dutch War they had to cede it back, but they never did that. Once the Dutch destroyed the English at Chatham, the English realised that they were fine with that

[@solsunman383]

Britain also used to have forts and factories in Sumatra, and the Dutch territory in Malaya, making the region a patchwork of British and Dutch holdings. The two then exchanged possessions to consolidate and reduce their rivalry, leaving the British in control of the mainland, and the Dutch the Islands

[@drpepper3838]

Thats propaganda. We took surinam by force. They kept new new amsterdam because it was worth less

[@solsunman383]

@@drpepper3838 Yeah, there's no two ways around it. The wars that the Stuart Kings fought with the Dutch were an abysmal failure for the English, culminating in the Stadtholder of the Netherlands usurping control of the English and Scottish thrones.

[@masterspark9880]

@@drpepper3838 and now it’s the economic capital of the world

[@ArthurCSchaper]

Please do a video on the following topics: 1. Why did the revolution of 1848 fail in Spain and the German states? 2. Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different countries?

[@herrzimm]

MOST of the reasons why people drive on different sides is due to being connected to one "empire" or another. Such as being part of the British empire or not. While for America the reason is actually SIMPLE to explain.... it was the "shotgun rider" (armed co-driver to fight off bandits). Since most weapons at that time required a "right hand reload", you wanted to keep your "right side" free to reload. So, the drive sits on the left (allowing the "shotgun rider" to be free to fight and reload without interference of bumping into the driver himself. This would ALSO apply to the driver with a pistol, seeing how the majority are "right handed", you would want to keep your right side "free to draw and reload". If you drove on the "right", and a bandit appeared to stop you, he would be on your "right hand side", meaning that any attempt to reach for your weapon would have been seen and the robber would take action to STOP you from reaching it. But if it is off to the left side, where the bandit would be to stop the driver, he would be able to reach for his weapon easier (not faster, just easier). And this resulted in motorized vehicles being designed the same way due to "traditional seating".

[@theorixlux2605]

Ooooh someone has a french revolution test coming up soon!

[@SamAronow]

@@herrzimmthe shotgun thing is a myth. The US actually formally switched driving sides not long after independence due to the ubiquity of the Conestoga wagon and its imitators, which placed the driver on the left side of the carriage.

[@Trivelius97]

@@herrzimm The UK and most likely originally the entire world would drive on the left because most people are right handed and if a bandit came at on the road you could pull your sword and fight them if on the left hand side of the road. A lot more simple explanation than your american one lmao.

[@pauldzim]

2. Why wouldn’t they?

[@wildanfatihg]

Minor mistake on the map: Aceh (the northern tip of Sumatra) wasn't yet part of the Dutch East Indies by then. The Dutch conquered Aceh in the late 19th (some even say 20th) century.

[@samarkand1585]

Britain, at the time, was already too busy empiring what it could empire to empire even more

[@davidhouseman4328]

Yes, specially India.

[@fullmetaltheorist]

They eventually empired so hard that their colonies also had colonies.

[@samarkand1585]

@@fullmetaltheorist Philippines? Hawaii? Puerto Rico? Or you meaning something else?

[@fullmetaltheorist]

@@samarkand1585 I mean, like Australia taking Papua New Guinea, America and its wild adventures of taking other people's stuff, South Africa running Namibia.

[@samarkand1585]

@@fullmetaltheorist "ciiivilising mission", my dude

[@Nikkidafox]

Indonesians: You've freed us! Britain: I wouldn't say "freed". More like "Under New Management" The Netherlands like 5 minutes later: hey im back lol

[@bazo8478]

Then the same scenario happened once again with Britain replaced by Japan 😂

[@untendohd1377]

Can you please make a video about one of these questions: 1)How did the world react to the year without summer (1816)? 2)Why do Afghanistan and China have a border? 3)Why did Vietnam invade Cambodia in 1979?

[@zombieslayer1468]

afghanistan and china have a border so that britian and russia wouldnt

[@piotrzbies8683]

3) Khmer Rouge thought that genocide inside the Cambodia wasn't enough for them and started massacring Vietnamese civilians. Over 3000 of them were killed in Ba Chuc massacre. Pol Pot even claimed after that (and before the invasion) that Khmer Rouge would commit the genocide in whole Vietnam.

[@itookallthenames]

1) a bloke wrote a poem about it

[@unironicallyDKV]

as an art guy I'd also add 1) another bloke from norway painted the famous "the scream" painting inspired by it

[@napoleonfeanor]

2. Why not? 3. Insane Khmer Rouge hated and massacred Vietnamese people and even crossed the border and was so delusional they thought they could get away with it. Khmer Rouge were allied to China, Vietnam to USSR. Vietnam retaliated and overran thr country easily and kept it as occupied puppet. China and recently China friendly America supported the rest of the Khmer Rouge in their guerilla war in the jungle near the Thai border. Pol Pot was never punished. China reacted by trying to invade Vietnam half-heartedly and pretty much lost.

[@eldrago19]

"The UK has had essentially the same foreign policy for the last 1,000 years - a divided Europe." - Sir Humphrey, Yes Minister

[@jamesbrice3267]

The three times it was mostly united were pretty dicey for us.

[@alansmithee8831]

Just after WW2, my Royal Navy father sailed into Singapore and missed his brother shipping out to the East Indies by one day. My uncle was a muleteer and cook during the Burma campaign. He had shire horses in UK and it was said he could knock them out if they were panicked in a crowded area. My dad boxed in the navy, but was the equivalent of a medic, so could treat injuries after the fight. He was sent out to inoculate locals with a barefoot Sikh driver and also went on a hospital ship to rescue French Indochinese at this time. He then rejoined an aircraft carrier to Australia through this region. That ship was later Dutch too, before eventually being the Argentinian carrier during the Falklands conflict. On hearing this tale, a work colleague asked "If your uncle's mule got stubborn, he chinned it?"

[@AndrewPartakesInActivities]

Why did Britain give Indonesia back to the Netherlands? Because James Bissonnette asked nicely.

[@HoennMaster]

At no point in my history studies have I ever thought about what happened to colonies during the Napoleonic Wars….great job once again History Matters for presenting information I didn’t know I needed to know.

[@nguyenkhoi3010]

I really enjoyed the much higher quality animations in the latest videos. This one was outstanding: the high-definition borders, the attention to details with the clothing and hairstyle of the characters, the country silhouettes on walls and army regalia,… Thank you!

[@ThatCanadianGuy]

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how long James Bisonette and Kelly Money Maker have been patreon supporters of this channel

[@redbasher636]

Glad you uploaded. Needed something to listen to and add to the playlist!

[@Geetfried]

Really amazing video as always. Just a small note that Ceylon / Sri Lanka was also one of these Dutch colonies kept by the British following the Napoleonic wars as well

[@rimilien]

Thank you for the content my friend

[@michaelmisiewicz7882]

I am so glad that you start all of your videos with "which raises the question..." instead of abusing the expression "begs the question"... which so many people mis-use

[@bnw5435]

James Bisonette is the true mvp in these outros 🔥

[@zibbitybibbitybop]

Britain after WWII: "Hey Netherlands, here's your colony back, now maybe we'll get to also keep ours" USA: "...What part of 'no more colonial empires' did you not understand?"

[@jamesbrice3267]

Says the nation with the most military colonies in the world.

[@joseluiscalixto5651]

Being a somewhat short video, you learn a lot of interesting information and facts. A strong greeting 👋

[@maartentoors]

2:08 "Nutmeg" the only reason for me making this comment. The "Netherlands" and by extension my existance is due to this nutty pepper-like delicacy. My granddad (he had access to 'nutmeg-oils'as a laborant for "RedBand") traded this for food during the hunger winter in 1945. Nutmeg was a bigger player in world trade/politics than most will ever understand.

[@tmorganriley]

"The spice must flow."

[@pridelander06]

"And because making money was popular..." I will never get tired of this kind of humor😂

[@adamkaufman724]

Love your work!

[@BS-vx8dg]

Superb video. I usually know about 70% to 90% of the content in these videos, but watch them for the amusing writing and visuals. But this time I think I knew only about 20%, so I learned a lot.

[@prazcuray1388]

Nice 😊 good explanation and concise.

[@bigblue6917]

So Britain gave the Netherlands some parts of its lands back but kept some parts for themselves. Is that what they mean by going Dutch.

[@danielstruwig3078]

They did give the Cape back then took it again. Thats why in Afrikaans we have an expression meaning all is good again. "Die Kaap is weer Holland" - the Cape is Dutch again.

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

Now this is interesting another amazing video

[@danever159]

I'm surprised he hasn't done a video on the alaskan border during the cold War.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

Did something happen there?

[@idaho_girl]

Great summary that also explains modern geopolitics.

[@slyasleep]

The elephant in the room with any video about Indonesia is….the elephant in the corner of the frame. Which is to say that God for a laugh decided to make an island the shape of a dancing elephant, placed it among Indonesia‘s other 100000 islands and hoped no-one would notice. The locals did notice eventually though and called it Sulawesi.

[@IndoG117]

It looks like a giant K.

[@MonkeyDTori]

Love ur vid simple but full life and animation is good

[@iistatepolice_law2697]

nice new character design😊

[@Magyarosivatuvaluk]

Next questions: 1) Why isn't Brazil 🇧🇷 now a superpower like the USA 2) Why is Lebanon a thing?

[@justamoravian1042]

the first question is easy ; a hundred years under a corrupt republic

[@MatheusLB2009]

1) For the same reasons Argentina declined

[@lukesalazar9283]

​@@MatheusLB2009because socialism

[@NamePending9]

@@MatheusLB2009 So military dictatorship?

[@gustavomartins364]

​@@lukesalazar9283 because 15 of november.

[@juandiegoprado]

Very small detail I'd like to point out: at 1:20 you show the Dutch Antilles (and more specifically the ABC Islands) to include the Paraguana Peninsula as a Dutch colonial possession, but as far as I can tell that region has never been under the control of the Netherlands. But who knows I may be wrong about this.

[@Hyde_Hill]

Good catch they replaced Aruba with Paraguana.

[@YoussefDaanBenAmor]

Absolutely true, the Netherlands never controlled any area of what is today Venezuela.

[@mr.2083]

It indeed never was a part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. On the picture it's missing Aruba (of the ABC islands) instead. Saba and Sint Eustatius seem to be missing as well.

[@MCsCreations]

Fascinating!

[@nik65stgt60]

Great content!

[@birdie3189]

indonesian here, this is also the reason why Indonesia is "alienated" and hard at integrating with allied states which are fuelled with absurd anxiety and hate, for 400 years nobody has discriminated against and understood us scientifically just constant fear of the global north about Islam, India, Asia, and the global south in general, which is technically what racism is. Jakarta is a state, a kingdom (the oldest one in the Austronesian world that was recognized by an allied state before Malaysia even allied with Denmark back then they helped us with the siege of Jakarta, refusing the proposal of a settlement state, because Australia and NZ already a dutch settlement) Bali is a state, a kingdom that is known by the royal family of the Netherlands for its pepper trade before VOC which helped them during the winter. both are unique and different they are not that ugly or evil despite one of them are Muslim state, proposing an alliance with the reformed Christians(Netherlands) but is rejected because they want the settlement for their private economy and Japan, the Bali king is killed, Jakarta king is killed, including other isolationist states and kings in Sumatra, Java become illiterate and isolationist which made us extremely religious, all their effort subjugating us, just for the settlement to be fucked by their ally, wasted, then the whole world thinks it's our fault for some reason, cruel, we do have time to recover but the world sees us with high expectation, we are so backward and clueless about international about everything, imagine how easy for japan to brainwashed us by showing us plane, cars and every weird thing we never see or knows to hate white ppl or to make us feel "hated" by them, and this is studied by the communist, corrupt elites and anti-west later to weaponized indonesian.

[@leonardowynnwidodo9704]

Alternate universe: If the UK kept Indonesia as its colony, it could have become one country with Malaysia into for argument’s sake, East Indies; there would be two official languages: English and Malay; and the country would have a strong geopolitical force as they operate the Strait of Malacca.

[@bonnieculla6210]

lol not really

[@doujinflip]

Indonesia being so diverse it would have diluted the racialized appeal of Malay Malaysia, and subsequently kept Singapore probably with appreciable benefits to the rest of the country from its global trade hub position and competent governance.

[@Castrate-]

​@@doujinflipindonesians and malays would have kicked out the chinese majority and the PAP party or worse,and relegated singapore to an irrelevant outcropping so no.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Solid fun content

[@williamangga6164]

Fun fact: After the British took the East Indies. They appointed Sir Stamford Raffles as Governor, and made name of the largest flower in the world after his name: Rafflesia arnoldii.

[@cooper7240]

Yk it’s a good day if History Matters uploads

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

The man, the puzzle wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue and express mailed to Mystery, Alaska, Spinning Three Plates...

[@dastardlyruby74737]

I swear this channel is perfect when your playing games bc you don’t have to constantly look at the screen to know what’s happening you can just look and the game and listen to the video

[@mrmr446]

The last time the Indian Army followed British orders was while taking an Indonesian city following WW2, after which they insisted on going home.

[@M0R3gOfF]

Explain baarle-hertog and baarle-naasau next! Or the weird borders of Belgium!

[@belbrighton6479]

He has done one! Or a bit of the Belgium story at least!

[@joolya871]

Really interesting 😊

[@ivanpetkov6908]

This is posted on my birthday 🎂 :D

[@James-qb4dz]

I am a Brit who was just in Indonesia and was literally wondering this!

[@KingKong-dq6kj]

When Oversimplified's away,we have this guy to keep us entertained 🤩🤩 Keep up the good work 😎!

[@Random-wo2sw]

Nice to see ya again

[@GabrielMartinez-ch1ru]

Hy, your maps have great animation. I love it. How do you animate them? Your channel is great.

[@sashafarber617]

You should do a follow-up video as to why Britain annexed South Africa!

[@Richard_the_lionheart75]

Because it could

[@danielstruwig3078]

@@Richard_the_lionheart75 no, because gold and diamonds

[@GwainSagaFanChannel]

​@@danielstruwig3078 that was later on that those minerals were discovered at first it was because of cape good hope and this was before the suez canal was a thing

[@danielstruwig3078]

@@GwainSagaFanChannel ja but thats the Cape and not South Africa. If you say South Africa then gold and diamonds. If the Cape then trade route

[@Luke_Sandy_High_Ground]

and because it could @@danielstruwig3078

[@Longshanks1690]

“We cba dealing with it so here you go. Now don’t lose it again!”

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

Great! Thanks. 👍

[@sskuk1095]

Please do an episode on what happened to Circassia.

[@joenamath5480]

A question I never would have asked (I forgot that they had even took control of Indonesia), but would love to know the answer to!

[@noblenaveragemanointernet2582]

As an Indonesian, this comment hurts me, since much of the VOC exorbitant wealth came from the exploitation of my ancestors.

[@golden_smaug]

Thank you for saying 'which raises the question, why'

[@bloxtronic4785]

This channel is basically the oversimplified version of oversimplified which is why i love this channel

[@adamlakeman7240]

You don't keep *everything* you conquer. You give some of it back so you can conquer it next time. Basic stuff.

[@scientificnameofpigs]

When I first realised this my mind was blown 🤯

[@def3ndr887]

In hoi4 they immediately ally with a great power and pull you into a bigger war

[@seneca983]

Interesting. I thought this was going to be about Britain handing Indonesia to the Netherlands after WWII. I didn't know about this earlier time until now.

[@urielpolak9949]

Nice one

[@michaelowino228]

Good video.

[@QUACKQUACK200]

Always a good day when History matters uploads

[@maasro]

You forgot Ceylon (which britain also kept)

[@TorreFLoeckx]

Interessant

[@xbane5109]

Why was this Not in my sub-Box ? Bell is on all Videos I Love your Videos greetings from Germany

[@PaulMcElligott]

Someday, History Matters videos will again be 10 minutes long, but 7 of those minutes will Patreon supporters.

[@MakriaMicronation]

They gave it back to the Netherlands because James Bissonette threatened to invade if they didn't.

[@nathanngumi8467]

Very interesting!

[@pthea-trick2924]

On today's episode of: Questions I never knew I needed answers to!

[@lolz1044]

the king has returned after 2 weeks

[@abi_abdurrahman]

Not to mention there are a lot of volcanoes in Indonesia. Raffles doesn't like colonies with volcanoes and earthquakes. Why? Because the same as building forts and bases to prevent rebellion, maintenance is very costly. Therefore, Britain consider Indonesia a cursed colony. So when the opportunity comes for Britain to relinquish their Indonesian territory back to The Netherlands, it's a no brainer for them.

[@Akanyezdesu]

I like the new hair style (and other things too) XD

[@user-vn9ub8jq9f]

I would love to see a video about south america´s wars of independence, you could do it in two videos, one about Bolivar and one about san Martin

[@snaporatz]

So the VOC was a publicly traded company at the time right? Could there have been pressure by rich powerful Britons or international bankers to not tank the stock price of the VOC cause they owned VOC stock?

[@krasnamerah1926]

VOC has already bankrupted in 1799 and its assets taken over by the Dutch government.

[@nikel-]

iirc by the time Napoleonic War reached Netherland, Indonesia had already been in the government's direct control and not VOC's

[@snaporatz]

@@nikel- interesting thanks

[@poopman025]

@1:20 Why do people always get the dutch caribbean islands wrong! They are the six islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius & Saba. Furthermore, the Paraguaná Peninsula (as shown at the time stamp) is part of Venezuela.

[@Mark-wx8ne]

I've been literally dying to know the answer to this question ever since I saw the video title in my recommended list

[@CARL_093]

a very good topic

[@familygash7500]

*VIDEO SUGGESTION:* Why isn't Brunei a part of Malaysia? And, why is one part of it detached from the other?

[@krasnamerah1926]

They didn't want to play second fiddle to the Peninsular Malays and have their oil revenue shared. About the territory, White Rajah Brooke chipping away Brunei bit by bit, and exploiting an internal dispute to cut Brunei into two.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

both part of brunei is connected by bridge.

[@krasnamerah1926]

@@rizkyadiyanto7922, but only in 1990s.

[@rozakfassah7730]

Only if Britain retained Indonesia, we could probably get Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei when Indonesia became independent. Therefore: S U M P A H P A L A P A I S C O M P L E T E

[@j.vanschuppen288]

Don't want to overextend because expensive and war is such a fascinating paradox

[@lawrenceheyman435]

Great question, well answered. A follow-on question then, can we have more on the border dispute between Spain and Britain in South America? It's now a hot issue - Venezuela vs British Guyana

[@dutch1665]

Je Maintiendrai - Dieu Et Mon Droit 🇳🇱🤝🇬🇧