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The first book-length history of the small Southeast
Asian island of Timor in the English language.
Using an array of European language sources and archival records,
Gunn takes a correlated view of the Timorese funu or
way of making war and the incursions of outsiders. The author
sets the foreground for a comprehensive reflexion on matters concerning
East Timor.
Were the rebellions which sundered the island in the 19th and early
20th centuries exclusively anti-tax? Did the great rebellion of
Boaventura in the early decades of this century carry with it the
seeds of Timorese nationalism? Or should this and other rebellions
be explained as a version of the Timorese funu?
Did colonial-capitalism in the Portuguese colony lay down the basis
for a viable independent state? Or, to the end, was Timor ruled
more like a protectorate than a colony? Given the missionary role
of the Catholic church on Timor over long time, how can we evaluate
Timorese tradition? What constitutes Timorese identity? Indeed,
how has the Timorese funu been reignited, albeit reconstituted
and re-imagined by Timorese youth today in the face of Indonesia’s
murderous and genocidal occupation of the half-island nation?
Geoffrey C. Gunn has visited East Timor a number of times, commencing
in 1967-9, through to 1972, when as a Portuguese colony, and returning
in 1992, 1993 and 1998 under Indonesian military rule. Historical
research for this book began in 1986 when teaching the East Timor
question at the University of New South Wales, subsequently pursued
in libraries and archives in Nagasaki, Melbourne, Darwin, Macau,
Lisbon and elsewhere.
Gunn is also the author (with Jefferson Lee) of A Critical View
of Western Journalism and Scholarship on East Timor (Journal
of Contemporary Asia Press, Manila, 1994), and East Timor and
the United Nations: The Case for Intervention (Red Sea Press,
New Jersey/Asmara, 1997).
A graduate of Australian universities in Indonesian language and
Asian politics and history, Gunn has taught in schools and universities
in a number of Asian countries, including Laos, Singapore and Brunei.
He is currently Professor of International Relations, Faculty of
Economics, Nagasaki University.
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