History of Brunei

The history of Brunei concerns the settlements and societies located on the north coast of the
island of Borneo, which has been under the influence of Indianised kingdoms and empires for much
of its history. Local scholars assume that the Islamisation of Brunei started in the fifteenth century,
with the formation of the Bruneian Empire, a thalassocracy which covered the northern part
of Borneo and the southern Philippines.[1] At the end of the 17th century, Brunei subsequently
entered a period of decline brought on by Brunei Civil War, piracy, and European colonial expansion.
Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei lost Manila and evacuated their capital for a
brief period until the Spanish withdrew. The empire lost much of its territory with the arrival of
the Western powers, such as the Spanish in the Philippines and the British in Labuan, Sarawak,
and North Borneo. The decline of the Bruneian Empire accelerated in the nineteenth century when
Brunei gave much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small
landmass and separation into two parts. Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin later appealed to the
British to stop further annexation in 1888. In the same year, the British signed a "Treaty of
Protection" and made Brunei a British protectorate until 1984 when it gained independence and
prospered due to the discovery of oil.

Before the Sultanate[edit]

A stone tortoise with a stele in memory of Ma-na-jih-chia-na in Nanjing.

The history of Brunei before the arrival of Magellan's ships is based on speculation, 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 Borneo in the 7th century.[a] It was probably a subject state of the
powerful Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. One predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin:
Boni).[4] 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 Javanese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakretagama, canto 14, written by
Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit.[5] 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; his tomb was rediscovered in the 20th
century, and is now a protected monument.
Chinese settlement and the Kinabatangan[edit]
Main articles: Kinabatangan and Kinabatangan River
The greater part of the official historical record for early Brunei until the arrival of Pigafetta is based
on legends and assumptions.
The historical account – lacking any real evidence – has been constructed in such a way that around
1370, Zhu Yuan Zhang sent representatives to Brunei and Indonesia, and Brunei paid tribute to the
Ming Chinese, which signified the strong influence of the Ming Dynasty and accounts for the
combination of Ong Sum Ping's influence in Brunei. the account that follows below is the version
currently accepted in Brunei, but challenged by a number of scholars because it lacks factual
substance.
In 1402, after the death of Sultan Muhammad Shah ( or known before converting to Islam, Awang
Alak Betatar), his son Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the throne. Ong Sum Ping and Pengiran
Temenggong became regents. 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. During this two
years, Bruneian nobles were locked in a power struggle; in the end, with the clever maneuvering of
Ong Sum Ping, Sultan Ahmad came out victorious and Pengiran Temenggong's faction lost. Ahmad
thus became the second Sultan in Bruneian official History. Sultan Ahmad was married to a sister of
Ong Sum Ping. To further cement his influence on the new sultan, Ong Sum Ping advised the sultan
that a visit to China, a regional Asian power at that time was good. Thus, the new sultan sent Ong
Sum Ping and several court officials as representatives to China to assure the new Ming Dynasty of
continued tributary relationship. Ong Sum Ping and his entourage landed in the coastal region of
Fujian; emperor Yong Le had officials organised a welcome party for Ong Sum Ping.
Advanced in age, Ong Sum Ping could not make the long journey back to Brunei, and died in
Nanjing. Prior to his death, he had pleaded with Emperor Yong Le to grant several wishes among
which (1) that Brunei continued to be a tributary kingdom, (2) Sungai Kinabatangan and the
surrounding area, decades ago under the province of the Mongol Yuan dynasty of China, be re-
annexed as Chinese territory, (3) that the highest mountain in the territory be named "Kinabalu" or
"new China" or alternatively some say "Chinese Widow". Emperor Yong Le granted his wish and
further conferred upon Ong's son Awang as the new ruler, and named the mountain of Brunei as
Chang Ning Mountain‫ – مالسلا لبج‬mean Jabel Alsalam ("mountain of peace") in Arabic.
In 1408, Awang returned to Brunei under the escort of Chinese Imperial eunuchs, officials, and
soldiers. Awang succeeded to the position of Ong Sum Ping in Brunei, and continued to exercise
political power and influence upon the sultan. The Chinese still referred to him as 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, who was
the wife of Sultan Ahmad gave birth to a daughter. This daughter later inherited the throne and her
consort became Sultan Sharif Ali (so he was Sayyidina), who came from the Arabian Peninsula.
Sultan Sharif Ali was a descendant of Muhammad. The granddaughter and the Arabian were the
ancestors of today's sultan of Brunei.
Bruneians today, still believe that Ong Sum Ping was an ancestor of the Brunei royalty. Even though
the Bruneian royal family stressed more on the concept of Melayu Islam Beraja tub ,‫مالي إ س الم ب راج‬
they do not discount the Chinese connection. Ong Sum Ping's name was recorded under the
genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei. In the capital of Brunei—Bandar Seri Begawan (similar with श्री
भगवान् in Sanskrit), there exist a street named Jalan Ong Sum Ping, and the Muzium Brunei also
contained artifacts of Ong Sum Ping. The tomb of Ong Sum Ping's son is also under the Bruneian
government heritage protection.
The historical "Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu" provide further evidence of Ong Sum Ping's existence.
According to the record of the Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu, Ong Sum Ping arrived at Brunei with several
Chinese soldiers on a commission to collect a certain precious Jewell, called Gomala, in North
Borneo, assumed to be on the highest mountain and said to be guarded by a dragon. Ong Sum Ping
and his men later landed on the eastern coast of North Borneo. The Chinese explorers knew from
vast experience that to reach a high mountain they had to logically start from the big river mouth and
move ever upwards to the source of the river. Ong Sum Ping set up a staging station on the
Kinabatangan river and sent men upriver. Unfortunately, the source of the Kinabatangan river is not
on Mount Kinabalu. After the demise of Ong Sum Ping, Awang the new raja of Kinabatangan sent an
expedition, this time up the Labuk River. It only managed to set up another staging station at the
confluence of the Liwagu Kogibangan and Liwagu Kawananan.

The Nunuk Ragang Connection[edit]

Later this staging station became the permanent settlement now known as Nunuk Ragang the
original home of the Kadazan-Dusun race. At the staging station the Chinese hung red colored
pieces of fabric and red colored banner to indicate their presence to any follow-up parties. Red is an
important symbolic color in Chinese culture, and even today whenever the Chinese set up a new
project such as land development, they never neglect to set up a red coloured altar and offer
sacrifice.[6] There is no zoological record of a red coloured Banyan Tree so it can only be assumed
that to the simple native mind the Banyan tree has turned red, hence the name Nunuk Ragang. The
offspring of the soldiers, porters and local natives women became the ancestors of the Kadazan-
Dusun race. This explain the reason behind the many similarities in language between the natives of
Taiwan and the Kadazan-Dusun language. The ethnic Tagahas, warlike and aggressive claim they
are the descendants of soldiers. Additionally, the local native women were themselves descendants
of previous waves of migrations of Austronesian people from mainland China and Taiwan to Sahul,
and also during the Mongol Empire Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan, in 1292, during which Sulu
and Northern Borneo became a province under the Mongol Empire.[7] When, on a visit to China with
the Sultan of Brunei in 1408, Ong Sum Ping died, his son, Awang returned as the new Raja of
Kinabatangan three years later. Meanwhile, the settlement at Nunuk Ragang had already been well
established and thriving. The new Raja, having converted to Islam was no longer interested in Jewell
and dragon, but more concerned with court affairs having been appointed an important adviser to
the Brunei Sultanate. Trading in the abundant resources at Kinabatangan became his most primary
concern and the men at Nunuk Ragang was abandoned and left to fend for themselves.
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.

Relations with Europeans[edit]

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 Siam.
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 who had been sending expeditions from
Mexico 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.[b] In 1578, the Spanish took Sulu and in April attacked and
captured Brunei itself, after demanding that the sultan cease proselytising 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.[8][9] 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.[10] The short-
term damage to the sultanate was minimal, as Sulu regained its independence soon after. However,
Brunei failed to regain 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.

Relationship with the British and Sarawak[edit]

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
recognised 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, which, after a series of events, resulted in the first consul of the
US, Charles Lee Moses, burning down his consulate. 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). Eventually, due to
these seizures of territory, which was accepted by the sultan for annual lease payments, the British
occupied the vast majority of the coast of Brunei. The Sultan only stopped handing over territory
when Sarawak asked for Limbang, which the Sultan refused. Against the Sultan's wishes, Sarawak
obtained control over the territory.
In 1906, the British started a residency in Brunei. This was averted from greater British control from
a friendly report by Malcolm Stewart Hannibal McArthur, who prevented the nation from being
colonized completely, in the Report on Brunei in 1904. This residency, with the Sultan having control
over internal policies, continued until 1984. During this residency, oil was discovered, in 1928, by
Shell. This is what has changed the country from its former impoverished state to a much wealthier
one today.