Of Rajahs and Hornbills: A timeline of Brooke Sarawak
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Who knows? Maybe he takes a trip to the East Indies and ends up introducing baseball to Borneo. The Rajah's Hornbills! Coming to a town near you. 
The Birth of Sarawak
The beginning of the end, and a new strange beginning
Muhammad Amirul Idzwan, Brunei: Rise and Fall of the Bornean Empire (Delima Publishing: 2001)
The sacrifice of Japar did much to help slow down the advancing soldiers sent by the scheming nobles of the court, but it could not stop Pangiran Hashim's escape boat from developing a leak when it tried to maneuver through the Brunei swamps. The Malay-Bruneian noble who had tried to steer the sultanate from war was captured and executed that very night, along with two of his friends who were with him.
The reactions in Kuching and in the capital was one of shock and amazement; apart from the Bruneian civil war almost two-hundred years back, nothing like this has ever happened before. Almost immediately there was fast finger-pointing among the nobles as to who did what and which one orchestrated the killing. Numerous figures from Pangiran Indera Mahkota (who was residing in the city at the time) to Sultan Omar Saifuddin II himself was accused of authorizing the grisly murder. It would take years later before the full truth was revealed and by then, it was already too late.
What was more pressing for the Bruneian court was the attention the sultanate caught from both the new governor of Kuching and the British Empire. James Brooke was undoubtedly inspired by the efforts of Francis Light and Stamford Raffles in their acquiring of unofficial territory for the British, and wanted to emulate them in Borneo. It also helped that the Bruneian nobles that fled viewed the English adventurer as a force that could stabilize the "rotting" sultanate. As for the Malay lords in Kuching, they were already swayed by the man’s quelling of the Patinggi revolt and the Dayak pirates.
On the other hand, the British Royal Navy was combating piracy up and down the Bornean coast and viewed the machinations at court as impeding anti-pirate operations and even spreading them around to hassle the British. The fact that one of the sultan's own sons was implicated in both piracy and Muda Hashim's capture did not help matters. Worse was the rumor that the attack was a cover to eliminate a branch of the royal family headed by the late Pangiran…
During the days after the nobles' flight from Brunei, the ideas of James Brooke and the Royal Navy would merge together to form a new directive. Almost a month after the "Bruneian Escape", a British fleet was gathered under Admiral Thomas Cochrane and his flagship HMS Agincourt, with a mission to sail up the Bornean coast. Their destination, Bandar Brunei...
The water-village was in chaos, and it swirled all around Nurleli.
Voices shouted from a hundred raw throats while the wooden boardwalk groaned with the weight of a thousand hurried footsteps. All around were men, women, children, mothers and fathers running around to this way and that with some of them carrying what valuables mattered to them most. The entire water-village was in an uproar, and with the battle with the Orang Inggeris raging nearby, almost everyone wanted to escape being in the crossfire.
Nurleli hoped her husband and children were not among the few who went with the defenders.
"Ali! Rashid! Where are you!?" she screamed over the noise and chaos, running around a block of homes with gaping doors and open windows. A series of booms from downriver thundered immediately after, almost as if in reply to her plea. Recognizing what will happen next, Nurleli tried to run away from the sound's source, only to find her path ending in a sudden drop to the river waters below.
Then the stray cannonballs hit.
The metal spheres tore through the water-village support stilts and rocked the entire superstructure. In a panic, Nurleli grabbed a nearby house's wooden beam and tried to ride out the shaking, the sounds of a hundred screams filling the air around her. Nearby, the sound of several large splashes indicated that a few homes have collapsed into the murky waters of the River Brunei, their weight now too much for the damaged wooden pillars.
Why are they attacking us? Why is this happening? Ya Allah, what did we ever do to them?
As the shocks subsided, instinct took over. The mother began running down a different route, one that leads to the boat pier she knew instead of the village mosque where she originally wanted to go. As she ran down the boardwalk, Nurleli felt the first tears of fear run down her face. "Ali! Rashid! Where are you!!?"
The smell of burning wood nearby accompanied her all the way through. All around her, Bandar Brunei burned.
David Dana, A History of Borneo (Redondo Publishing: 2005)
...The peace treaty that was signed after the attack was, till then, the biggest humiliation for the Sultanate of Brunei.
Apart from the island of Labuan being officially ceded to the British Empire, the treaty also concerns the authority of James Brooke back in Kuching, or rather his status and position. The authority of the English adventurer and his governing lands was officially severed from Bandar Brunei, along with all the nobles who had escaped the royal capital. However, since the man had already ran the Kuching area as governor since 1842, and received the tile of Rajah by the Sultan back then as well, the treaty basically elevated James to not just governor, but as Rajah. For life.
Thus, with a single stroke of a pen an entirely new and independent state emerged on Borneo, and along with it, a new dynasty was born; the dynasty of the White Rajahs.
__________
Footnote:
1. The attack of Brunei in 1846 was a real event that was caused primarily by Pangiran Hashim's death, though anti-piracy and court politics did play their part. Though most of the fighting was concentrated on the forts alongside the river, there were a lot of unintended damages to the city proper as well; a portion of Bandar Brunei's water-villages were in ruins by the end of the fighting.
2. Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane was a real figure back then, as was his HMS Agincourt.
Muhammad Amirul Idzwan, Brunei: Rise and Fall of the Bornean Empire (Delima Publishing: 2001)
The sacrifice of Japar did much to help slow down the advancing soldiers sent by the scheming nobles of the court, but it could not stop Pangiran Hashim's escape boat from developing a leak when it tried to maneuver through the Brunei swamps. The Malay-Bruneian noble who had tried to steer the sultanate from war was captured and executed that very night, along with two of his friends who were with him.
The reactions in Kuching and in the capital was one of shock and amazement; apart from the Bruneian civil war almost two-hundred years back, nothing like this has ever happened before. Almost immediately there was fast finger-pointing among the nobles as to who did what and which one orchestrated the killing. Numerous figures from Pangiran Indera Mahkota (who was residing in the city at the time) to Sultan Omar Saifuddin II himself was accused of authorizing the grisly murder. It would take years later before the full truth was revealed and by then, it was already too late.
What was more pressing for the Bruneian court was the attention the sultanate caught from both the new governor of Kuching and the British Empire. James Brooke was undoubtedly inspired by the efforts of Francis Light and Stamford Raffles in their acquiring of unofficial territory for the British, and wanted to emulate them in Borneo. It also helped that the Bruneian nobles that fled viewed the English adventurer as a force that could stabilize the "rotting" sultanate. As for the Malay lords in Kuching, they were already swayed by the man’s quelling of the Patinggi revolt and the Dayak pirates.
On the other hand, the British Royal Navy was combating piracy up and down the Bornean coast and viewed the machinations at court as impeding anti-pirate operations and even spreading them around to hassle the British. The fact that one of the sultan's own sons was implicated in both piracy and Muda Hashim's capture did not help matters. Worse was the rumor that the attack was a cover to eliminate a branch of the royal family headed by the late Pangiran…
During the days after the nobles' flight from Brunei, the ideas of James Brooke and the Royal Navy would merge together to form a new directive. Almost a month after the "Bruneian Escape", a British fleet was gathered under Admiral Thomas Cochrane and his flagship HMS Agincourt, with a mission to sail up the Bornean coast. Their destination, Bandar Brunei...
**********
Bandar Brunei, Brunei Sultanate. May 7 1846
Bandar Brunei, Brunei Sultanate. May 7 1846
The water-village was in chaos, and it swirled all around Nurleli.
Voices shouted from a hundred raw throats while the wooden boardwalk groaned with the weight of a thousand hurried footsteps. All around were men, women, children, mothers and fathers running around to this way and that with some of them carrying what valuables mattered to them most. The entire water-village was in an uproar, and with the battle with the Orang Inggeris raging nearby, almost everyone wanted to escape being in the crossfire.
Nurleli hoped her husband and children were not among the few who went with the defenders.
"Ali! Rashid! Where are you!?" she screamed over the noise and chaos, running around a block of homes with gaping doors and open windows. A series of booms from downriver thundered immediately after, almost as if in reply to her plea. Recognizing what will happen next, Nurleli tried to run away from the sound's source, only to find her path ending in a sudden drop to the river waters below.
Then the stray cannonballs hit.
The metal spheres tore through the water-village support stilts and rocked the entire superstructure. In a panic, Nurleli grabbed a nearby house's wooden beam and tried to ride out the shaking, the sounds of a hundred screams filling the air around her. Nearby, the sound of several large splashes indicated that a few homes have collapsed into the murky waters of the River Brunei, their weight now too much for the damaged wooden pillars.
Why are they attacking us? Why is this happening? Ya Allah, what did we ever do to them?
As the shocks subsided, instinct took over. The mother began running down a different route, one that leads to the boat pier she knew instead of the village mosque where she originally wanted to go. As she ran down the boardwalk, Nurleli felt the first tears of fear run down her face. "Ali! Rashid! Where are you!!?"
The smell of burning wood nearby accompanied her all the way through. All around her, Bandar Brunei burned.
**********
David Dana, A History of Borneo (Redondo Publishing: 2005)
...The peace treaty that was signed after the attack was, till then, the biggest humiliation for the Sultanate of Brunei.
Apart from the island of Labuan being officially ceded to the British Empire, the treaty also concerns the authority of James Brooke back in Kuching, or rather his status and position. The authority of the English adventurer and his governing lands was officially severed from Bandar Brunei, along with all the nobles who had escaped the royal capital. However, since the man had already ran the Kuching area as governor since 1842, and received the tile of Rajah by the Sultan back then as well, the treaty basically elevated James to not just governor, but as Rajah. For life.
Thus, with a single stroke of a pen an entirely new and independent state emerged on Borneo, and along with it, a new dynasty was born; the dynasty of the White Rajahs.
Of Rajahs and Hornbills
A Brooke Sarawak Timeline (for now...)
A Brooke Sarawak Timeline (for now...)
__________
Footnote:
1. The attack of Brunei in 1846 was a real event that was caused primarily by Pangiran Hashim's death, though anti-piracy and court politics did play their part. Though most of the fighting was concentrated on the forts alongside the river, there were a lot of unintended damages to the city proper as well; a portion of Bandar Brunei's water-villages were in ruins by the end of the fighting.
2. Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane was a real figure back then, as was his HMS Agincourt.
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Whoops, added the footnotes. Also, I find it really amusing that the flagship for the attacking fleet was named Agincourt. I couldn't find a more contextually significant name if I tried.
Also, I might post a map of what polities are there in northern Borneo at the time.
Also, I might post a map of what polities are there in northern Borneo at the time.
Witch0Winter
Banned
Things are really picking up for the Brookes, eh? Lovely map, by the way, just gorgeous! Still loving this TL and can't wait to see what's next!
Things are really picking up for the Brookes, eh? Lovely map, by the way, just gorgeous! Still loving this TL and can't wait to see what's next!
Oh, things are going to pick up even faster soon especially since now the Brookes have their own friggin' country!
However, James will soon discover (though maybe not for the next few updates) that not everyone will like him strolling about in the Sarawak jungles blowing up longhouse pirate forts. 
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
Hmm, the title of the first book in Post 43 seems to imply the Bornean Empire is going to fall at some point. The story doesn't end with that, I trust?
Hmm, the title of the first book in Post 43 seems to imply the Bornean Empire is going to fall at some point. The story doesn't end with that, I trust?
Oh no, never that. There are many ways for an empire to fall, and the author didn't say what's going to happen in next hundred years, no?
Map of Borneo: 1846
A little something for the weekend
The polities of Borneo: A mappity-map.
Looking at it now, I kinda feel bad for Brunei; it's going to get so screwed it's not even funny...
Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
The polities of Borneo: A mappity-map.
Looking at it now, I kinda feel bad for Brunei; it's going to get so screwed it's not even funny...
Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
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Witch0Winter
Banned
Natives screwed over by the white man? Surely, you must be joking, that's ridiculous.The polities of Borneo: A mappity-map.
[mappity map]
Looking at it now, I kinda feel bad for Brunei; it's going to get so screwed it's not even funny...
Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
Natives screwed over by the white man? Surely, you must be joking, that's ridiculous.
Indeed, it's as ridiculous as a white man becoming a Rajah! Simply preposterous.
Bulungan was a sultanate that established itself in the 18th century when the royal family of the area converted to Islam. It grew well in the trade of spices and slaves, particularly with the nearby Sulu Sultanate. However, that same trade also caught the attention of the Dutch, who would make contact with the capital Tanjung Palas later in 1850. In other words, that patch in the map above has only four years left to be independent.
Also, "Bulungan" actually came from the word "Bulu Tengon" which in the language of the area actually meant "a type of Bamboo". For all their grandeur, these East Indies sultanates really have strange names.
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Witch0Winter
Banned
Speaking of which, what is the primary religion of Brooke Sarawak? Islam? And do the Brookes convert to Islam?Indeed, it's as ridiculous as a white man becoming a Rajah! Simply preposterous.
Bulungan was a sultanate that established itself in the 18th century when the royal family of the area converted to Islam. It grew well in the trade of spices and slaves, particularly with the nearby Sulu Sultanate. However, that same trade also caught the attention of the Dutch, who would make contact with the capital Tanjung Palas later in 1850. In other words, that patch in the map above has only three years left to be independent.
Also, "Bulungan" actually came from the word "Bulu Tengon" which in the language of the area actually meant "a type of Bamboo". For all their grandeur, these East Indies sultanates really have strange names. :rollseyes:
Speaking of which, what is the primary religion of Brooke Sarawak? Islam? And do the Brookes convert to Islam?
Ahhh, now this is an interesting topic. The Brookes were primarily Christian, and in the early days James Brooke did allow missionaries to travel in and around what was then Brooke Sarawak. However, their paternalism basically made them say "all these natives need to be protected, so NO Christian proselyting among you all... except in Kuching and in the major cities". As a result, a lot of the Dayaks in the larger areas of Sarawak weren't converted until after the Second World War.
However, Islam did spread around during the Brooke period (albeit much slower than in the Peninsula) and unfortunately one of the side effects of this was the almost-erasure of the Melanau ethnic group and their culture (which I'm thinking of making a culture update on their own where they have a better fate).
So to sum it all up, Brooke Sarawak was very multireligous and the Brooke family basically kept it all together by just ruling as themselves. Almost everyone was - at the very least - content with the White Rajahs and so no reason to change their supposed views on faith.
Now that being said, there was once wife of the Brookes (Gladys Brooke, BTW) who did convert to Islam, though some accounts say she did it just to get attention.
Witch0Winter
Banned
Ah, very awesome stuff. Love me a multi-religious country, especially one in the 19th century! I'll look forward to the update on the Melanau, too. Out of curiosity, though it doesn't too much to do with the TL, in OTL 2014 is the religious makeup of Sarawak similar to how it was under the Brookes? Also, take it from me, kids will do anything to get back at their parents, including converting to other religions.Ahhh, now this is an interesting topic. The Brookes were primarily Christian, and in the early days James Brooke did allow missionaries to travel in and around what was then Brooke Sarawak. However, their paternalism basically made them say "all these natives need to be protected, so NO Christian proselyting among you all... except in Kuching and in the major cities". As a result, a lot of the Dayaks in the larger areas of Sarawak weren't converted until after the Second World War.
However, Islam did spread around during the Brooke period (albeit much slower than in the Peninsula) and unfortunately one of the side effects of this was the almost-erasure of the Melanau ethnic group and their culture (which I'm thinking of making a culture update on their own where they have a better fate).
So to sum it all up, Brooke Sarawak was very multireligous and the Brooke family basically kept it all together by just ruling as themselves. Almost everyone was - at the very least - content with the White Rajahs and so no reason to change their supposed views on faith.
Now that being said, there was once wife of the Brookes (Gladys Brooke, BTW) who did convert to Islam, though some accounts say she did it just to get attention.
Ah, very awesome stuff. Love me a multi-religious country, especially one in the 19th century! I'll look forward to the update on the Melanau, too. Out of curiosity, though it doesn't too much to do with the TL, in OTL 2014 is the religious makeup of Sarawak similar to how it was under the Brookes? Also, take it from me, kids will do anything to get back at their parents, including converting to other religions.
Hmm... I don't have any credible statistics, but overall though the number of Muslim adherents has increased since the nation's accession into Malaysia, though Christianity still rules the roost in terms of Dayak converts. ITTL, the number of Muslim numbers are going to be much lower.
Also, am I reading what I'm truly reading?
Witch0Winter
Banned
Very interesting stuff, and I look forward to how that will play out in the TL. And about you're truly reading, not sure what you mean, but I will say there was a time I converted to get back at my parents.Hmm... I don't have any credible statistics, but overall though the number of Muslim adherents has increased since the nation's accession into Malaysia, though Christianity still rules the roost in terms of Dayak converts. ITTL, the number of Muslim numbers are going to be much lower.
Also, am I reading what I'm truly reading?
I've changed since, but still not gone back to my parents' religion, so joke's on them, heh.Hmm... I don't have any credible statistics, but overall though the number of Muslim adherents has increased since the nation's accession into Malaysia, though Christianity still rules the roost in terms of Dayak converts. ITTL, the number of Muslim numbers are going to be much lower.
Also, am I reading what I'm truly reading?
I agree, Borneo/Sarawak was never historically majority Muslim, pre-1900.
Cannot compare 2010 OTL stat in Borneo with pre-colonial Borneo. Too many PoDs happened OTL 20th century due to increase migrations by the Muslim Majority from Malaya or Java to Borneo.
I was wondering where you are going with Brooke's Kingdom. Borneo and Malaya are culturally different between locals pre-1900 with exceptions in coastal territories.
Wouldn't it be more practical ITTL to unify Borneo rather than go do an OTL Malaysia?