Posted
on August 30, 2016
Why
is an island that is about the size of Maryland divided into two
nations?
History.
Religion. Language.
The
Southeastern Asian island of Timor was settled by both Dutch and
Portuguese colonizers. The two European nations squabbled over
control of the island until a treaty signed in 1859 divided the
island into Dutch Timor and Portuguese Timor.
Of
course, the Asian descendants of the peoples who lived on the island
long before Europeans arrived wanted to be independent. After World
War II, the Dutch portion of the island and thousands of other nearby
islands gained independence as Indonesia. It wasn't until 1975 that
residents of Portuguese Timor declared their independence from
Portugal.
Just
nine days after this declaration, East Timor was invaded and occupied
by Indonesia! After years of violence, the United Nations finally
stepped in and helped hammer out a peace agreement. Indonesia gave up
its claim for the other half of the island, and East Timor (also
known as Timor-Leste) became the first new nation of the 21st
Century!
(By
the way, in case you were wondering about the religious differences,
Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, and East Timor is predominantly
Catholic.)
Check
out East Timor:
Mt.
Ramelau (aka Tatamailau) is the highest mountain on the island.
Dili
is the capital and largest city in East Timor.
The
smaller islands that are part of East Timor include Atauro Island...
...and
Jaco Island.
There
is a little divot, called an exclave, on the Indonesian half of Timor
that belongs to East Timor. This portion, pictured in red below, includes the city of Pante
Makasar.
Here are some more photos of East Timor. Loads of beautiful beaches, interesting and complex culture...
For
more on East Timor, check out this earlier post.
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