The Great East (Dutch: Groote Oost) was a governorate (gouvernement) of the Dutch East Indies between 1938 and 1946. It comprised all the islands to the east of Borneo (Celebes, the Moluccas, and West New Guinea, with their offshore islands) and of Java (Bali and the Lesser Sunda Islands). Its capital was Macassar on Celebes.[1]

Governorate of the Great East
Gouvernement Groote Oost (Dutch)
Governorate of the Dutch East Indies
1938–1946
Flag of Great East
Flag

The Great East region of the Dutch East Indies
CapitalMakassar
Government
Monarch 
• 1938–1946
Wilhelmina
History 
• Merger of the Constituent Entities
25 May 1938
1942–1945
• Became the State of the Great East
24 December 1946
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Dutch East Indies
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
State of East Indonesia
Today part ofIndonesia

The Great East was created with the merger of its constituent residencies on 25 May 1938 and was ruled by a governor.[2] The first governor was G. A. W. Ch. de Haze Winkelman. Following World War II, the governorate (except for Netherlands New Guinea) became the State of the Great East (later the State of East Indonesia) on 24 December 1946. This state became a constituent of the federal United States of Indonesia in 1949 and was integrated into a unitary Indonesia in 1950 (except West New Guinea, which was only integrated in 1963). As of December 2022, the area is divided into the eastern 17 of Indonesia's 38 provinces.

Administrative divisions

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The Great East gouvernement consisted of the following residencies:[3]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The emblem of the Headquarters consisted of a light-blue disc, surrounded by the Dutch red-white and blue and charged with the yellow cypher GOBH(Grote Oost en Borneo Hoofdkwartier / Great East and Borneo Headquarters). - Clg. 283/GS/35

References

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  1. ^ Harvey 1974, p. 106.
  2. ^ Harvey 1974, p. 62.
  3. ^ Cribb 2000, p. 129.
  • Cribb, Robert (2000). Historical Atlas of Indonesia. Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-0985-1.
  • Elout, Cornelis Karel (1930), De Groote Oost, The Hague: N.V. Boekhandel v/h W.P. Van Stockum & Zoon.
  • Harvey, Barbara Sillars (1974). Tradition, Islam, and Rebellion: South Sulawesi 1950-1965 (PDF) (PhD). Cornell University.