Two days after Japan sued for peace in August 1945, Sukarno declared Indonesian independence from Dutch rule in Batavia, Java. Australian maritime unions, led by the Waterside Workers' Federation initiated the Black Armada boycott. Dockworkers refused to load or supply Dutch ships transporting arms to reoccupy Indonesia. The embargo effectively grounded hundreds of vessels and became a pivotal act of international solidarity that crippled Dutch Colonial efforts.