See also: Timor (homonymy)

Timor is an island of the archipelago indonésien, in the east of the Small islands of the Probe. It is bordered in the south by the Mer of Timor and separated in north from the Mer from Bandaged by the other Eastern islands of the islands of the Probe. In Malayan, timur means the East , but it is not necessarily the etymology of the name of the island.

The Eastern half of Timor forms the Republic of the Eastern Timor. The Western half belongs to the province Indonesia of Nusa Tenggara Eastern.

Geography of the island

Population

The populations of Timor speak about the languages which belong to two distinct groups:

• of the languages of the group known as exchange-Eastern Austronesian branch of the Languages austronésiennes;
• of the languages of the family known as Guinea trans-news Languages papoues.

This linguistic situation lets suppose there that it could there have two types of settlement of the island.

There is approximately: 21000 years, the New Guinea was connected to the Australia, forming the called continental mass Sahul . Australia had been populated there is at least: 40000 years by migrations from the current continent of Asia. These migrations had been possible because at the time, the sea level was lower than currently, and the Australian continent was then connected to the continent of Asia.

Migrations could also have taken place directly of Asia towards the New Guinea and the the Solomon Islands.

There is: 5000 with: 6000 years, the sea level went up to reach the current location, cutting these populations of the continent of Asia and preventing other migrations for a certain time. This could explain the presence in Timor of languages which one classifies like papoues.

In addition, there is: 5000 years (3000 av. J. - C), of the inhabitants of the littoral of China of the south start to cross the strait to settle with Taiwan. Towards 2000 before J. - C., of the migrations take place of Taiwan towards the Filipino . New migrations start soon of Philippines towards Célèbes and Timor and, from there, the other islands of the archipelago indonésien. The Austronésiens are undoubtedly the first large navigators of the history of humanity.

See also: Settlement of the insular Southeast Asia

History

The name of Timor is attested as of the 14th century after J. - C. the Nagarakertagama , a poem epic writes in 1365 in the kingdom java are born from Majapahit, mentions indeed Timur among some hundred tributary regions kingdom. Actually, the territory controlled by Majapahit did not extend that on part of the east and center of Java. The tributary regions were in fact of the counters forming a sales network whose Majapahit was the center. Majapahit sent to it dignitaries of which the role was to make sure that these counters were not devoted to a private trade which would escape the kingdom.

Divided into volumes Worse, a Portuguese apothecary who, of 1512 to 1515, lived Malacca, conquered in 1511, note in his Suma Oriental that the wood of Santal comes from Sumba and Timor. At the 17th century, it is always the case of Timor, but more Sumba. Flora, Roast and Savu has little interest for the VOC ( Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or Dutch Company of the Eastern Indies ).

The Portuguese establish a fort with Kupang in the west of the island, then give up it. The VOC occupies Kupang in 1653, but must face, for the trade of the sandal, with merchants of Flora. The Portuguese meanwhile withdrew with Eastern Timor. The island is thus divided into two:

• the part Occident ale, occupied by the Netherlands, is finally integrated in the the Indies Dutchwomen, which proclaim their independence in 1945 under the name of République of Indonesia;

• the part the East ale, colony of the Portugal.

At the time of the Revolution of the eyelets to the Portugal in 1974, the Indonesia invades the Eastern Timor, whereas FRETILIN, the independence main movement, had just declared independence of it. One period of violent occupation follows which will end only with the arrival into 1999 of international troops under the aegis of the United Nations, following a referendum organized by the government indonésien, by which some 80% of the population of Eastern Timor refuse the maintenance in Indonesia. In 2002, the Eastern Timor was officially recognized independent State by the International community.

External bond

• the republic of Timor, by Jacques Leclerc

• Leading product of Timor

Zh-min-nan: Timor