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It is hard to believe that the image of Bali as the island of the gods is at odds with earlier Western thought, but before the island was made part of the Dutch East Indies it was a dangerous place. According to the Dutch, Bali was inhabited by despotic kings and fierce people. For the Dutch the island was a serious threat mainly because it's people resisted their colonial conquest. Only after many military expeditions (in other words colonial wars) the Balinese kings surrendered themselves at the beginning of the twentieth century. But instead of an ordinary surrender and being forced into exile (this was common practice during the Dutch colonial times, where obstinate kings and freethinking intellectuals were banned to other colonies or deserted islands) the kings, their family, and subjects choose for a suicidal puputan. |
