East Indies Philippine independence. The East Indies may also include the former French-occupied Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore and former Portuguese East Timor. It does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea (West Papua), which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia. The inhabitants of the East Indies are almost never called East Indians, distinguishing them both from inhabitants of the Caribbean (which is also called the West Indies) and from the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are often called "American Indians." In colonial times they were just "natives". However, the peoples of the
Volksraad (Dutch East Indies) H. H. Kan, Loa Sek Hie and Phoa Liong Gie. Arab members included Sayyid Ismail bin Sayyid Abdoellah bin Alwi Alatas. Among prominent indigenous parliamentarians in the Volksraad were the Javanese Tjokroaminoto and Mohammad Husni Thamrin, the Bantenese-Sundanese Ahmad Djajadiningrat, the Sumatran Agus Salim and the Menadonese Sam Ratulangi. Volksraad (Dutch East Indies) A People's Council (Volksraad) for the Dutch East Indies was provided for by law in 1916, but its establishment was procrastinated until the actual installation of the Council in 1918. It was a hesitant and slow attempt at democratisation of the Dutch East Indies. The power of