West Nusa Tenggara

Based on analysis of prehistoric objects found (such as complex sarcophagi, decorated stoneware, machetes, and axes), West Nusa Tenggara had previously been inhabited by people who come from Southeast Asia.

The natives in this region are called the Sasak people, most of whom live on the island of Lombok. Meanwhile, on the island of Sumbawa are also natives consisting of two groups, namely ethnic Sumbawa (Samawa) and Bima. However, with the wave of migrants from Bali, Makassar, Java, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara, the indigenous people entered the farm and then stay in the interior.

The existence of this region can not be separated from the heyday of Majapahit Empire in the 14th century who conquered all the kingdoms located on the islands of both Lombok and Sumbawa. In the book Negarakertagama by Empu Prapanca in 1365, it was written that West Lombok was named Lombok Mirah and East Lombok was named Sasak Adi, Taliwang, Dompo (Dompu), Sape, Sanghyang Fire, Bhima (Bima), Seram (Seran) and Hutan Kedali (Utan).[6]

In the early reign of the kings in West Nusa Tenggara, the influence of Hinduism was very strong. It can not be separated from the influence of the Majapahit empire expansion into the region. But with the collapse of the Majapahit kingdom, the influence of Hinduism began to decrease with the onset of the influence of Islam in the coastal communities.

The advent of the Demak Sultanate in Central Java had a huge impact on the spread of the teachings of Islam in West Nusa Tenggara. The influence of Islam in West Nusa Tenggara was generally brought by the Malays. The influence of Islam in Bima can not be separated from the support of King I Maliingkaang Daeng-Mannyonriq of Makassar, who was then known as Karaeng Matoaya who played an important role in the spread of Islam in the region.

The influence of Islam in the Bima Sultanate emerged in the reign of King Manuru Salehi around 1605 and began to grow rapidly during the reign of King Abdul Kahir . King Abdul Kahir is also known as the Sultan of Bima I, because he was the king who first embraced Islam in Bima, so it is considered a new era, separate from the previous Bima king who embraced Hinduism. Islam became the official religion of the kings in West Nusa Tenggara.[7]

The Europeans who first came to the land of Nusa Tenggara were the Portuguese who landed on the island of Solor and Timor in 1605. At the same time the Dutch also came to the island of Hitu and Ambon, in the Malukus. The first Dutch ship that entered the area was the Ter Ver which docked in Kupang in 1611. The arrival of the Dutch led to a long dispute between the Portuguese and the Dutch in Nusa Tenggara. The Dutch provided assistance to the local kings who resisted the Portuguese. The Netherlands then expanded its influence in Nusa Tenggara, to make a variety of agreements with small kings around the island of Sumbawa.

The penetration of the Dutch colonial administration that was so strong in Indonesia was increasingly bringing real impact to the survival of Indonesian society in general. One result was very broad: in the eastern part of Indonesia, the Sultanate of Gowa began to decline in its supremacy in the 17th century. Gowa nobility who did not submit to the colonial government fled from Makassar and built pockets of resistance in West Nusa Tenggara. To face such resistance, the colonial government began to concentrate power in West Nusa Tenggara. This was reinforced by the emergence of Lombok for international trade traffic, so the desire of the Dutch to rule West Nusa Tenggara directly become apparent.

Faced with such a situation, the Dutch colonial government sent Stephen van Hegen for a close look at the Bima situation in 1660. The arrival of the Dutch influenced the political and economic situation in this area. In 1669, the Government of the Kingdom of Bima led by Sultan Ambela Abdul Khair Sirajuddin, made peace and friendship ties with the colonial government with the contents of the agreement as follows:

• The Sultanate of Bima and Dompu will not attack Makassar
• To keep the peace, only members of the Dutch East India Company may visit the Bima area
• Bima and Makassar will not make any contact at all.
• Foreign traders from Europe, India, Java, Malaya, Arab lands, Aceh, and Champa must not engage in trade with Bima, except by special permit from the Dutch East India Company.

The agreement with the Sultan of Bima and Dompu recognized the existence of the Dutch colonial power. Since then, the Netherlands sought to consolidate its control by blocking the Bima port to prevent the arrival of aid from Makassar or other foreign countries. The effort was done so that the existing ports in Bima and Lombok Island were considered to be strategic, and not fall into British hands.

The Dutch supremacy in the region was very strong, so the king and the people in the region could not move freely. This condition became worse with the eruption of Mount Tambora on April 5, 1815, which shook the entire region, and the consequences could be felt throughout the Moluccas, Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. Mount Tambora's eruption resulted in the disappearance of the two kingdoms of Tambora and Papekat. More than 10,000 people were killed.

The existence of the status of the province West Nusa Tenggara did not come by itself. The struggle demanded that the formation of West Nusa Tenggara province take place over quite a long time. West Nusa Tenggara province previously had been part of the State of East Indonesia in the conception of the Republic of Indonesia States, and be part of the small Sunda province after recognition of Indonesian sovereignty.

Along with the dynamics and after some time, the process of changing the constitutional system after the proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia then formed the province of West Nusa Tenggara. With the enactment of Law No. 64 of 1958 Date August 14, 1958 on the Establishment of Regions Autonomous of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara, the province was officially established and the first Governor of the province was AR. Moh. Ruslan Djakraningrat.

West Nusa Tenggara has two kinds of landscape. The first is the island of Lombok with the coastline fairly straight, with the central to eastern part in the form of mountains, and coastal lowlands in the east. The second is Sumbawa Island with a jagged coastline because of the many headlands and bays, and the central part is covered with hills and limestone mountains.

Selong (capital of East Lombok Regency) is a city that has the highest altitude, which is 148 m above sea level, while the lowest Raba at 13 m above sea level. Of the seven mountains on the island of Lombok, Mount Rinjani is the highest mountain with an altitude of 3,775 m, while Mount Tambora on Sumbawa is the highest mountain with an altitude of 2,851 m.

Like the rest of Indonesia, NTB has a tropical climate. Based on statistics from the meteorological institute, the maximum temperature in 2001 ranged from 30.9 to 32.1 °C and minimum temperature ranged between 20.6 and 24.5 °C. The highest temperatures occur in September and the lowest are in November. Being tropical, NTB has a high average relative humidity, which is between 48 and 95%.

West Nusa Tenggara has relatively little rainfall compared to the western region of Indonesia. Maximum rainfall in the province occurs in January and minimum rainfall occurs in August.