INDONESIA - Republik Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of more than seventeen thousand islands, including Sumatra, Java, Borneo (Kalimantan), Sulawesi, and New Guinea (Papua). Indonesia is the world's largest island country and the 14th largest country by land area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 267 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population. It is the largest archipelagic country in the world, extending 5,120 kilometres (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 kilometres (1,094 mi) from north to south. According to the country's Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Indonesia has 17,504 islands (16,056 of which are registered at the UN), scattered over both sides of the equator, around 6,000 of which are inhabited. The sovereign state is a presidential, constitutional republic with an elected legislature. It has 34 provinces, of which five have special status. The country's capital, Jakarta, is the second-most populous urban area in the world. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the world's highest levels of biodiversity. At 4,884 metres (16,024 ft), Puncak Jaya is Indonesia's highest peak, and Lake Toba in Sumatra is the largest lake, with an area of 1,145 km2 (442 sq mi). Indonesia's largest rivers are in Kalimantan and New Guinea and include Kapuas, Barito, Mamberamo, Sepik and Mahakam. They serve as communication and transport links between the island's river settlements. 

it was not until 1949 that the Dutch recognised Indonesia's sovereignty following an armed and diplomatic conflict between the two. The name Indonesia derives from Greek Indos (Ἰνδός) and the word nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands".The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, Malayunesians—for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago".In the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia; they preferred Malay Archipelago (Dutch: Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde. 

After 1900, Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and native nationalist groups adopted it for political expression. Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularised the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first native scholar to use the name was Ki Hajar Dewantara when in 1913 he established a press bureau in the Netherlands, Indonesisch Pers-bureau. the postage stamps and postal history of the Netherlands East Indies, otherwise known as the Dutch East Indies, and which today is known as Indonesia. 

The first postage stamp in the Dutch East Indies was printed in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 1 April 1864. The stamp showed a picture of King Willem III of the Netherlands and had a face value of ten cents. It was designed by T W Kaiser. Until 1920, stamp designs only showed pictures of the King and Queen and were primarily shown using typographic design. In 1921, a new series known as the ‘Brandkast’ series [Wikidata] and was specially printed to serve as additional postage for sending sea mail in waterproof iron chests. Stamps issued in later years began to show the culture and geography of the Indonesian archipelago. During the Dutch East Indies period, the stamps were printed in the Netherlands by the firm of Joh. Enschedé & Zoner of Haarlem, and some printing was done in Batavia (Jakarta) by Reproductiebedrijf Topografische Dienst. The stamps were mostly printed in one or two colors.

From 1950 to 1962, stamps were issued as the renamed Nederlands Nieuw Guinea. Netherlands New Guinea came under temporary United Nations administration from 1 October 1962 to 1 May 1963 when stamps were overprinted “UNTEA”. On 1 May 1963, the area became the Indonesian province of West Irian (Irian Barat) and issued its own stamps until 1973 since when Indonesian stamps have been used.

 Registered airmail envelopes from Indonesia. Sadly, the indonesian post does not count the stamps on the registered mail, which is already affixed on the envelope. The Registration fee and the postage  should be paid in cash. So it made me expensive to make this envelopes, but looks beautiful.

 

These two covers with perfect postmarks sent by my good friend Zenuri from Semarang, Indonesia. The covers posted on August 11, 2014 and I received on September 20, 2014.

The cover posted on July 18, 2013 and I received on August 20, 2013. Thank You Junaed for the perfect cover  with beautiful handwriting.