West Timor

West Timor
Map of Timor (island only)

West Timor is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Timur).

During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). From 1949 to 1975 it was known as "Indonesian Timor".[citation needed]

Contents

History

House of the Dutch resident in Kupang (c. 1900)

European colonization of Timor began 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.

West Timor had the status of residentie within the Dutch East Indies.

Japan conquered the island during World War II in early 1942. Upon Indonesian independence, West Timor became part of the new Republic of Indonesia.

On 6 September 2000, three UNHCR staff members were attacked and killed in Atambua, a town in West Timor (see Attacks on humanitarian workers).

Molo chief with delegation visiting Dutch representative in Babau.

Geography

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). The land area of West Timor is 15,850 square kilometres (6,120 sq mi). The highest point of West Timor is Mount Mutis at 2,427 metres (7,963 ft).

Rote Island, the southernmost island of Indonesia, is southwest of West Timor.

West Timor's largest town and chief port is Kupang.

Administration

West Timor is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province. It is split into four regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are: Kupang, Timor Tengah Selatan (South Central Timor), Timor Tengah Utara (North Central Timor) and Belu. The city of Kupang itself is a kota (fifth regency-level administrative area). Note the administrative area has shrunk as Rote Ndao Regency and Sabu Raijua Regency were split off in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The island accounts for 35.5% of the provincial population.

Name Capital Est. Statute Area (km²) Population
2010 Census[1]
Kupang Regency Kupang 1958 UU 69/1958 5,898.18 303,998
South Central Timor Regency Soe 1958 UU 69/1958 3,947.00 440,470
North Central Timor Regency Kefamenanu 1958 UU 69/1958 2,669.66 229,603
Belu Regency Atambua 1958 UU 69/1958 2,445.57 352,400
Kupang * 160.34 335,585
West Timor Kupang 15,120.75 1,662,056

Population

West Timor's main religions are Catholic (56%), Protestant (35%) and Islam (8%). There are approximately 1.8 million inhabitants in 2008, some of them are still refugees who fled the 1999 violence in East Timor.

In addition to the national language, Indonesian, native languages belonging to the Fabronic Stock of the Austronesian group of languages are spoken in West Timor, the others in East Timor. These languages include Uab Meto, Tetum, Ndaonese, Rotinese, and Helong.[2] Knowledge of Dutch is now limited to the older generations.

Economy

West Timor has an average unemployment rate of 80%.[3] 30% of the population lived below the poverty line in 1998; as of 2000 it was 80%. The economy is mainly agricultural, using slash and burn methods to produce corn, rice, coffee, copra and fruit. Some timber harvesting is undertaken, producing eucalyptus, sandalwood, teak, bamboo and rosewood.

References

  1. ^ http://ntt.bps.go.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120%3Ahasil-sensuspenduduk-2010&catid=1%3Aberita&Itemid=8
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]

Coordinates: 10°23′S 123°38′E / 10.383°S 123.633°E / -10.383; 123.633

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • West Timor — province of Indonesia, consisting primarily of the W half of Timor * * * …   Universalium

  • West Timor — province of Indonesia, consisting primarily of the W half of Timor …   English World dictionary

  • West-Timor — Foto aus dem Weltall Die Insel Timor ist mit 33.850 km² die größte der Kleinen Sunda Inseln. Der Timor Archipel einschließlich Roti ist der größte Archipel der östlichen Kleinen Sunda Inseln im Osten des Indonesischen Archipels. Timor hat etwa… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • West Timor — /wɛst ˈtimɔ/ (say west teemaw) noun the western part of the island of Timor; part of the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. Formerly (until 1950), Netherlands Timor; (until 1976), Indonesian Timor …  

  • Timor — [tē′môr΄, tē môr′] island in SE Asia, in the Malay Archipelago: the W part of the island (WEST TIMOR) is part of Indonesia; the E part (EAST TIMOR) is an independent nation Timorese adj., n …   English World dictionary

  • Timor — Infobox Islands name = Timor image caption = Political Division of Timor native name = native name link = locator Location map|Indonesia|lat= 9.233333|long=124.933333 map custom = yes location = South East Asia coordinates=… …   Wikipedia

  • Timor — /tee mawr, tee mawr /, n. pl. Timorese. an island in the S part of Indonesia: largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands; E half formerly belonged to Portugal. 13,095 sq. mi. (33,913 sq. km). * * * Island, southern Malay Archipelago. It… …   Universalium

  • Timor Barat — Karte der Insel Timor Westtimor (indon.: Timor Barat) bildet den westlichen Teil der politisch geteilten Insel Timor. Der Großteil von Westtimor gehört zur indonesischen Provinz Nusa Tenggara Timur mit der Hauptstadt Kupang an der Westspitze… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Timor (disambiguation) — is Latin meaning fear or dread and may refer to:*Timor (pronounced /IPA| ti.mʊ(ɹ)/), an island divided between the independent state of East Timor and the Indonesian region West Timor *“Timor” (song), a protest song about East Timor, by Shakira… …   Wikipedia

  • Timor Sparrow — Taxobox name = Timor Sparrow status = NT | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Estrildidae genus = Padda species = P. fuscata binomial = Padda fuscata binomial authority =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”