Surapati

He was just 20 when he escaped slavery and joined a group of Balinese rebels who were collaborating – on a basis of mutual mistrust – with the colonial army of the Dutch East Indies Company, the VOC. After a number of years, Surapati, the leader of the freedom fighters, turned against the VOC. He became the ruler of a small principality in East Java that was a centre for anticolonial activities. His opposition to the Dutch made him an enemy of the state in their eyes. Surapati died during a battle in 1706. In 1975, centuries after his death, he was conferred the title of National Hero of Indonesia.