Java and Madura

It is hard not to think of Java as the centre of Indonesia – hard, especially, for the Javanese. They certainly have, from the point of view of geography, economics and politics, the best island. They would add that of the larger islands it is also the most beautiful, and the half of me that is Javanese agrees with them.

Madura, Java’s companion on the north-east coast, is smaller, lower, emptier, poorer, altogether less glamorous. It still has much charm and interest. The two islands together inevitably share much of their history, though Madurese princes maintained their independence until the middle of the eighteenth century and often intervened quite effectively in Javanese dynastic wars. Today, when big cities are the magnets, Madura has lapsed into rural peace. But it is economically still active, and the building of a bridge to link it with Surabaya may have startling effects.