Dutch East Indies

a former name of the Republic of Indonesia.

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▪ islands, Southeast Asia

also called  Netherlands East Indies,  Dutch  Nederlands Oost-indië, or Nederlandsch-indië,  

      one of the overseas territories of The Netherlands until December 1949, now Indonesia. This territory was made up of Sumatra and adjacent islands, Java with Madura, Borneo (except for North Borneo, which is now part of Malaysia and of Brunei), Celebes with Sangihe and Talaud islands, the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands east of Java (excepting the Portuguese half of Timor and the Portuguese enclave of Oé-Cusse). Netherlands New Guinea (renamed Irian Jaya (Papua)) was also ceded to Indonesia in August 1962; this comprised the territory on the island of New Guinea west of 141° E, with the offshore islands of Waigeo, Salawati, and Misool.

      During World War II the entire Dutch East Indies, excepting a part of southern Netherlands New Guinea, was occupied by Japan. The years 1945–49 formed a transition period in which The Netherlands unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the islands; the islands achieved independence as the new nation of Indonesia in 1949.

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