December 27, 1949: Indonesia Is Recognized as Independent

December 27, 1949: The Kingdom of the Netherlands recognizes the independence of its colony, formerly the Dutch East Indies. For over 4 years, it had been operating as the independent Republic of Indonesia.

On August 17, 1945, in the wake of the Japanese surrender in World War II, the Dutch East Indies, devastated by the War, declared their independence as the Republic of Indonesia, under nationalist leader Sukarno (his entire name was just the one word) as President. It would take another 4 years of armed struggle before the Netherlands gives up and accepts their independence.

Today, the island nation is a democracy with, after the 1998 fall of dictator Suharto, who had overthrown Sukarno in 1970, an elected President. It is home to 255 million people, more than any except China, India and America. Most of them are ethnic Asians and Muslims, and it is the most populous majority-Muslim nation. Its flag, red on top and white on bottom, is identical to that of Monaco, and the reverse of that of Poland.

Since 1950, the nation's capital has been Jakarta, home to 10.7 million people, and a metropolitan area of over 35 million, on Java, the most populous island in the world, with 157 million, or about 61 percent of Indonesia's population.

But in 2019, President Joko Widodo officially announced that, due to climate change resulting in the slow sinking of the part of Java on which Jakarta stands, the national capital would be moved to East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. Most of that island belongs to Indonesia, but portions of it belong to Malaysia, and the Sultanate of Brunei is also on the island.

UPDATE: Due to construction delays, including due to COVID, the new capital city, named Nusantara, about 800 miles to the northeast, and already being promoted as "A global city for all," is set to open on August 17, 2028.

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December 27, 1949 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football season was over, except for a few bowl games. No games were scheduled for the NHL. There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 97-78 at the Boston Arena (now the Matthews Arena).

* The Rochester Royals beat the Washington Capitols, 96-72 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester, New York.

* And the Indianapolis Olympians beat their fellow Indianans, the Anderson Packers, 89-82 at the Butler Fieldhouse (now the Hinkle Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.