West Timor
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Map of Timor (island only) |
West Timor is a political region that comprises the western half of
Timor island with the exception of
Oecussi-Ambeno district (which is politically part of
East Timor) and forms a part of the
Indonesian province of
Nusa Tenggara Timur, (NTT or East Nusa Tenggara). West Timor's capital and chief port is
Kupang. The land area of West Timor is 15,850 km².During the colonial period it was known as Dutch Timor and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the
Indonesian War of Independence (
1945 -
1949).
Rote Island, the southernmost island of Indonesia, is just to the southwest of West Timor.
Three native languages belonging of Fabronic Stock of the Austronesian group of languages are spoken in West Timor, the others in East Timor. These languages are Ndaonese, Rotinese, and Helong.
History
European colonization of Timor started in the 16th century. Although the
Portuguese claimed the island of Timor in
1520, the
Dutch (in the form of the
Dutch East India Company) settled West Timor in
1640, forcing the Portuguese out to East Timor. The subsequent collapse of the company meant that in
1799 the area returned to official Dutch rule.Finally, in
1914 the border between East and West Timor was finalized by a treaty between Holland and Portugal that was originally signed in
1859 and modified in
1893.
Japan conquered the island as part of
World War II in early
1942.
August 17,
1945 saw Indonesian Independence declared, just three days after the Japanese surrender.The Dutch returned but faced a war with republican guerrillas, the eventual outcome of which was the proclamation of Republic of Indonesia in
1950, which made West Timor a part of Nusa Tenggarra Timur
province.
Demographics
West Timor has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. The population is mostly of
Malay,
Papuan or
Polynesian extraction, with a tiny
ethnic Chinese group. About half of the population belongs to the
Atoni ethnicity.West Timor's main religions are
Catholic (56%),
Protestant (35%) and
Muslim (8%).
Economy
West Timor has an unemployment rate of 10% with significant underemployment.[
1] Per capita income is roughly one-third the national average with most other socio-economic indicators lagging behind the Indonesian average.[
2] Most measurable economic activity is centered around the city of Kupang.[
3]
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Great Timor*
West Timor overview
