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Indonesia / Bali: Jelantik, Raja of Buleleng martyred with 400 followers, in an 1849 mass suicide against the Dutch invasion. Le Petit Journal, 1849

Indonesia / Bali: Jelantik, Raja of Buleleng martyred with 400 followers, in an 1849 mass suicide against the Dutch invasion. Le Petit Journal, 1849

Buleleng was founded as a kingdom by Gusti Panji Sakti, who ruled c. 1660-c. 1700. He is commemorated as a heroic ancestor-figure who expanded the power of Buleleng to Blambangan on East Java. The kingdom was weakened during his successors, and fell under the suzerainty of the neighbouring Karangasem kingdom in the second half of the 18th century.

In 1849 the Dutch landed in Buleleng and marched on Singaraja, meeting with Balinese resistance at Jagaraga. When they saw their situation was desperate, the Balinese committed the first puputan, or mass-suicide, the Dutch would be given to witness in their conflicts with Bali. In this encounter, the Dutch lost 34 men, and the Balinese thousands.

Buleleng was incorporated in the Dutch colonial system and lost its autonomy in 1882. In 1949-50 Buleleng, like the rest of Bali, was incorporated in the unitary republic of Indonesia.

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