Travel and Enjoy With History The White Rajahs

Travel and enjoy with History The White Rajahs

In the late 1500s, the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and British appeared on the scene. They established prosperous trading posts in Borneo, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the kingdom of Brunei had shrunk to what we now know as Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei. Kalimantan was then under Dutch rule until 1949 when it ceded the territory to the Republic of Indonesia.

Kuching's history is also Sarawak's; the kind of adventure story that would beunbelievable if it were not true. Local bookshoops are crammed with volumes old and new describing the reign of the White Rajahs in great detail. What follows is a briefsummary.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Sarawak was a typical Malay principality, underthe control of the Sultan of Brunei. Apart from occasional piracy on the coast and headhuntingin the interior, Sarawak was peaceful. All of this changed when the Sultan of Bruneiappointed a hugely unpopular Governor.The Malays and Bidayuh of the Sarawak River revoltedin 1836 and declared independence. An ugly guerrilla war ensued, which continued until 1839, when JamesBrooke, a young, wealthy Englishman arrived on the scene in his well-armed yacht, The Royalist.

The state of Sarawak began to emerge as a separate political entity when an English adventurer, Sir James Brooks, war granted some territory in 1841 in return for his services in helping Brunei quell a rebellion in one of its provinces. The state of Sabah, on the other land, was under the rule of the Chartered Company of British North Borneo.

Brooke set himself up as a freelance adventurer and the Sultan's uncle immediately asked himto help put down the rebellion. Brooke readily agreed. The spears and muskets of the rebels wereno match for a modern warship, and the conflict soon ended. As a reward, the grateful Sultan madeBrooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. Brooke was not content to rule over a small riverside town, and set out to pacity his new kingdom, with the help of the British Navy. At the time of his death in 1868,Sarawak was a relatively peaceful territory covering the area between Tanjung Datu(which is now theIndonesian border) and Kuching.

James Brooke's nephew Charles, who succeeded him, was no adventurer like his uncle, but an excellent administrator and politician. He set up a proper system of goverment, gradually expanding his areaof control unit it formed the present day Sarawak.His legacy is everywhere in Kuching.

It was he who built the Astana, Fort Margherita, the Courthouse, the Sarawak Museum and many other fine building.Charles Brooke died in 1917, and was succeeded by his son, Charles Vyner Brooke, who built on his father'sachievements and improved the general administration of the state. In 1941 he set up a State Councilto oversee the passing of new laws, bringing the first stirrings of democracy to Sarawak. The rule ofthe State Council was short-lived, as the Japanese invaded at the end of the same year.

During the Second World War in 1941, the Japanese conquered the island. When the war ended, both Sabah and Sarawak were ceded to the British Government. The Malaysia concept was first announced by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the Malayan Prime Minister, in May 1961. Nine month later, a British Commission visited Sarawak and Sabah and discovered that the majority of the people were in favour of concept.

When the Japanese surrendered in September 1945, Sarawak came under Australian military administration.Vyner Brooke felt the state would be better off as a colony and ceded it to Britain. This move wasvery unpopular and resulted in the assassination of the Governor, Duncan Stewart, in 1949,Order waseventually restored and the colonial administration concentrated on preparing Sarawak for independence.In 1963, Sarawak and Sabah gained independence by joining with Malaya to form the new nation of Malaysia.

JAMES BROOKE, FIRST RAJAH OF SARAWAK

Index
1803 April 29: born in Benares, India
1815 Sent to England; attends Norwich Grammar School
1817 Runs away from school; parents return to England; family settles in Bath.
1819 May: receives commission in 6th Native Infantry regiment
1822 Appointed Sub-Assistant Commissary General
1824 Burmese War; Brooke organizes troop of volunteers
1825 Jan/Feb: Brooke's troop ambushed; Brooke severely injured; treated in Calcutta; August: leaves for England
1829 June: Charles (2nd Rajah) born
1830 July 18: arrives in Madras to late to rejoin service; visits China
1831 June: arrives in England
1833 Gets engaged; engagement broken; illegitimate son (Reuben Walker) born
1834 attempts trading mission in Findlay
1835 Autumn: father dies leaving Brooke 30,000 pounds
1837 visits Mediterranean; Reuben moved
1838 December: sails for Singapore in Royalist
1839 August 15: arrives in Kuching; December: visits Celebes
1840 August: returns to Kuching; October: visits scene of civil war
1841 September 24: becomes "governor" of Sarawak
1842 agent Gardner replaced by Henry Wise; July 14: Brooke leaves for Brunei; August 18: declaration of rajahship
1843 January: Wise interviewed by Peel; February: Brooke visits Singapore, Penang; June/July: Dido attacks Seribas; June: Sir Edward Belcher visits; August: Sarawak ceded in perpetuity
1844 Visits Singapore, Penang; February 12: Battle of Murdu; Spring: mother dies; August: Dido attacks Sakarang; Autumn: Hassim removed to Brunei
1845 February 17: Wise visits Sarawak; Brooke appointed Confidential Agent in Borneo; offers Wise profit participation; August: Sir Thomas Cochrane attacks Pengeran Usup
1846 Thomas Williamson (interpreter) drowned; massacre of Hassim and his brothers; Keppel Dido published; September: Wise leases antium ore to Melville & Street; December 24: Britain signs treaty with Brunei, acquires Labuan; Brooke gets Brunei coal grant
1847 Brunei coal grant given to Wise; Eastern Archipelago Co. gets charter; May: Brooke returns to Sarawak; visits Brunei; October 1: arrives in England; October 25: meets Queen Victoria; chooses missionary; portrait painted
1848 In England. Mundy Narrative published; January 24: Spenser St. John appointed as Brooke's secretary; February 1: leave for Borneo; May 20: arrive in Singapore; July: Francis McDougall (missionary) arrives in Sarawak; August 22: Brooke knighted; September 4: arrives in Kuching; names Brooke Johnson Brooke (Capt. Brooke) heir apparent; new Sarawak flag; September 24: leaves for Labuan; October: visits Brunei; splits with Wise; December: visits Sulu
1849 January, February: visits Sulu, Labuan; March: HEICS Nemesis attacks pirates; May: visits Labuan, Sulu (negotiates treaty for Britain); July 1: Battle of Batang Marau; December 14: arrives in Labuan
1850 [?]Jan 5/Feb 23: suspends Napier (Lieut.-Governor, Labuan); February, March: visits Penang, Singapore; August: visits Siam; October 24: returns to Sarawak; December: visits Labuan
1851 January 17: leaves for England; May: arrives in England
1852 Wins lawsuit against Eastern Archipelago Co.; Sultan Omar Ali dies; replaced by Mumein; July 21: Charles arrives in Sarawak; November: dismissed as Governor of Labuan
1853 Eastern Archipelago Co. charter withdrawn; Templer Letters published; April: leaves England; in Singapore learns that commission has been called against him; May: arrives in Kuching, smallpox attack; August: visits Labuan, Brunei; acquires 6 districts from Brunei;
1854 The Patinggi plots to kill Brooke; May: campaigns against Sakarrang, Seribas, and Kanawit rivers; commission held in Singapore; St John becomes Commissioner to the Independent Princes in Brooke's place
1855 asks nephew to locate Reuben; October: St. John appointed Consul-General of Brunei in Brooke's place; McDougall named Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak; Brooke visits Labuan, Brunei - settles unrest; St. John and Fox visit Chinese gold-workings at Bau
1856 August: St. John moves to Brunei; Brooke visits Singapore; Borneo Company's first Steamer, Sir James Brooke, arrives; Kungsi fined for troublemaking
1857 February 18: Chinese insurrection; Capt. Brooke arrives; Brooke visits Seribas, Sadong, and Brunei; pardons Sirib Musahor and Datu Haji; travels to England - meets Reuben in Gibraltar; wins lawsuitagainst Wise; Borneo Co. established
1858 In England. Demands payment from British government; begins correspondence with Angela Burdett-Coutts February 21: meets the Queen; October 21: suffers 1st stroke, Manchester; trouble in sago rivers. November: Makota killed
1859 In England. March: Fairbairn's Memorial Fund raises 9,000 pounds. March: Burdett-Coutts makes loan to pay Borneo Co. debt ; June: murder of Fox and Steele (Kanowit officers) ; buys Burrator (Devon)
1860 In England. Burdett-Coutts buys steamer Rainbow; conflict between Sarawak and Labuan (British); November 28: leaves for Sarawak
1861 Visits Brunei; disarms Muka fort; acquires sago districts from Brunei; Capt. Brooke formally named heir; returns to England
1862 In England. May: Life in the Forests of the Far East published
1863 Arrives in Sarawak; Capt. Brooke, in England, criticizes Brooke; Brooke deposes Capt. Brooke; returns to England
1864 In England. Britain recognizes Sarawak; July: US consul in Borneo
1865 In England. Charles Brooke (Johnson) named Brooke's heir
1866 In England. Concerned about Sarawak's finances; December 24: suffers 2nd stroke
1867 In England. February: moves to Burdett-Coutts' house
1868 In England. May: returns to Burrator; June: suffers 3rd stroke; dies.