Northern Sumatra

At the northern end of Sumatra is Aceh, with its capital at Banda Aceh. Aceh was an old kingdom, and was one of the first parts of Indonesia to convert to Islam, about 1400.

Aceh maintained its independence until 1871, when the Dutch started a war to conquer the kingdom that lasted over 30 years. During the independence struggle in the 1940s, Aceh remained free of Dutch control, and contributed help to the new Republic.

Medan is one of the largest cities in Indonesia.

Some cities in nearby Malaysia have been involved in Indonesian history as well, including:

Melaka, seat of an Islamic trading empire, taken by the Portuguese in 1511, and then by the Dutch in 1641, and

Johore

to Sumatera Barat

to Sumatera Selatan

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Sejarah Indonesia
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