In the early 17th century Lombok’s Sasak princedoms were usurped by the Balinese, who took control of western Lombok, and the Makassarese, who invaded eastern Lombok. By 1750 the whole island was in Balinese hands.
In
western Lombok, relations between the Balinese and the Sasaks were relatively
harmonious, but in eastern Lombok the Balinese had to maintain control from
garrisoned forts, and peasant rebellions were common.
The Dutch intervened in the late 19th century, and, after an
initial defeat that cost 100 lives, overran Cakranegara. Here the last rajah
families surrendered by perang poepoetan –
men, women and children in white clothing throwing themselves at the perplexed
Dutch, who kept shooting.
In
the following years, the Dutch were able to maintain the support of the
surviving Balinese and the Sasak aristocracy, and they controlled more than
500,000 people with no more than 250 troops.
Even after Indonesian independence, Lombok continued to be
dominated by its Balinese and Sasak elite. In 1958 Lombok became part of the
new province of Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa Tenggara), and Mataram became its
administrative capital. Following the attempted coup in Jakarta in 1965, Lombok
experienced mass killings of communists and ethnic Chinese.
Under former president Soeharto’s ‘New Order’, there was stability
and some growth, but crop failures led to famine in 1966, and to severe food
shortages in 1973. Many moved away from Lombok under the government-sponsored transmigrasi programme.
Tourism
took off in the 1980s but was mostly developed by outside investors and
speculators. As Indonesia descended into
economic crisis and political turmoil in the late ’90s, Lombok began to feel
the pinch.
On 17 January 2000, serious riots engulfed Mataram. Christians and Chinese
were the primary victims, but the agitators and provocateurs were from outside
Lombok. Ultimately all Lombok suffered, and tourism has yet to recover, the
situation compounded by the Bali bombs of 2002 and
2005.
Today
Lombok’s tourism potential remains strong, particularly with work starting on a
new international airport in 2006. But with many Sasaks adopting a stricter
practice of Islam, the cultural gulf between conservative Islamic and liberal
Western values is acute.
Note : I've visited Lombok Island and maybe the information above is true. Thank you
