On 20 May 2002, rising out of a history fraught with tragedy, East Timor acceded to independence under the name of Timor Leste or Timor Lorosa’e: Sunrise Timor. This insular ethno-linguistic mosaic wedged between Southeast Asia and Oceania had been a colony of Portugal for four centuries before it was invaded by Indonesian forces in December 1975. It was not until 30 August 1999, however, that more than 78 percent of the population voted for independence, thus ending twenty-five years of Indonesian occupation.

This atlas highlights the specific features and characteristics of the new country of East Timor. Using statistical documentary resources available since the colonial period, its 136 colorful maps show how material constraints and local, regional, and world stakes have shaped Timor’s destiny, both past and present.

Frédéric Durand teaches geography at Toulouse Il-Le Mirail University, France. Author of several works on Southeast Asia, the Malay world, and Indonesia, he published the French version of this
geo-historical atlas of East Timor in 2002, and the book, Catholicisme et protestantisme dans l’île de Timor: 1556–2003, in 2004.