Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Tsibirin Timor, a cikin tsibirin tsibirin Indonesiya, an zauna har zuwa shekaru 40,000, wanda masu baƙi daga kudancin Indiya, Malaysia da Melanesia suka mamaye shi. An mallake ta da ƙananan masarautu waɗanda suka yi ciniki da kayan ƙanshi, bayi da itacen sandal tare da maƙwabtansu. Portugal ta kafa mazauni a gabashin tsibirin a shekara ta 1633. An raba Timor a tsakanin Netherlands da Portugal a shekara ta 1661, kuma an nada gwamnan farko na Timor Portuguese a shekara ta 1701. A cikin ƙarnuka uku da suka biyo baya, ƙasar Timor ta Gabas ta kasance ƙarƙashin mulkin mallaka na ƙasar Portugal. A lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na Biyu, sojojin Ostiraliya da na Netherlands ne suka mamaye Gabashin Timor, sannan Jafananci suka mamaye ta
a ranar 19 ga watan Fabrairun 1942. Sparrow Force, kwamandojin Ostiraliya da sojojin Dutch a tsibirin, sun yi yakin basasa har sai sojojin Ostiraliya da na Dutch sun janye a watan Janairun 1943. Taimakon mutanen Timor ta Gabas wajen taimaka wa 'yan Australia ya haifar da alaƙa tsakanin Ostiraliya da Timor ta Gabas wanda ya zama wani ɓangare na shahararrun almara a Ostiraliya. Bayan yaƙin ya ƙare, Ostiraliya ta mamaye Timor, wanda ya goyi bayan 'yancin Indonesiya daga Netherlands, kuma ya ba da shawarar cewa Gabashin Timor ya zama mai kula da Majalisar Dinkin Duniya (MDD), amma ya ja da baya yayin fuskantar ƙin yarda daga Burtaniya.