Malays were predominantly village people at this time whereas the Chinese were more likely to dwell in urban areas. I'm willing to bet that Muslims overall might still be the majority in Johor, even though the Malay population is not even the plurality anymore.
Of Rajahs and Hornbills: A timeline of Brooke Sarawak
- Thread starter Al-numbers
- Start date
Deleted member 67076
Johor is screwed if nationalism hits it and it can't go the route of a civic or dynastic state.
Indeed. To some extent, the Johorean monarchy is already tackling the identity issue ITTL by drafting the Kanun Kangchu; a constitution-like document that enshrines the rights, citizenship, and responsibility of the Chinese immigrants (it's in the Johor updates about a dozen or so pages back, or you can read it here). However, the sultanate didn't have the record-keeping and detailed bureaucracy that the U.S had during the same period, and so didn't realize just how many immigrants had migrated into the polity by the late 1870's.
Oh, and if you're thinking just why the Chinese even want to move to Johor in the first place, let's just say the Qing Empire was not in a good shape during this period.
Actually, you're not quite right. Johor, both IOTL and ITTL, is under the effects of the Kangchu System: a spice-plantation policy by the royal government that had Chinese immigrants establish plantations all over the countryside. It's what allowed the kingdom to become rich and powerful enough to resist the British in the first place, but it also lead to many many immigrants moving into the countryside, so even the Johor Malays knew something is going on. The only reason why there isn't an ethnic war between the two is due to the sultanate's low population density in proportion to land, leading to both sides resolving many issues without much conflict.
But yes, the concept of Malay lordship would have to be changed. However, those who want to change the idea would find a few twists and turns confounding their way…
Maybe, or maybe not. Aceh has a bit more clout than most of the East Indies sultanates due to it's geographic position and history as a regional power, and because of this the polity was taken at least with some respect and decorum when conversing with faraway nations. The Ottomans and Italy would definitely bring increasing pressure on the Dutch to call off their war, but that could lead to a backlash in the form of faster Dutch expansion throughout the entire archipelago ("conquer them! before they can send help!!").
Besides that, both Rome the Porte have different ideas on what a "free" Aceh would be, which might complicate things. The 1880's will be a very interesting one for the region in general.
That might happen, or that might not. I don't think what happened in the last few pages needs repeating (Ridwan, Luke, DON'T.) but it's clear that the Tunisian Question is going to be a massively complicated one for Europe in general. Here's hoping I can do that part with justice.
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Probably. The non-Chinese immigrants mostly are Muslim, and the Hadhramis especially would have a strong presence in the urban middle class. Add them to the Malays that weren't counted because of bad roads and/or census-dodging, and there may well be enough to make Johor majority-Muslim albeit with the Chinese as an ethnic plurality.
A pan-Islamic national identity would still pit the Malays and their fellow Muslims against the Chinese, though; a civic state would be the best option if Abu Bakar can push it through and make it acceptable to all parties.
Whatever may happen, Johor achieving diplomatic recognition in Europe is huge: it's joining a very select club of non-European states that are considered real countries by the imperial powers. This won't always protect it from bullying - Thailand got bullied plenty of times - but should ensure that it won't be reduced to a princely state or colony and that it will have recourse to the customs of "civilized" international relations.
There might be, but that balance won't last forever, especially if Qing China continues to be in a bad spot and Johor continues to be seen as a possible escape route and settlement region. Of course, Abu Bakar might just go to the Ottoman Empire and get some Arab and Turkish immigrants, but I'm reminded of the fact that it's the Greeks and Armenians whom are the most international of the Porte's peoples at this time...
Maybe, but maybe not. There might be more Chinese immigrants in Johor, but they are not a completely monolithic block, and each clan or subgroup that deals with the Malays could make their own mark in inter-racial relations. Watch this space.
Yes, this is perhaps the most important development in Johor at this point. Thanks to it's wealth and governance, the sultanate is now considered as part of the "industrialized" or at least "modernized" part of the world and will be seen and treated as such by the Powers that recognize it. Johor would also have access to foreign capital and expertise ITTL that wouldn't simply vanish should the sultanate change the slightest thing about itself, plus some chance of getting the latest technological information that could be of use to it.
It's not a full guarantee against colonialism, but it sure does help being recognized.
Hey there, everyone.
So you might be thinking "where's the update?" Well, I'm typing it down as fast as I can and I'm hoping I can finish it by this weekend. However, due to University work piling up on me, the updates might slow down to a crawl from here on out. I have too many commitments and too little time, and I'm sorry if you're all getting a bit impatient with me here.
Stay curious, people.
So you might be thinking "where's the update?" Well, I'm typing it down as fast as I can and I'm hoping I can finish it by this weekend. However, due to University work piling up on me, the updates might slow down to a crawl from here on out. I have too many commitments and too little time, and I'm sorry if you're all getting a bit impatient with me here.
Stay curious, people.
So you might be thinking "where's the update?" Well, I'm typing it down as fast as I can and I'm hoping I can finish it by this weekend. However, due to University work piling up on me, the updates might slow down to a crawl from here on out. I have too many commitments and too little time, and I'm sorry if you're all getting a bit impatient with me here.
Stay curious, people.
Seconded!
The fallout of 1877: Brunei and Sulu
Charlie MacDonald, Strange States and Bizzare Borders, (weirdworld.postr.com, 2014)
OK, so we’ve seen how the sultanates of Johor and Aceh responded to the Russo-Turkish War and how both states tried to exploit the international fallout into ensuring their independence (or at least provide aid and arms, in the case of Aceh). What about Brunei and Sulu? Well… they did know what was going on and they did try to get Sultan Abdul Hamid’s attention, but…
…things didn’t go as planned.
Borneo (or more accurately, Brunei and Sulu)
So just like the last update, let’s have a little recap shall we?
In the northeast, the Sultanate of Sulu was facing an uncertain future. The previous years until then were dominated by the desire to keep itself independent from the looming threat that was the Spanish Philippines, and thus the royal court at Jolo tried their hardest to get their neighbours involved. Unfortunately, they didn’t imagine the resulting Sulu Affair to include the Kingdom of Sarawak, the Dutch East Indies, the British Empire, the Spanish Philippines, the German Empire and even Abu Bakar's Johor; with each getting involved – and striking it rich – in some way or another. However, by 1877 there was a general feeling among the Great Powers that Sulu was far too much trouble for their worth, and the royal court itself was disillusioned at their ‘helpers’’ impassiveness.
Brunei had it even worse. Remember the Yankee Rajah Affair? You know, that period in 1866 when several Americans decided to start their own White Rajah-like colony in Sabah? Well, since then the Bruneian court has been driving itself crazy on how to support the whole sultanate without getting into another damaging incident. Initially, they borrowed money. Then, they saw how Sarawak and Johor were faring and decided to try and spin up an economic system of their own, including ramping up taxes, enforcing goods monopolies and hiring Chinese traders to conduct business in the capital… and also to “make income” from dealing with the locals.
What can possibly go wrong?
…Yeow.
Here’s the thing: higher taxes + goods monopolies + arrival of people you have NO IDEA how to deal with = UNHAPPY POPULATION.
Plus, Sarawak and Johor had built up (and/or reformed) new laws and regulations stipulating trade and immigration, and that policy was something the Bruneian court had absolutely no experience in, using codes of conduct that in some parts were centuries old. Corruption on both sides was practically inevitable. With Charles Brooke leading punitive expeditions deeper and deeper into Bruneian territory, it was easy to see why most Malays and especially Dayaks switched their allegiances to Kuching. By 1877, over half of Brunei's territory was unofficially controlled by Sarawak and the sultanate was actually poorer than when it was during James Brooke’s arrival nearly 40 years ago!
So you can imagine Sultan Abdul Mo’mein’s relief when he heard that the Ottoman Empire had won in the Russo-Turkish War. The man was approaching his 92nd birthday (he was born in 1785) and many people suspected that His Majesty might not live the rest of the year. In a last ditch effort, he sent an urgent message to Kostantinyye imploring Sultan Abdul Hamid to send cash and aid to his beleaguered kingdom. In fact, both Brunei and Sulu sent letters to the Ottomans hoping that the Turks would protect them from their enemies – Brunei was too poor and Sulu too entangled to send their own emissaries/delegates like Aceh and Johor.
However, no such letters arrived at the Porte. Seriously, the Ottomans didn’t receive any word at all from Borneo in 1877. To this day, there is lot of speculation as to what really happened to the letters and since I’m pretty sure some of you will be arguing down in the comments about it I’m just going to end this part now.
And unfortunately for Abdul Mo’mein, not even his own court stood united with him. As the months went by with no Ottoman reply and as creditors from Singapore began demanding their dues, several court members – in particular those who oversaw Brunei's finances – secretly began conversing with Sarawak on yet another annexation deal. Charles Brooke was already thinking of annexing more territory from Brunei, particularly after hearing the news that Abu Bakar of Johor had went to Europe to secure independence for his kingdom. He didn't like the implications it could have for Borneo and the last weeks of 1877 was a particularly hectic time for the emissaries of Kuching.
On January 14th 1878, a new deal was presented to the Sultanate of Brunei. The terms? Sarawak would foot the bill for all the debts Brunei had incurred until 1877. In exchange, the adventurer-state would gain total control of all Bruneian areas that had aligned to the White Rajah.
Sultan Abdul Mo’mein lived for only ten days after he signed.
rest in peace, dude.
What Charles Brooke didn’t realize was that several hundred miles away, another maverick was also making a deal with the Sulu court. Well, a maverick that was also a company.
At around the midpoint of 1877, a small and diminutive trading firm began setting up shop on Japen Island, of the coast of New Guinea. Named after its founder, the Compagnia Vanella was just one of the many German, Italian, Dutch and British firms that tried to make a foothold in the East Indies during the post-Suez Canal era. Seeing that the region was already packed with similar companies, the head of the firm decided to take his business elsewhere, trying again and again across multiple archipelagos before finally ending up on the Sulu Straits. By this point, the Sulu Affair was already an open secret in the region and it wasn't hard to see the profits that could be made from smuggling and gun-running.
However, the diminutive Mr. Vanella saw bigger opportunities. He studied the lay of land and made a bit of research into the history of the sultanate, and it was from this that he discovered the Sulu court’s ambiguous claim to Eastern Sabah. The northern region of Borneo was split between Bandar Brunei and Jolo due to a massive civil war that took place several hundred years ago, and its status has become a huge matter for both sultanates. In the West, Charles Brooke had taken near-complete control of the Bruneian half, and Sarawak’s numerous exports speak of the massive resources that could be tapped from the region. On November 27th 1877, Vanella made a visit to the royal court at Jolo.
For the sultanate’s royals, the Sulu Affair had been a triumph and a disaster. It catapulted the region into prominence in international circles, but it also brought about war and near-total ruin. The capital city was completely burned to the ground in a recent Spanish attack, and the royal court had exhausted all its funds in trying to break the Spanish blockade surrounding the archipelago. Considering that, it was no wonder that they were so eager to accept Vanella’s proposal of leasing Eastern Borneo to his company in exchange for a yearly payment of 8,000 Pounds. In fact, the royal court was so grateful that they even bestowed Vanella the title “Rajah of Sandakan”!
Does anyone have a feeling that history is going to repeat itself?
If you think that wasn’t crazy enough, there was yet another agreement that was being finalized at roughly the same time over at continental Europe. For almost a decade, the empires of Britain, Germany and Spain had fought a diplomatic battle to have a say on the archipelago – without inviting anyone from Sulu, for that – and every side realized that none of them could win completely on the matter. The Sulu Agreement of January 1878 really showed this: Spain would acquiesce to foreign trade in the Sulu Archipelago and free all captured British and German ships in the region. In return, Britain and Germany would recognize Spanish sovereignty over Sulu and Maguindanao and not interfere in Spanish matters in the southern Philippines.
When news of Vanella’s acquisition of Eastern Sabah went out, you can pretty much guess everyone’s reactions. The Italian Navy quickly sent out gunboats from New Guinea to enforce the company’s claim over the region. Sarawak and the Dutch East Indies sent their own gunboats to back them off. Rome quickly shoved itself into the Sulu Agreement by declaring that it would, as one Italian parliamentarian said it “…protect any territory that has been claimed and possessed by our firms”. The Singaporean governor considered cabling Hong Kong to send ironclads to the South China Sea, and Manila actually sent a troop battalion down south. For a few weeks, it seemed a slugfest was imminent.
Despite all that, cooler heads won out. With all the sabre rattling, it’s hard to remember that a lot of people from many governments didn’t want a slugfest to break out, especially for such a small and diminutive region. Also, it was around this point that the yellow press in Europe began highlighting the various misdeeds the Sulu Sultanate had done over the ages, filling page after page with reports of slavery, piracy, disregard for ‘civilized’ maritime laws, and other infractions. Sure enough, many people began wondering whether defending such a sultanate was really worth all the smuggling and political wrangling.
In the end, an extra clause was inserted to the Sulu Agreement stipulating that Eastern Sabah was now in the hands of the Italian government. Both Sarawak and the Dutch East Indies protested against the inclusion, but later – and grudgingly – accepted the new status-quo. Sulu was left to fend for itself against the Spanish Philippine Navy, and Jolo quickly fell – though continued resistance would last all throughout the 1880’s and 1890’s. The Sulu Affair was officially concluded on March the 12th with the handover of the smuggling bases to the Compagnia Vanella, which they would later convert into their own settlements.
“Sorry everyone, but the standoff's over!”
“Aww, man! I wanted a war!!”
Now you would think that would be the end, right?
Well, let’s just say this: If I tell you there is a burglar in your neighbourhood, you’d be running around checking every door, window and jewellery case to make sure they’re all closed, locked, safe and sound.
Now, if I tell you that over 400 years of brutal piracy and slave raids have changed the mind-set of the eastern Sabahan Dayaks...
...what would you think?
____________________
Notes:
1) IOTL, Sultan Abdul Mo’mein lived until he was 100 years old. ITTL, he died early.
2) The letter-sending by Brunei and Sulu is actually based from OTL. However, the Ottoman plea ended up being intercepted by the Royal Navy and destroyed. ITTL, the fate of those letters are more ambiguous.
3) The end of the Sulu Affair is somewhat taken and tweaked from the reaction to Alfred Dent and Von Overbeck’s acquisition of Sulu Borneo. The British and Spanish governments actually sent gunboats to the region to enforce each other’s sovereignty before the screw-up was addressed peacefully.
4) The final picture is actually a newspaper sketch of a Brunei/British conflict during the early days of Sarawak. Just think of it as an ITTL quirk.
OK, so we’ve seen how the sultanates of Johor and Aceh responded to the Russo-Turkish War and how both states tried to exploit the international fallout into ensuring their independence (or at least provide aid and arms, in the case of Aceh). What about Brunei and Sulu? Well… they did know what was going on and they did try to get Sultan Abdul Hamid’s attention, but…
…things didn’t go as planned.
Borneo (or more accurately, Brunei and Sulu)
So just like the last update, let’s have a little recap shall we?
In the northeast, the Sultanate of Sulu was facing an uncertain future. The previous years until then were dominated by the desire to keep itself independent from the looming threat that was the Spanish Philippines, and thus the royal court at Jolo tried their hardest to get their neighbours involved. Unfortunately, they didn’t imagine the resulting Sulu Affair to include the Kingdom of Sarawak, the Dutch East Indies, the British Empire, the Spanish Philippines, the German Empire and even Abu Bakar's Johor; with each getting involved – and striking it rich – in some way or another. However, by 1877 there was a general feeling among the Great Powers that Sulu was far too much trouble for their worth, and the royal court itself was disillusioned at their ‘helpers’’ impassiveness.
Brunei had it even worse. Remember the Yankee Rajah Affair? You know, that period in 1866 when several Americans decided to start their own White Rajah-like colony in Sabah? Well, since then the Bruneian court has been driving itself crazy on how to support the whole sultanate without getting into another damaging incident. Initially, they borrowed money. Then, they saw how Sarawak and Johor were faring and decided to try and spin up an economic system of their own, including ramping up taxes, enforcing goods monopolies and hiring Chinese traders to conduct business in the capital… and also to “make income” from dealing with the locals.
What can possibly go wrong?
…Yeow.
Here’s the thing: higher taxes + goods monopolies + arrival of people you have NO IDEA how to deal with = UNHAPPY POPULATION.
Plus, Sarawak and Johor had built up (and/or reformed) new laws and regulations stipulating trade and immigration, and that policy was something the Bruneian court had absolutely no experience in, using codes of conduct that in some parts were centuries old. Corruption on both sides was practically inevitable. With Charles Brooke leading punitive expeditions deeper and deeper into Bruneian territory, it was easy to see why most Malays and especially Dayaks switched their allegiances to Kuching. By 1877, over half of Brunei's territory was unofficially controlled by Sarawak and the sultanate was actually poorer than when it was during James Brooke’s arrival nearly 40 years ago!
So you can imagine Sultan Abdul Mo’mein’s relief when he heard that the Ottoman Empire had won in the Russo-Turkish War. The man was approaching his 92nd birthday (he was born in 1785) and many people suspected that His Majesty might not live the rest of the year. In a last ditch effort, he sent an urgent message to Kostantinyye imploring Sultan Abdul Hamid to send cash and aid to his beleaguered kingdom. In fact, both Brunei and Sulu sent letters to the Ottomans hoping that the Turks would protect them from their enemies – Brunei was too poor and Sulu too entangled to send their own emissaries/delegates like Aceh and Johor.
However, no such letters arrived at the Porte. Seriously, the Ottomans didn’t receive any word at all from Borneo in 1877. To this day, there is lot of speculation as to what really happened to the letters and since I’m pretty sure some of you will be arguing down in the comments about it I’m just going to end this part now.
And unfortunately for Abdul Mo’mein, not even his own court stood united with him. As the months went by with no Ottoman reply and as creditors from Singapore began demanding their dues, several court members – in particular those who oversaw Brunei's finances – secretly began conversing with Sarawak on yet another annexation deal. Charles Brooke was already thinking of annexing more territory from Brunei, particularly after hearing the news that Abu Bakar of Johor had went to Europe to secure independence for his kingdom. He didn't like the implications it could have for Borneo and the last weeks of 1877 was a particularly hectic time for the emissaries of Kuching.
On January 14th 1878, a new deal was presented to the Sultanate of Brunei. The terms? Sarawak would foot the bill for all the debts Brunei had incurred until 1877. In exchange, the adventurer-state would gain total control of all Bruneian areas that had aligned to the White Rajah.
Sultan Abdul Mo’mein lived for only ten days after he signed.
rest in peace, dude.
What Charles Brooke didn’t realize was that several hundred miles away, another maverick was also making a deal with the Sulu court. Well, a maverick that was also a company.
At around the midpoint of 1877, a small and diminutive trading firm began setting up shop on Japen Island, of the coast of New Guinea. Named after its founder, the Compagnia Vanella was just one of the many German, Italian, Dutch and British firms that tried to make a foothold in the East Indies during the post-Suez Canal era. Seeing that the region was already packed with similar companies, the head of the firm decided to take his business elsewhere, trying again and again across multiple archipelagos before finally ending up on the Sulu Straits. By this point, the Sulu Affair was already an open secret in the region and it wasn't hard to see the profits that could be made from smuggling and gun-running.
However, the diminutive Mr. Vanella saw bigger opportunities. He studied the lay of land and made a bit of research into the history of the sultanate, and it was from this that he discovered the Sulu court’s ambiguous claim to Eastern Sabah. The northern region of Borneo was split between Bandar Brunei and Jolo due to a massive civil war that took place several hundred years ago, and its status has become a huge matter for both sultanates. In the West, Charles Brooke had taken near-complete control of the Bruneian half, and Sarawak’s numerous exports speak of the massive resources that could be tapped from the region. On November 27th 1877, Vanella made a visit to the royal court at Jolo.
For the sultanate’s royals, the Sulu Affair had been a triumph and a disaster. It catapulted the region into prominence in international circles, but it also brought about war and near-total ruin. The capital city was completely burned to the ground in a recent Spanish attack, and the royal court had exhausted all its funds in trying to break the Spanish blockade surrounding the archipelago. Considering that, it was no wonder that they were so eager to accept Vanella’s proposal of leasing Eastern Borneo to his company in exchange for a yearly payment of 8,000 Pounds. In fact, the royal court was so grateful that they even bestowed Vanella the title “Rajah of Sandakan”!
Does anyone have a feeling that history is going to repeat itself?
If you think that wasn’t crazy enough, there was yet another agreement that was being finalized at roughly the same time over at continental Europe. For almost a decade, the empires of Britain, Germany and Spain had fought a diplomatic battle to have a say on the archipelago – without inviting anyone from Sulu, for that – and every side realized that none of them could win completely on the matter. The Sulu Agreement of January 1878 really showed this: Spain would acquiesce to foreign trade in the Sulu Archipelago and free all captured British and German ships in the region. In return, Britain and Germany would recognize Spanish sovereignty over Sulu and Maguindanao and not interfere in Spanish matters in the southern Philippines.
When news of Vanella’s acquisition of Eastern Sabah went out, you can pretty much guess everyone’s reactions. The Italian Navy quickly sent out gunboats from New Guinea to enforce the company’s claim over the region. Sarawak and the Dutch East Indies sent their own gunboats to back them off. Rome quickly shoved itself into the Sulu Agreement by declaring that it would, as one Italian parliamentarian said it “…protect any territory that has been claimed and possessed by our firms”. The Singaporean governor considered cabling Hong Kong to send ironclads to the South China Sea, and Manila actually sent a troop battalion down south. For a few weeks, it seemed a slugfest was imminent.
Despite all that, cooler heads won out. With all the sabre rattling, it’s hard to remember that a lot of people from many governments didn’t want a slugfest to break out, especially for such a small and diminutive region. Also, it was around this point that the yellow press in Europe began highlighting the various misdeeds the Sulu Sultanate had done over the ages, filling page after page with reports of slavery, piracy, disregard for ‘civilized’ maritime laws, and other infractions. Sure enough, many people began wondering whether defending such a sultanate was really worth all the smuggling and political wrangling.
In the end, an extra clause was inserted to the Sulu Agreement stipulating that Eastern Sabah was now in the hands of the Italian government. Both Sarawak and the Dutch East Indies protested against the inclusion, but later – and grudgingly – accepted the new status-quo. Sulu was left to fend for itself against the Spanish Philippine Navy, and Jolo quickly fell – though continued resistance would last all throughout the 1880’s and 1890’s. The Sulu Affair was officially concluded on March the 12th with the handover of the smuggling bases to the Compagnia Vanella, which they would later convert into their own settlements.
“Sorry everyone, but the standoff's over!”
“Aww, man! I wanted a war!!”
Now you would think that would be the end, right?
Well, let’s just say this: If I tell you there is a burglar in your neighbourhood, you’d be running around checking every door, window and jewellery case to make sure they’re all closed, locked, safe and sound.
Now, if I tell you that over 400 years of brutal piracy and slave raids have changed the mind-set of the eastern Sabahan Dayaks...
...what would you think?
____________________
Notes:
1) IOTL, Sultan Abdul Mo’mein lived until he was 100 years old. ITTL, he died early.
2) The letter-sending by Brunei and Sulu is actually based from OTL. However, the Ottoman plea ended up being intercepted by the Royal Navy and destroyed. ITTL, the fate of those letters are more ambiguous.
3) The end of the Sulu Affair is somewhat taken and tweaked from the reaction to Alfred Dent and Von Overbeck’s acquisition of Sulu Borneo. The British and Spanish governments actually sent gunboats to the region to enforce each other’s sovereignty before the screw-up was addressed peacefully.
4) The final picture is actually a newspaper sketch of a Brunei/British conflict during the early days of Sarawak. Just think of it as an ITTL quirk.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Wait, I thought that Sabah was part of Sarawak now since the end of the American Raja business?
Well Brunei survives for now, but they have lost a whole lot and their internal situation remains miserable. They may survive if they ally with the other Bornean powers.
Italy gets a slice of thep ice. But I wonder how well they will be able to exploit it? Sarawak and the DEI will not be keen on this interloper, and might try and nibble it away. It could lead to a major break between Kuching and London down the line if London wants Rome as a friend.
Italy gets a slice of thep ice. But I wonder how well they will be able to exploit it? Sarawak and the DEI will not be keen on this interloper, and might try and nibble it away. It could lead to a major break between Kuching and London down the line if London wants Rome as a friend.
Well, Sulu is down for now. But they're not knocked out yet. Tough luck.
Here's to hoping that if the Philippine Revolution still happens, the Moros will now join the party...
Here's to hoping that if the Philippine Revolution still happens, the Moros will now join the party...
I would call Sulu down. If it goes independent again it will be a new regime after the guerillas have been put down. The book is closed on this era for Sulu.
The Italians are building settlements from old smuggler bases. There was a lot of emigration from Italy at this point yes? Any chance a portion of that could be channeled to Borneo?
Italian Sabah, at last !
Well, it's part-Italian Sabah if one were to be specific.
Actually, the Yankee Rajah Affair only involved Western Sabah aka. Bruneian Sabah - it's the blue highlighted area on the map. Once the Affair blew up, Torrey kept the lease to the specific region and sailed to Hong Kong, where he would later sell the deal to Sarawak. The eastern portion of Sabah continued being a Sulu possession until the late 1870's.
I did not expect this. A Sabah that doesn't go to the Philippines, but instead to Italy?!?
Well, I do like to surprise people.
The notion of Italy acquiring Sabah is not actually that far-fetched; IOTL, the man who held the lease to Sulu - Baron von Overbeck - actually tried to convince the Italians to buy the lease from him, hoping that Rome would try and make something out of the region. They declined. ITTL, it is an Italian merchant who obtained the lease, and there is a more powerful and (comparatively) more successful Rome that is more considerate to the prospect.
I did say several times over that Brunei will be going through the ITTL equivalent of the Trauma Conga Line. With a disunited court, falling trade, a distrustful populace, and an ever-expanding foreign neighbor, Brunei can be said to have the worst luck in the history of Borneo. Allying might seem like a good idea to reverse all this, but with their recent disastrous track record of dealing with foreign Powers (Sarawak, the British, the Americans, etc.) there will be many in the Bruneian court that'll view the idea with distaste.
The Bruneian saga is almost over, but not yet. There will be an ending, but it will force the royal court to stare at the abyss.
As for Italian Sabah, the region is technically held by the Compagnia Vanella but Rome will force it to open the region to other firms anyways. As for exploitation, the Italians will try to emulate Sarawak and the DEI's successes. However, they will soon discover that 400 years of Sulu rule have made it's mark on the region, especially with the Dayaks and Malays living therein. Distrust and paranoia are powerful motivators, and the native inhabitants might view the Italians as no better than the Illanun pirates they replaced.
As for Sarawak and the DEI, they might try and use the opportunity to nibble some parts, or they may simply sit back and watch it all burn.
In technical terms, Sulu is definitely finished as an independent state, but the Moros and Tausugs are not giving up just yet. The weapons and supplies they have acquired through the Affair are not fully depleted, and the Spanish government in Manila can't patrol every island in the archipelago. If the Philippine Revolution goes ahead in the near-future, there might be a deadly sting waiting for the Spanish in Sulu. Watch this space.
As for Italian immigration, many of the emigrants would be moving to the Americas to work and settle, and the environment of the East Indies won't sit well with most prospectors. With that being said, I do have a little POD that may address that question.
With the main issues all wrapped up, I'll probably make a few scattered updates from various places around the world to close out the 1870's. Sarawak and Malaya might be the main focus of this TL, but there is still a whole world out there to think about. We might see a revisiting of some places, and see some new incidents emerge from the recent political fallout (Tunisia, the De Rays expedition, etc.)
Seriously,does Italy have the appropriate port facilities in the region to get a navy to Sabah?My impression of the Italian navy during this period was that it's navy was designed to fight in the Mediterranean.It has no expeditionary capability to deploy it's forces long range that far to Asia.If Sawarak wants to,they can probably invade Italian Sabah and Italy can do nothing about it.