West Timor
Encyclopedia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n portion of the island of Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
, .
During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...
(1945–1949). From 1949 to 1975 it was known as "Indonesian Timor".
History
European colonization of Timor began in the 16th century. Although the PortuguesePortuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
claimed the island of Timor in 1520, the Dutch
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
(in the form of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
) settled West Timor in 1640, forcing the Portuguese out to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. The subsequent collapse of the company meant that in 1799 the area returned to official Dutch rule. Finally, in 1914 the border between East and West Timor was finalized by a treaty between Holland and Portugal that was originally signed in 1859 and modified in 1893.
West Timor had the status of resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
ie within the Dutch East Indies.
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
conquered the island during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in early 1942. Upon Indonesian independence, West Timor became part of the new Republic of Indonesia.
On 6 September 2000, three UNHCR staff members were attacked and killed in Atambua, a town in West Timor (see Attacks on humanitarian workers
Attacks on humanitarian workers
Humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent have traditionally enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally...
).
Geography
West Timor is a political region that comprises the western half of Timor island with the exception of Oecussi-Ambeno district (which is politically part of East Timor) and forms a part of the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, (NTT or East Nusa Tenggara). The land area of West Timor is 15850 square kilometres (6,119.7 sq mi). The highest point of West Timor is Mount Mutis at 2427 metres (7,962.6 ft).Rote Island
Rote Island
right|thumb|300px|Satellite photo of RotiRote Island is an island of Indonesia, part of the East Nusa Tenggara province of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It has an area of . It lies northeast of the Australian coast and northeast of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The island is situated to the...
, the southernmost island of Indonesia, is southwest of West Timor.
West Timor's largest town and chief port is Kupang
Kupang
Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia....
.
Administration
West Timor is part of the East Nusa TenggaraEast Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
province. It is split into four regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are: Kupang
Kupang Regency
Kupang Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, the regency has its seat in Kupang.- External links :...
, Timor Tengah Selatan
South Central Timor Regency
South Central Timor Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Soe.- References :...
(South Central Timor), Timor Tengah Utara
North Central Timor Regency
North Central Timor Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Kefamenanu.- References :----* http://www.ttukab.go.id/...
(North Central Timor) and Belu
Belu
Belu is a UK based company selling environmentally friendly bottled water.Belu is a bottled water company committed to sustainable development...
. The city of Kupang
Kupang
Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia....
itself is a kota (fifth regency-level administrative area). Note the administrative area has shrunk as Rote Ndao Regency
Rote Ndao Regency
Rote Ndao Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, consisting primarily of the island of Rote, situated south-west of the western tip of West Timor. Established in 2002 formerly part of Kupang Regency, the regency has its seat in Baa. The population is 119.711 in 2010...
and Sabu Raijua Regency
Sabu Raijua Regency
Sabu Raijua Regency is one of the regencies in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The regency was established by Indonesia's Minister of Home Affairs, Mardiyanto, on 29 October 2008, formerly of Kupang Regency. The population was 73,000 in the 2010 census....
were split off in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The island accounts for 35.5% of the provincial population.
| Name | Capital | Est. | Statute !! Area (km²) !! Population 2010 Census |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kupang Regency Kupang Regency Kupang Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, the regency has its seat in Kupang.- External links :... |
Kupang | 1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| South Central Timor Regency South Central Timor Regency South Central Timor Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Soe.- References :... |
Soe Soe Soe is a village in Orava Parish, Põlva County in southeastern Estonia.... |
1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| North Central Timor Regency North Central Timor Regency North Central Timor Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Kefamenanu.- References :----* http://www.ttukab.go.id/... |
Kefamenanu Kefamenanu Kefamenanu is a town and capital of the subdistrict kecamatan of Kota Kefamenanu and the North Central Timor Regency in West Timor, Indonesia. A road connects it to Halilulik and Kota Atambua to the northeast.... |
1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| Belu Regency Belu Regency Belu Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, Belu Regency has its seat in Atambua.Belu means friend in Tetum.- External pages :... |
Atambua Atambua Atambua is a town in the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia and it is the seat of Belu Regency. The city is located in the west of Timor Island. In September 1999, 250,000 refugees arrived here from East Timor, after their vote for independence and the following violence... |
1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| Kupang Kupang Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia.... |
* | ||||
| West Timor | Kupang Kupang Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia.... |
Population
West Timor's main religions are Catholic (56%), ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
(35%) and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(8%). There are approximately 1.8 million inhabitants in 2008, some of them are still refugees who fled the 1999 violence in East Timor.
In addition to the national language, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, native languages belonging to the Fabronic Stock of the Austronesian group of languages are spoken in West Timor, the others in East Timor. These languages include Uab Meto, Tetum, Ndaonese, Rotinese, and Helong. Knowledge of Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
is now limited to the older generations.
Economy
West Timor has an average unemployment rate of 80%. 30% of the population lived below the poverty line in 1998; as of 2000 it was 80%. The economy is mainly agricultural, using slash and burnSlash and burn
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools. It is typically part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock...
methods to produce corn, rice, coffee, copra and fruit. Some timber harvesting is undertaken, producing eucalyptus, sandalwood, teak, bamboo and rosewood.