August 17, 1945 Click to see full answer Keeping this in consideration, who did Indonesia gain independence from?The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation in 1942–45 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader, Sukarno, declared independence and became president.Also, how did Sukarno gain independence for Indonesia? Sukarno saw it as the arming and training of an Indonesian army to resist the return of the Dutch to Indonesia. After the surrender of the Japanese Government on August 15, 1945 Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta declared the independence of Indonesia on August 17th. Herein, what was Indonesia called before independence? The term East Indies was first used to describe present-day India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia after Columbus called the islands on the Caribbean the West Indies. The name “Indonesia” was officially adopted after Indonesia became independent in 1945 in part because it previous name, the Dutch East Indies, wouldn’t do.Was Indonesia a British colony?From 1811 to 1815, Indonesia was administrated by the British. The British ruled the Malay Peninsula (British Malaya) and Northern Borneo, while the Dutch controlled Java, Sumatra, and most of the Indonesian archipelago until the Japanese invasion in 1942.