Javanese

The Javanese are the Austronesian people of central and eastern Java, from Mount Merapi's slopes to the Brantas delta, theirs the Austronesian family's largest language. Indian traders brought Hinduism and Buddhism from the fifth century; old Mataram raised Borobudur and Prambanan in the eighth–ninth centuries.

Raden Wijaya founded Majapahit in 1293; under Hayam Wuruk and his minister Gajah Mada, between 1350 and 1389 it held sway over much of maritime South-East Asia. Islam took root in northern ports such as Demak, spread by the nine Wali Songo saints; after Majapahit fell, Demak dominated the coast and contested the Portuguese capture of Malacca. Power moved inland to Mataram at Kotagede, peaking under Sultan Agung from 1613 to 1645 after Surabaya fell.

The Dutch built Batavia in 1619, and succession wars drew their East India Company into Javanese politics until Mataram split into Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Prince Diponegoro's Java War of 1825 to 1830 ended in defeat, both courts reduced to Dutch East Indies dependencies.