In ancient China, there was a saying called "the human heart is not enough for the snake to swallow the elephant", "the ant races the elephant", etc., the metaphor is not measuring the strength, and this sentence is indeed the case at the national level. In recent history, many small countries have been able to rule overseas in countries that are tens or even hundreds of times larger than themselves for hundreds of years, which is simply incredible. The most typical is the Netherlands, a small Dutch country with a territory of only 40,000 square kilometers, but in Southeast Asia, it has ruled Indonesia with an area of more than 1.9 million square kilometers for 300 years.
Indonesia is now the largest country in Southeast Asia, with a territory area of more than 1.9 million square kilometers, more than 17,000 islands, and a population of more than 260 million, which can be said to be a big country. And compared to the Netherlands, it is absolutely a behemoth, the territory of the Netherlands is only 40,000 square kilometers, the population is only more than 10 million, it can be said that Indonesia can drown the Netherlands with a single spit.
And the territory area is 50 times that of the Netherlands, which is simply the size of elephants and ants, so why was such a small Netherlands, a land of bullets, able to rule such a large Indonesia for 300 years? Moreover, at that time, Britain and France and other powers were also robbing the strategic location of Indonesia, why was it finally robbed by the Netherlands? What is the Netherlands really relying on? In fact, the reasons are mainly three points.
First, Indonesia is extremely fragmented.
If Indonesia is one, it is difficult for the 10 Dutch to defeat and rule. But modern Indonesia is a scattered sand, the entire more than 10,000 islands, divided into hundreds of tribes and small countries, each small country power is extremely dispersed, which gives the Netherlands a great advantage, together can not fight, but relative to these countless small countries, the Dutch power is dominant.
So in Indonesia it was bit by bit encroaching, little by little annexing. Eventually, Indonesia was brought into the pocket and ruled together. So the point is that Indonesia is too scattered to give the Netherlands a chance, otherwise it is impossible. Just as Britain took India, it is a truth.
Second, the strength of the Dutch.
Although small, the Netherlands is known as a coachman at sea, has a powerful sea fleet, and has the ability to trade with the world. The sea fleet guaranteed the conquest and suppression of Indonesia, while commerce guaranteed the stability of the rule. The Dutch directly incorporated all of Indonesia into their own system of domination, directly connected to their own markets to form a unified whole, which guaranteed the continuity and stability of their rule, and was the reason why the Dutch were able to rule for so long.
Third, the game of great powers.
We see that in fact, Britain and France are also competing for Southeast Asia, the most typical is that France occupies the Indochina Peninsula, while the British occupy Malaysia and Singapore. In fact, both countries are marching towards Indonesia, but the clams are fighting for each other, and the fishermen are profitable, because Britain and France want to get Indonesia, so they compete with each other and do not give in to each other, which gives the small country of the Netherlands the opportunity.
Because Britain and France need a buffer of small countries, so that they can maintain the balance and balance of power. Therefore, Britain, France and other powers turned a blind eye, otherwise, it would be impossible for the Dutch forces at that time to compete with Britain or France, which was also an opportunity for the Netherlands. Therefore, with the permission of the big countries, the small country of the Netherlands can occupy the elephant and rule for three hundred years, otherwise it is impossible.