History of Brunei
Encyclopedia
The Sultanate of Brunei
ruled during the fourteenth to the sixteenth century CE. Its territory covered the northern part of Borneo
and the southern Philippines
. Europe
an influence gradually brought an end to this regional power
. Later, there was a brief war with Spain
, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the Bruneian Empire
culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs
of Sarawak
, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British
protectorate
from 1888 to 1984.
in the 7th century (Not to be confused with the Indian state of the same name
). It was probably a subject state of the powerful Srivijaya
empire based in Sumatra
. Another possible predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin: Boni) By the 10th century Po-ni had contacts with first the Song
dynasty and at some point even entered into a tributary relationship with China. By the 14th century Po-ni also fell under the influence of the Java
nese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakertagama, canto 14, written by Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit. However this may have been nothing more than a symbolic relationship, as one account of the annual tribute owed each year to Majahpahit was a jar of areca
juice obtained from the young green nuts of the areca palm. The Ming dynasty resumed communications with Po-ni in the 1370s and the Po-ni ruler Ma-na-jih-chia-na visited the Ming capital Nanjing in 1408 and died there. In 1424, the Hongxi Emperor
ended China's maritime program, and with it its relationship with Po-ni.
Historical texts from the Song dynasty and archaeological evidence suggest that Po-ni was heavily influenced by Hindu
civilization, as transmitted by Hindu culture in Java and Sumatra, and not directly from India
. The system of writing used was a Hindu script. There was also a heavy Chinese influence, with Chinese coins dating from as early as the seventh century being found in present-day Brunei.
The legend goes on to tell how Ong Sum Ping and his sister, and the Chinese people, developed the area of Sungai Kinabatangan, and they increased their influence there. With the increase of his prosperity, the native Malays named him Raja, or king. The Chinese named him "Chung Ping" - meaning the General. We can see that Ong Sum Ping controlled the Eastern Kalimantan apparently, especially the Chinese military power.
Located in the northern part of the Kinabatangan area was the Sultanate of Brunei; its southern area was controlled by local Malays and they were in decline. In the eastern part, they suffered from the invasion of the sultan of Sulu. When the new ruler - Sultan Muhammad Shah - ascended the throne, he asked for the help of Ong Sum Ping. Sultan Muhammad Shah married his daughter to Ong Sum Ping, and titled him Maharaja Lela. Muhammad Shah also admissed his brother to marry the sister of Ong Sum Ping, and titled her Puteri Kinabatangan. Via these marriages, These two regional powers built a close relationship. Under the cooperation of Ong Sum Ping and the Chinese armies, they fought against the Sulu invasion, and Brunei was saved from utter collapse.
The historical account - lacking any real evidence - has been constructed in such a way that around 1370, Zhu Yuan Zhuang
sent representatives to Brunei via Indonesia, and Brunei paid tribute to the Ming Chinese. This signified the strong influence of the Ming Dynasty, and accounts for the combination of Ong Sum Ping's influence in Brunei. In these 30 years, the two main powers combined quickly. The Chinese expanded their influence from the East of the Kinabatangan River to Northern Borneo. They built Chinese towns and villages, among which was present-day Kota Kinabalu
.
In 1402, after the death of Sultan Muhammad Shah, his son Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the throne. Ong Sum Ping and Pengiran Temenggong became regent
s. Bruneian history has seldom treated Hasan as the second Sultan. In 1406, after the death of Sultan Majid Hasan, there existed a two-year power vacuum. In these two years, Bruneian nobles started a power struggle; in the end, Sultan Ahmad won out, and Pengiran Temenggong failed. Ahmad became the second Sultan in Bruneian History. Ong Sum Ping consolidated his power again. He didn't forget China after the immigration to Brunei, but continued to perpetuate Chinese cultural identity under the new Ming Dynasty. Thus, he sent a representative with his armies to China. He landed on the coastal region of Fujian; emperor Yong Le
was pleased and asked for the official to organize a welcome party for Ong Sum Ping. In this trip, they saw the changes in China.
At his advanced age, Ong Sum Ping could not make the long journey back to Brunei, so he missed the happiness of returning to his homeland, and he died in Nanjing. Before his death, he asked Emperor Yong Le that (1) Brunei and Sungai Kinabatangan be made (or annexed as) Chinese territories, (2) named Gunung Kinabalu, and (3) that he himself be buried in China. Emperor Yong Le agreed and titled Ong's son Awang as the new ruler, and named the mountain of Brunei as Chang Ning Mountainجبل السلام - mean Jabel Alsalam ("mountain of peace") in Arabic.
In 1408, Awang came back to Brunei under the protection of Imperial eunuchs and officials. Awang succeeded to the influence of Ong Sum Ping in Brunei, and continued to exercise political power. The Chinese still called them Chung Ping - General. In 1412, he paid tribute to Emperor Yong Le. The wife of Ong Sum Ping was also buried in Brunei at a location which the local Malays called Bukit Cina. The sister of Ong Sum Ping and Sultan Ahmad gave birth to a daughter, who married Sultan Sharif Aliسلطان شريف علي(so he was Sayyidina-سيدنا); the man came from Arabian Peninsulaالشبة الجزيرة العربية, and was the descendant of Nabi Muhammad SAWالنبي محمد.
Even today, because of their influence, Bruneians still believe that Ong Sum Ping was the ancestor of the Brunei royalty. Even though the Bruneian royal family stressed more the theories of Malay Islam Berajaملاي إسلام براج, but they didn't disagree with it; obviously they gave him positive criticism, and recorded Ong Sum Ping under the genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei. In the capital of Brunei—Bandar Seri Begawanبندر سري بغاوان, there was a Jalan Ong Sum Ping (Arabic: سارع ونغ سوم بينغ), and the Muzium Brunei also contained artifacts of Ong Sum Ping. The tomb of Ong Sum Ping's son is also protected by the Bruneian government.
To prove the existence of Ong Sum Ping, the Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu could provide the best evidence. According to the record of the Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu, when Ong Sum Ping first arrived at Brunei with many Chinese, he said that he was ordered to collect jewelry in Sabah, and the mountain was named Gunung Kinabalu. The legend said that some attractive animal might appear in the forest, and they ate some people. Ong Sum Ping brought the candle with his colleague, and got the jewelry at last. Ong Sum Ping got a daughter, who married Sultan Ahmad in year of 1375 (during the Ming Dynasty in China). The kingship was handed down 20 times until now; the daughter of Sultan Ahmad married with Sultan Sharif Ali, and came to the throne. He was the ancestor of today's Sultan Haji Hassanal.
According to this record, Ong Sum Ping didn't become Sultan, but his daughter was married to the Sultan, and he became the Sultan's father-in-law. Bruneian royal houses adopted the maternal succession system; it is known for certain that his maternal granddaughter became the Queen of Sultan Sharif Ali. However, it is believed that the year might be in 1375, not in the Yuan Dynasty, but in the 8th year of Emperor Hong Wu.
The later history of Po-ni, or Borneo, remains somewhat obscure. By the middle of the 15th century Po-ni had entered into a close relationship with the Muslim kingdom of Malacca
. This era also saw the origin of the ruling dynasty, which continues to this day. According to the Syair Awang Semaun (also spelled Simawn), Brunei's national epic poem, the present-day sultanate originated when Dewa Emas Kayangan descended to earth from heaven in an egg. He had children with a number of aboriginal maidens, and one of these children converted to Islam
and became the first sultan. However, the state continued to be multicultural. The second sultan was either Chinese or married a Chinese woman. The third sultan was said to be part Arab, who are seen in South
and Southeast Asia
as the descendents of Muhammad.
The sultanate oversaw a gradual expansion of the state's influence and borders. This was accelerated with the conquest of Malacca by Portugal
in 1511. Brunei benefited from the scattering of Muslim merchants and traders who were forced to use other ports. These merchants probably also helped to speed the conversion of the general population to Islam.
The sultanate was a thalassocracy
, a realm based on controlling trade rather than land. Situated in a strategic location between China and the trading networks of southeast Asia, the state served as an entrepot
and collected tolls on water traffic. The society was hierarchical, with the sultan serving as despot. His powers were limited, however, by a council of princes of royal blood. One of the council's duties was to arrange for royal succession.
The reign of the fifth sultan, Bolkiah
(1485–1521), is often described as Brunei's "golden age". The sultanate's control extended probably over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak
and Sabah
, the Sulu archipelago
, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The sultanate's influence also spread north into the Philippines
, where colonies were planted in Manila Bay
. The sultan also visited Java and Malacca. At the end of Bolkiah's reign, in 1521, the first Europeans visited Brunei when Ferdinand Magellan
's expedition arrived at the port. Antonio Pigafetta
, a navigator on the trip, described an amazing city. The Europeans rode to visit the sultan on top of "elephants, caparisoned in silk-cloth". The inhabitants of the palace "had their loins covered with gold-embroidered cloth and silk, wore poniards with golden hilts, ornamented with pearls and precious stones, and had many rings on their fingers". The visitors were served meals on porcelain dishes.
Pigafetta described a city of 25,000 families living in wooden houses built on stilts to raise them above the water. At high tide, women would ride in boats selling merchandise. The sultan's palace was surrounded by brick ramparts and protected by numerous brass and iron cannons.
This prosperous era continued through the reign of the ninth sultan, Hassan, who is credited with developing an elaborate Royal Court structure, elements of which remain today.
.
Relations with Spain
were far more hostile. From 1565 on, Spanish and Brunei forces engaged in a number of naval skirmishes, and in 1571 the Spanish succeeded in capturing Manila
from the Brunei aristocracy that had been established there. Brunei raised several large fleets with the intention of recapturing the city, but the campaigns, for various reasons, never launched. In 1578, the Spanish took Sulu and in April attacked and captured Brunei
itself, after demanding that the sultan cease proselytizing in the Philippines and, in turn, allow Christian missionaries to be active in his kingdom. The Spaniards withdrew after suffering heavy losses due to a cholera
or dysentery
outbreak. They were so weakened by the illness that they decided to abandon Brunei to return to Manila on 26 June 1578, after just 72 days. The short-term damage to the sultanate was minimal, as Sulu regained its independence soon after. However, Brunei failed to gain a foothold in Luzon
, with the island firmly in Spanish hands.
The long-term effects of regional changes could not be avoided. After Sultan Hassan, Brunei entered a period of decline, due to internal battles over royal succession as well as the rising influences of European colonial powers in the region, that, among other things, disrupted traditional trading patterns, destroying the economic base of Brunei and many other Southeast Asian sultanates.
During Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II
’s reign, disturbances occurred in Sarawak
. In 1839, the British adventurer James Brooke
arrived in Borneo and helped the Sultan put down this rebellion.
As a reward, he became governor and later "White Rajah" of Sarawak and gradually expanded the territory under his control. Brooke never gained control of Brunei, though he did attempt to. He asked the British to check whether or not it would be acceptable for him to claim Brunei as his own; however, they came back with bad news—although Brunei was poorly governed, it had a definite sense of national identity and could therefore not be absorbed by Brooke.
In 1843 an open conflict between Brooke and the Sultan ended in the latter's defeat. The Sultan recognized Sarawak's independence. In 1846, Brunei Town was attacked and captured by the British and Sultan Saifuddin II was forced to sign a treaty to end the British occupation of Brunei Town. In the same year, Sultan Saifuddin II ceded Labuan
to the British under the Treaty of Labuan. In 1847, he signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the British and in 1850, he signed a similar treaty with the United States. Over the years, the Sultans of Brunei ceded further stretches of territory to Sarawak; in 1877, stretches to the east of the capital were leased (later ceded) to the British North Borneo Chartered Company (North Borneo
).
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
ruled during the fourteenth to the sixteenth century CE. Its territory covered the northern part of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and the southern Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an influence gradually brought an end to this regional power
Regional power
In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. States which wield unrivaled power and influence within a region of the world possess regional hegemony.-Characteristics:...
. Later, there was a brief war with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the Bruneian Empire
Bruneian Empire
The Bruneian Empire was founded in the early 7th century on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. The empire was ruled by pagan or Hindu kings converted into Muslims by Indian, Arab and merchants from the other parts of the Malay Archipelago who came to trade and spread Islam...
culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs
White Rajahs
White Rajahs refers to a dynasty that founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, namely the Brookes, who came originally from England. A Rajah is a monarch in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.-Rulers:...
of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
from 1888 to 1984.
Before the Sultanate
The history of Brunei before the arrival of Magellan's ships is based mostly on speculation and the interpretation of Chinese sources and local legends. Historians believe that there was a forerunner to the present day Brunei Sultanate. One possible predecessor state was called Vijayapura, which possibly existed in northwest BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
in the 7th century (Not to be confused with the Indian state of the same name
Vijayapura
Vijayapura is a town in Bangalore Rural district in the Indian state of Karnataka.-Geography:Vijayapura is located at . It has an average elevation of 883 metres .-Demographics:...
). It was probably a subject state of the powerful Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
empire based in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. Another possible predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin: Boni) By the 10th century Po-ni had contacts with first the Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
dynasty and at some point even entered into a tributary relationship with China. By the 14th century Po-ni also fell under the influence of the Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakertagama, canto 14, written by Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit. However this may have been nothing more than a symbolic relationship, as one account of the annual tribute owed each year to Majahpahit was a jar of areca
Areca
Areca is a genus of about 50 species of single-stemmed palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from Malaysia to the Solomon Islands. The generic name Areca is derived from a name used locally on the Malabar Coast of India....
juice obtained from the young green nuts of the areca palm. The Ming dynasty resumed communications with Po-ni in the 1370s and the Po-ni ruler Ma-na-jih-chia-na visited the Ming capital Nanjing in 1408 and died there. In 1424, the Hongxi Emperor
Hongxi Emperor
The Hongxi Emperor was the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, in 1424. His era name means "Vastly bright".-Biography:...
ended China's maritime program, and with it its relationship with Po-ni.
Historical texts from the Song dynasty and archaeological evidence suggest that Po-ni was heavily influenced by Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
civilization, as transmitted by Hindu culture in Java and Sumatra, and not directly from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The system of writing used was a Hindu script. There was also a heavy Chinese influence, with Chinese coins dating from as early as the seventh century being found in present-day Brunei.
Chinese settlement in Brunei and the naming of the Kinabatangan
The greater part of the official historical record for early Brunei until the arrival of Pigafetta is based on legends and assumptions. In the late Yuan Dynasty, China became chaotic; legend has it that people who lived along the coastal area of Fujian, under the leadership of Ong Sum Ping's siblings, escaped to eastern Kalimantan—they landed at the river mouth. When they were exhausted, facing a shipping crisis, someone lost their arms. After that, the Malays named it Sungai Kinabatangan - the place where the Chinese lost their arms.The legend goes on to tell how Ong Sum Ping and his sister, and the Chinese people, developed the area of Sungai Kinabatangan, and they increased their influence there. With the increase of his prosperity, the native Malays named him Raja, or king. The Chinese named him "Chung Ping" - meaning the General. We can see that Ong Sum Ping controlled the Eastern Kalimantan apparently, especially the Chinese military power.
Located in the northern part of the Kinabatangan area was the Sultanate of Brunei; its southern area was controlled by local Malays and they were in decline. In the eastern part, they suffered from the invasion of the sultan of Sulu. When the new ruler - Sultan Muhammad Shah - ascended the throne, he asked for the help of Ong Sum Ping. Sultan Muhammad Shah married his daughter to Ong Sum Ping, and titled him Maharaja Lela. Muhammad Shah also admissed his brother to marry the sister of Ong Sum Ping, and titled her Puteri Kinabatangan. Via these marriages, These two regional powers built a close relationship. Under the cooperation of Ong Sum Ping and the Chinese armies, they fought against the Sulu invasion, and Brunei was saved from utter collapse.
The historical account - lacking any real evidence - has been constructed in such a way that around 1370, Zhu Yuan Zhuang
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
sent representatives to Brunei via Indonesia, and Brunei paid tribute to the Ming Chinese. This signified the strong influence of the Ming Dynasty, and accounts for the combination of Ong Sum Ping's influence in Brunei. In these 30 years, the two main powers combined quickly. The Chinese expanded their influence from the East of the Kinabatangan River to Northern Borneo. They built Chinese towns and villages, among which was present-day Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
.
In 1402, after the death of Sultan Muhammad Shah, his son Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the throne. Ong Sum Ping and Pengiran Temenggong became regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
s. Bruneian history has seldom treated Hasan as the second Sultan. In 1406, after the death of Sultan Majid Hasan, there existed a two-year power vacuum. In these two years, Bruneian nobles started a power struggle; in the end, Sultan Ahmad won out, and Pengiran Temenggong failed. Ahmad became the second Sultan in Bruneian History. Ong Sum Ping consolidated his power again. He didn't forget China after the immigration to Brunei, but continued to perpetuate Chinese cultural identity under the new Ming Dynasty. Thus, he sent a representative with his armies to China. He landed on the coastal region of Fujian; emperor Yong Le
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor , born Zhu Di , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His Chinese era name Yongle means "Perpetual Happiness".He was the Prince of Yan , possessing a heavy military base in Beiping...
was pleased and asked for the official to organize a welcome party for Ong Sum Ping. In this trip, they saw the changes in China.
At his advanced age, Ong Sum Ping could not make the long journey back to Brunei, so he missed the happiness of returning to his homeland, and he died in Nanjing. Before his death, he asked Emperor Yong Le that (1) Brunei and Sungai Kinabatangan be made (or annexed as) Chinese territories, (2) named Gunung Kinabalu, and (3) that he himself be buried in China. Emperor Yong Le agreed and titled Ong's son Awang as the new ruler, and named the mountain of Brunei as Chang Ning Mountainجبل السلام - mean Jabel Alsalam ("mountain of peace") in Arabic.
In 1408, Awang came back to Brunei under the protection of Imperial eunuchs and officials. Awang succeeded to the influence of Ong Sum Ping in Brunei, and continued to exercise political power. The Chinese still called them Chung Ping - General. In 1412, he paid tribute to Emperor Yong Le. The wife of Ong Sum Ping was also buried in Brunei at a location which the local Malays called Bukit Cina. The sister of Ong Sum Ping and Sultan Ahmad gave birth to a daughter, who married Sultan Sharif Aliسلطان شريف علي(so he was Sayyidina-سيدنا); the man came from Arabian Peninsulaالشبة الجزيرة العربية, and was the descendant of Nabi Muhammad SAWالنبي محمد.
Even today, because of their influence, Bruneians still believe that Ong Sum Ping was the ancestor of the Brunei royalty. Even though the Bruneian royal family stressed more the theories of Malay Islam Berajaملاي إسلام براج, but they didn't disagree with it; obviously they gave him positive criticism, and recorded Ong Sum Ping under the genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei. In the capital of Brunei—Bandar Seri Begawanبندر سري بغاوان, there was a Jalan Ong Sum Ping (Arabic: سارع ونغ سوم بينغ), and the Muzium Brunei also contained artifacts of Ong Sum Ping. The tomb of Ong Sum Ping's son is also protected by the Bruneian government.
To prove the existence of Ong Sum Ping, the Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu could provide the best evidence. According to the record of the Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu, when Ong Sum Ping first arrived at Brunei with many Chinese, he said that he was ordered to collect jewelry in Sabah, and the mountain was named Gunung Kinabalu. The legend said that some attractive animal might appear in the forest, and they ate some people. Ong Sum Ping brought the candle with his colleague, and got the jewelry at last. Ong Sum Ping got a daughter, who married Sultan Ahmad in year of 1375 (during the Ming Dynasty in China). The kingship was handed down 20 times until now; the daughter of Sultan Ahmad married with Sultan Sharif Ali, and came to the throne. He was the ancestor of today's Sultan Haji Hassanal.
According to this record, Ong Sum Ping didn't become Sultan, but his daughter was married to the Sultan, and he became the Sultan's father-in-law. Bruneian royal houses adopted the maternal succession system; it is known for certain that his maternal granddaughter became the Queen of Sultan Sharif Ali. However, it is believed that the year might be in 1375, not in the Yuan Dynasty, but in the 8th year of Emperor Hong Wu.
Conversion to Islam and "Golden Age"
Malacca Sultanate
Established by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
. This era also saw the origin of the ruling dynasty, which continues to this day. According to the Syair Awang Semaun (also spelled Simawn), Brunei's national epic poem, the present-day sultanate originated when Dewa Emas Kayangan descended to earth from heaven in an egg. He had children with a number of aboriginal maidens, and one of these children converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and became the first sultan. However, the state continued to be multicultural. The second sultan was either Chinese or married a Chinese woman. The third sultan was said to be part Arab, who are seen in South
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
as the descendents of Muhammad.
The sultanate oversaw a gradual expansion of the state's influence and borders. This was accelerated with the conquest of Malacca by Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in 1511. Brunei benefited from the scattering of Muslim merchants and traders who were forced to use other ports. These merchants probably also helped to speed the conversion of the general population to Islam.
The sultanate was a thalassocracy
Thalassocracy
The term thalassocracy refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as Athens or the Phoenician network of merchant cities...
, a realm based on controlling trade rather than land. Situated in a strategic location between China and the trading networks of southeast Asia, the state served as an entrepot
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
and collected tolls on water traffic. The society was hierarchical, with the sultan serving as despot. His powers were limited, however, by a council of princes of royal blood. One of the council's duties was to arrange for royal succession.
The reign of the fifth sultan, Bolkiah
Bolkiah
Sultan Bolkiah was the fifth Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne of Brunei upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. He ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign was known as the Golden Age because Brunei became the superpower of the Malay archipelago...
(1485–1521), is often described as Brunei's "golden age". The sultanate's control extended probably over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
and Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, the Sulu archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The sultanate's influence also spread north into the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, where colonies were planted in Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
. The sultan also visited Java and Malacca. At the end of Bolkiah's reign, in 1521, the first Europeans visited Brunei when Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
's expedition arrived at the port. Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar and explorer from the Republic of Venice. He travelled with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew on their voyage to the Indies. During the expedition, he served as Magellan's assistant and kept an accurate journal which later assisted him...
, a navigator on the trip, described an amazing city. The Europeans rode to visit the sultan on top of "elephants, caparisoned in silk-cloth". The inhabitants of the palace "had their loins covered with gold-embroidered cloth and silk, wore poniards with golden hilts, ornamented with pearls and precious stones, and had many rings on their fingers". The visitors were served meals on porcelain dishes.
Pigafetta described a city of 25,000 families living in wooden houses built on stilts to raise them above the water. At high tide, women would ride in boats selling merchandise. The sultan's palace was surrounded by brick ramparts and protected by numerous brass and iron cannons.
This prosperous era continued through the reign of the ninth sultan, Hassan, who is credited with developing an elaborate Royal Court structure, elements of which remain today.
Relations with Europeans
Brunei's relations varied with the different European powers in the region. The Portuguese, for the most part, were more interested in economic and trading relations with the regional powers and did little to interfere with Brunei's development. This does not mean that relations were always cordial, such as in 1536 when the Portuguese attacked the Muslims in the Moluccas and the ambassador to the Brunei court had to leave because of the sultan's hostility. The Portuguese also noted that the sultanate was heavily involved in the region's politics and wars, and that Brunei merchants could be found in Ligor and SiamThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Relations with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
were far more hostile. From 1565 on, Spanish and Brunei forces engaged in a number of naval skirmishes, and in 1571 the Spanish succeeded in capturing Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
from the Brunei aristocracy that had been established there. Brunei raised several large fleets with the intention of recapturing the city, but the campaigns, for various reasons, never launched. In 1578, the Spanish took Sulu and in April attacked and captured Brunei
Castille War
The Castille War was a military conflict between Brunei and Spain in 1578.-Background:...
itself, after demanding that the sultan cease proselytizing in the Philippines and, in turn, allow Christian missionaries to be active in his kingdom. The Spaniards withdrew after suffering heavy losses due to a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
or dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
outbreak. They were so weakened by the illness that they decided to abandon Brunei to return to Manila on 26 June 1578, after just 72 days. The short-term damage to the sultanate was minimal, as Sulu regained its independence soon after. However, Brunei failed to gain a foothold in Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, with the island firmly in Spanish hands.
The long-term effects of regional changes could not be avoided. After Sultan Hassan, Brunei entered a period of decline, due to internal battles over royal succession as well as the rising influences of European colonial powers in the region, that, among other things, disrupted traditional trading patterns, destroying the economic base of Brunei and many other Southeast Asian sultanates.
During Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II
Omar Ali Saifuddin II
Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin was the son of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam I and Raja Isteri Nor Alam. When his father died in 1804, he was still a minor. Therefore, his grandfather, Paduka Seri Begawan Muhammad Tajuddin ascended the throne for the second time...
’s reign, disturbances occurred in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. In 1839, the British adventurer James Brooke
James Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
arrived in Borneo and helped the Sultan put down this rebellion.
As a reward, he became governor and later "White Rajah" of Sarawak and gradually expanded the territory under his control. Brooke never gained control of Brunei, though he did attempt to. He asked the British to check whether or not it would be acceptable for him to claim Brunei as his own; however, they came back with bad news—although Brunei was poorly governed, it had a definite sense of national identity and could therefore not be absorbed by Brooke.
In 1843 an open conflict between Brooke and the Sultan ended in the latter's defeat. The Sultan recognized Sarawak's independence. In 1846, Brunei Town was attacked and captured by the British and Sultan Saifuddin II was forced to sign a treaty to end the British occupation of Brunei Town. In the same year, Sultan Saifuddin II ceded Labuan
Labuan
Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
to the British under the Treaty of Labuan. In 1847, he signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the British and in 1850, he signed a similar treaty with the United States. Over the years, the Sultans of Brunei ceded further stretches of territory to Sarawak; in 1877, stretches to the east of the capital were leased (later ceded) to the British North Borneo Chartered Company (North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
).
See also
- List of Sultans of Brunei
- History of Southeast AsiaHistory of Southeast AsiaThe history of Southeast Asia has been characterized as interaction between regional players and foreign powers. Each country is intertwined with all the others. For instance, the Malay empires of Srivijaya and Malacca covered modern day Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore while the Burmese, Thai,...
- History of AsiaHistory of AsiaThe history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe....
- BruneiBruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
Primary source
- The Philippine Islands: Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and their People, their History and Records of the Catholics Missions, as related in contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts. Vol. IV-1576-1582. Eds. Emma Helen BlairEmma Helen BlairEmma Helen Blair was a United States historian, journalist and editor, whose most notable work was a monumental documentary history of the Philippines....
and James Alexander Robertson. Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1903.
Secondary sources
- Ongkili, James P. "Ancient Chinese Trading Links." East Malaysia and Brunei. Ed. Wendy Hutton. Tuttle Publishing, 2001.
- Wright, Leigh. "Brunei: An Historical Relic." Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 17 (1977).