Nutmeg, clove, and pepper drew traders from India , China , Africa, and the Arab world, and later, European explorers and colonists from the Netherlands, Portugal, and England . From the 8th through the 16th centuries, powerful polities on Java and Sumatra controlled much of what is today the Indonesian Archipelago. But, by the end of the 16th century, steady European colonial expansion left the nation a collection of weak, disconnected fiefdoms, all of which came under direct Dutch control within two centuries. The Republic of Indonesia was declared at the end of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during World War two. Indonesian cuisine reflects this complex cultural history.
Cooking varies greatly by region and combines many different influences.
However, most Indonesian food shares the nearly universal food trinity of fish, coconut and chile. The main meal in Indonesia is usually served at midday. Food which was cooked in the morning is set out all at once. Family members help themselves, serving with a spoon and eating with right hands. There is less family gathering or ceremony of communal eating than in other cultures, but there is communal cooking and a strict hierarchy that determines one's role and comportment at the table.