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The Island of Timor lies at the eastern end of the Malay Archipelago, about seven hundred km from Port Darwin on the North Western coast of Australia. Although the western half of the island, with the exception of Oecussi-Ambens, has historically been part of Indonesia, the east of the island has not and has a separate history and identity.
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Timor is a volcanic island and much of it is mountainous and covered in forest, but the south is flat and suited to farming. The climate is tropical and the area has a very high annual rainfall. Although originally famed for its precious wood forests, most of these were depleted during the colonial period and many species eg sandalwood are no longer found there. Because of this the main exports are now predominantly agricultural; coffee, copra, palm oil, rice, wax and hides. This may change as the Timor Sea's rich oil deposits are being investigated by multi-nationals.
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The native Timorese (the Maubere peoples) are descended from the Malaysian and Malayan peoples. Prior to the Indonesian invasion in 1975, they were by far the largest single population group. There was also a Chinese minority of about 20,000 and 4,000 Portugese. Most of the Portugese were army personnel and left before the Indonesian invasion. Following the invasion 200,000 Timorese were killed.
In the mid-90's the Indonesians encouraged transmigration. An estimated 100,000 Indonesians were given cash incentives to move to East Timor. Many of these new immigrants have left following President Habibie's decision to allow the East Timorese to choose between autonomy and independence.
Prior to the invasion most Timorese followed local animist religions but under Indonesian law everyone has to have an "official" religion and as traditional religions are not regarded as official, most Timorese chose to be officially Catholic.(Over 90%) Since the invasion, the Catholic church has become increasingly popular and is associated with attempts to retain Timorese culture. As a result, animism is dying out.
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East Timor history - pre 1990
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Last updated: 19/07/99
