East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The country comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor and the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco. The first inhabitants are thought to be descendant of Australoid and Melanesian peoples. The Portuguese began to trade with Timor by the early 16th century and colonised it throughout the mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty for which Portugal ceded the western half of the island. Imperial Japan occupied East Timor during World War II, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese surrender.
Portuguese soldiers in East Timor
Indonesian soldiers pose in November 1975 in Batugade, East Timor with a captured Portuguese flag.
A re-enactment of the Santa Cruz Dili massacre, November 1998
Demonstration against Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Perth, Australia, 10 September 1999.
East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor - of which the western half is administered by Indonesia - the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is 14,950 square kilometres (5,770 sq mi). Dili, on the north coast of Timor, is its capital and largest city.
The Battle of Cailaco in 1726, part of a rebellion following the introduction of a new head tax.
A demonstration for independence from Indonesia held in Australia during September 1999
José Ramos-Horta, 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, second president of East Timor
Xanana Gusmão, the first East Timorese president after the end of Indonesian occupation