question_answer

How was Java, an Indonesian Island, taken over by Dutch and how were its forests affected?

Answer:

(i) Java is now famous as a rice-producing island in Indonesia.

(ii) But once upon a time it was covered mostly with forests.

(iii) The colonial power in Indonesia were the Dutch and there were many similarities in the laws for forest control in Indonesia and India.

(iv) Java in Indonesia is where the Dutch started forest management. Like the British, they wanted tribes from Java to build ships.

(v) In 1600, the population of Java was an estimated 3.4 million. There were many villages in the fertile plains, but there were also many communities living in the mountains and practicing shifting cultivation.