Buru is an island in Indonesia. About a third of the people are indigenous, mostly Buru, but also Lisela, Ambelau and Kayeli people. Between 1658 and 1942, Buru was colonised by the Dutch East India Company and then by the Crown of the Netherlands. The Japanese army had the island between 1942 and 1945. In 1950, it became part of independent Indonesia. During president Suharto's New Order administration in the 1960s–1970s, Buru was a prison for thousands of political prisoners. The famous Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote most of his novels, including "Buru Quartet" in that prison.