carts, telegraph systems, and more coordinated distribution systems under the colonial government all contributed to famine elimination in Java, and in turn, population growth. There were no significant famines in Java from the 1840s through to the Japanese occupation in the 1940s. Ethnological factors are also thought to have contributed to the increase in population. In Java, there was no absolute preference for boy babies which was significant in Java where agriculture depends on the labour of both men and women. Furthermore, the age of first marriage dropped during the nineteenth century thus increasing a women's child bearing years.
Independence
Indonesian nationalism first took hold in Java in the early twentieth century (see Indonesian National Awakening), and the struggle to secure the country's independence following World War II was centred in Java. The abortive coup and the subsequent violent anti-communist purge in 1965/66 largely took place in Java. The island has dominated Indonesian social, political and economic life, which has been the source of resentment of those resides in other islands. In 1998, preceding the fall of Suharto's 32-year presidency, large riots targeted the Chinese Indonesians in another series of pogroms
