Rajah.
Chesterton, 8th January 1909.
CONTENTS
| Preface | Page [vii] |
| Malay Titles | Page [xxi] |
| CHAPTER I | |
| BORNEO | |
| Geographical and geological description—Its jungles—Natural history—Races of men in Sarawak—Census—Area—Climate | Pages [1]-35 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| EARLY HISTORY | |
| Early Chinese and Hindu-Javanese influence, and settlements—Rise of the Malays—Their sultanates in Borneo—European intercourse with Northern Borneo from 1521-1803—Decline of Bruni—Earliest records of Sarawak—English and Dutch in the Malayan Archipelago and Southern Borneo from 1595—Trade monopolies an impulse to piracy—How the Sea-Dayaks became pirates—Cession of Bruni territory to Sulu—Transferred to the East India Company—Events in Bruni that led to Rajah Muda Hasim becoming Regent—His transfer to Sarawak—Oppression and depopulation of the Land-Dayaks—Condition of North-West Borneo in 1839—List of the Sultans of Bruni | [36]-60 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| THE MAKING OF SARAWAK | |
| Early life of James Brooke—First visit to Sarawak—Condition of the country—Dutch trading regulations—Brooke offered the Raj-ship—He suppresses the insurrection—The intrigues of Pangiran Makota, and the shuffling of the Rajah Muda—A crisis: Brooke invested as Rajah—Makota dismissed—Sarawak and other provinces—The Sherips—Condition of the country—The Datus—Laws promulgated—Redress of wrongs—Measures taken to check the Sekrang and Saribas pirates—Sherip Sahap receives a lesson—Brooke visits Bruni—Bruni and its court—Cession of Sarawak to Brooke confirmed—Installation at Kuching—Makota's discomfiture, and banishment—Reforms introduced—Suppression of piracy and head-hunting—Captain the Honourable H. Keppel induced to co-operate | [61]-91 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| THE PIRATES | |
| A general account of the pirates—Cruise of the Dido—Brushes with the pirates—Expedition against the Saribas—The Rajah visits Bruni—Sir Edward Belcher's mission—The Rajah joins a naval expedition against Sumatran pirates—Is wounded—Dido returns to Sarawak—The Batang Lupar expedition—Sarawak offered to the British crown—The Rajah's difficult position—Return of Rajah Muda Hasim to Bruni—The Rajah appointed H.M.'s Agent in Borneo—Visits Bruni—Intrigues of Pangiran Usup—Sir Thomas Cochrane—Usup's downfall—The pirate's stronghold in Marudu Bay destroyed—Death of Usup—Fresh troubles on the coast—Rajah Muda Hasim and his brothers murdered—Bruni attacked and captured by Cochrane—Further action against the Lanun pirates—Submission of the Sultan—His end—Sarawak becomes an independent state—Labuan ceded to the British—Jealousy and pretensions of the Dutch—Treaty with Bruni—Defeat of the Balenini pirates—The Rajah visits England, 1848—Honours accorded him—Captain James Brooke-Brooke joins the Rajah—The Sarawak flag—The Rajah establishes Labuan—Visits Sulu—Depredations by the Saribas and Sekrangs—Action taken—The Rajah revisits Sulu, and a treaty is concluded—The battle of Beting Maru—Venomous attacks upon the Rajah and naval officers—A Royal Commission demanded in Parliament to investigate the Rajah's conduct negatived—Diplomatic visit to Siam—Recognition by the United States—The Rajah returns to England, 1851—Public dinner in his honour—Commission granted by coalition ministry—The Rajah returns to Sarawak, 1853—Attack of small-pox—The Commission sits in Singapore in 1854—Complete breakdown of charges against the Rajah—Gladstone unconvinced—Mischief caused by the Commission | [92]-152 |
| CHAPTER V | |
| RENTAP | |
| Commencement of the present Rajah's career in Sarawak in 1852—Entitled the Tuan Muda—At Lundu—The situation in the Batang Lupar—Rentap—Death of Lee—The Tuan Muda at Lingga—Lingga and the people—Fresh concessions of territory—Expeditions against Dandi and Sungie Lang—The Tuan Muda in charge of the Batang Lupar and Saribas—Disturbed state of the country—Kajulau attacked—Saji's escape—First attack on Sadok, 1857—Expedition against the Saribas—A station established there—Defeat of Linggir—Second (1858) and final (1861) attacks on Sadok—End of Rentap | [153]-184 |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| THE CHINESE REBELLION, AND SECRET SOCIETIES | |
| The Chinese in Sarawak—The Secret Society, or Hueh—Circumstances that led to the rebellion—Kuching captured by the rebels—They form a provisional government, and retire up river—Their return—Malay town burnt—How the situation was changed—Flight of the Chinese—Pursued and driven over the border—Their after fate—Action of the British and Dutch authorities—The rebellion the outcome of the Commission—Comments by English papers—After the rebellion—The Hueh dormant, not extinct—Gives trouble in 1869—In open revolt against the Dutch, 1884-85—Severely punished in Sarawak in 1889, and again in 1906 | [185]-206 |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| THE SHERIP MASAHOR | |
| The Datus—The Datu Patinggi Gapur—Sherip Masahor—Gapur's misconduct and treachery—His punishment—Muka in a state of anarchy—Pangiran Matusin kills Pangiran Ersat—S. Masahor's cold-blooded revenge—The Tuan Muda at Muka—S. Masahor punished—The Rajah reforms the Bruni Government—Thwarted by the Sultan—Fort built at Serikei—The Rajah intervenes at Muka—He goes to England—Makota's death—The Tuan Muda in charge—Commencement of conspiracies—Kanowit—Troubles at Muka, and the Tuan Muda's action there—Murder of Steele and Fox—The conspiracy—Disconnected action—The general situation—The murderers of Steele and Fox punished—Ramifications of the plot—Its repression, and the fate of its promoters—Indifference of the British Government—The Rajah in England—Paralysis—Failure to obtain protection—Pecuniary difficulties—The Borneo Company, Limited—Miss Burdett-Coutts—The first steamer—Public testimonial—Burrator | [207]-245 |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| MUKA | |
| The Honourable G. W. Edwardes Governor of Labuan—Supports Sherip Masahor, and condemns the Tuan Muda—Muka closed to Sarawak traders—The Tuan Besar attempts to open friendly negotiations with the authorities at Muka—A declaration of war—Muka invested—Governor Edwardes interferes—The Tuan Besar protests, and withdraws his forces—Evil caused by Edwardes' action far-reaching—Disapproved of by the Foreign Office—Transfer of Muka to Sarawak—Banishment of S. Masahor—Territory to Kedurong Point ceded to Sarawak—S. Masahor's end—His cruelties—The Tuan Besar becomes Rajah Muda—The Tuan Muda follows the Rajah to England in 1862 | [246]-266 |
| CHAPTER IX | |
| THE LAST OF THE PIRATES | |
| The revival of piracy in 1858—Inaction of the Navy, a fruit of the Commission—Destruction of a pirate fleet by the Rainbow off Bintulu—Cessation of piracy | [267]-278 |
| CHAPTER X | |
| THE KAYAN EXPEDITION | |
| Return of the Rajah to Sarawak—The Rajah Muda retires—The recognition of Sarawak as an independent state granted—The Kayan expedition—Submission of the Kayans—The murder of Fox and Steele fully avenged—The Rajah bids farewell to Sarawak | [279]-294 |
| CHAPTER XI | |
| THE END OF THE FIRST STAGE | |
| The opening and closing of the first stage—The Rajah's retirement—His general policy—Frowned upon—What England owes to him—Paralleled with Sir Stamford Raffles—The Rajah's larger policy—Abandoned—Recognition—Financial cares—At Burrator—Death, June 11, 1868—Dr. A. R. Wallace's testimony—The Rajah's opinion of his successor—Principles of government | [295]-306 |
| CHAPTER XII | |
| THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND STAGE | |
| Charles Brooke proclaimed Rajah—Improvements needed—The Datu's testimony—System of governing—The two councils—Administration in out-stations—Malay courts—Native chiefs—The Rajah's opinions and policy—Slavery—Relations with the Dutch—The Rajah's duties—Commercial and industrial development—Disturbances between 1868 and 1870—The Rajah leaves for England—His marriage | [307]-325 |
| CHAPTER XIII | |
| BRUNI | |
| Its story—Inconsistency of British policy—Sultan Mumin—Feudal rights—Oppression and misgovernment—Trade interfered with—Apathy of the British Government—Labuan a failure—Its governors inimical to Sarawak—The Rajah visits Bruni—A treaty and its evil results—The Rajah visits Baram—The situation in that river—Bruni methods—The Kayans rebel—The Sultan disposed to cede Baram to Sarawak—The British Government disapproves—The reason—The Rajah recommends a policy—Adopted by the Foreign Office too late—The late Rajah's policy and that adopted in regard to the native states of the Malay Peninsula—Mr. Ussher Governor of Labuan—A change—Baram taken over by Sarawak—Troubles in the Limbang—Trusan ceded to Sarawak—Death of Sultan Mumin—Sultan Hasim—His difficult position—The Limbang in rebellion—The Rajah declines to help the Sultan—The Sultan advised by Sir F. Weld—Bruni becomes a protectorate, but a Resident is not appointed—The Limbang people hoist the Sarawak flag—The Rajah annexes Limbang—The Sultan refuses to accept the decision of the Foreign Office—His real motives—Sir Spenser St. John's comments—Present condition of Limbang—Muara and its coal-fields—Tenure and rights of the Rajah—Lawai—Murut feuds suppressed—Bankrupt condition of Bruni—Responsibility of the British Government—Tutong and Belait—Transfer of Lawas to Sarawak—British Resident appointed to Bruni—Alternatives before the Foreign Office—The worst adopted—A poor bargain—Death of Sultan Hasim—A harsh tax—The Rajah protests—His position at Muara—Comments on the policy of the British Government | [326]-372 |
| CHAPTER XIV | |
| THE SEA-DAYAKS | |
| Three stages in the Rajah's service—A fourth added—Sea-Dayak affairs to 1907—The character of the Sea-Dayaks—The Kayans, Kenyahs, and other inland tribes—Tama Bulan | [373]-392 |
| CHAPTER XV | |
| THE RAJAH AND RANEE | |
| Their arrival in Sarawak in 1870, and their welcome—Description of Kuching—1839, a contrast—The Rajah and Ranee visit Pontianak and Batavia—Their return to England—Deaths of their children—Birth of the Rajah Muda—The Vyner family—Lord Derby's compliment—Lord Clarendon—Lord Grey's interest in Sarawak—Difficulties in the interior—Birth of the Tuan Muda—The Rajah's narrow escape—Birth of the Tuan Bongsu—Extension of territory—Limbang—Protection accorded—A review of the progress of Sarawak after fifty years—The Rajah's speech—The annexation of the Limbang—The Rajah Muda proclaimed as successor—Proposal to transfer North Borneo to Sarawak—Keppel's last visit, and his last letter to the Rajah—The Ranee obliged to leave Sarawak—The Rajah Muda joins the Service—Is given a share in the Government—The Natuna islands—Steady advance—The Rajah's policy—Its main essential—Malay chiefs—The Datus—What the Brookes have done for Sarawak | [393]-424 |
| CHAPTER XVI | |
| FINANCE—TRADE—INDUSTRIES | |
| Revenue and expenditure—Chinese merchants—The Borneo Company, Limited—Trade from the early days to 1907—Agriculture—Land tenure—Jungle produce—Minerals—Mechanical industries | [425]-438 |
| CHAPTER XVII | |
| EDUCATION—RELIGION—MISSIONS | |
| The education of native children a problem—Schools—Islamism—Paganism—The S.P.G. Mission—Roman Catholic Missions—American Methodist Mission | [439]-450 |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| The late Rajah. From an engraving after the painting by Sir Francis Grant, P.R.A. | [Frontispiece] |
| The present Rajah. Photo, Bassano | [i] |
| Nepenthes and Rafflesia. C. R. Wylie | [1] |
| Mt. St. Pedro, or Kina Balu. C. R. Wylie. From St. John's Life in the Forests of the Far East | [2] |
| Ukit Chief, wife and child. Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [13] |
| A Punan. Photo, Lambert and Co., Singapore | [14] |
| A Kayan girl. Photo, Lambert and Co., Singapore | [17] |
| Group of Muruts. Photo, Mrs. E. A. W. Cox | [20] |
| Land-Dayak Chief, with his son and grandson. Photo, Rev. J. W. Moore | [22] |
| Sea-Dayak Chief (Pengulu Dalam Munan). Photo, Tum Sai On | [23] |
| Sea-Dayak girl. Photo, Buey Hon | [26] |
| Satang Islands. C. R. Wylie | [35] |
| Mercator's map. C. R. Wylie | [36] |
| Old jar ("Benaga"). Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [36] |
| Figure at Santubong. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [39] |
| Kuching, 1840. From Views in the Eastern Archipelago. J. A. St. John | [61] |
| Tower of old Astana. C. R. Wylie, from a photo by Buey Hon | [61] |
| The Royalist off Santubong. C. R. Wylie | [63] |
| Land-Dayak village. Photo, C. Vernon-Collins | [76] |
| Land-Dayak head-house. Photo, Rev. J. W. Moore | [81] |
| Kuching, present day. Photo, Buey Hon | [91] |
| H.E.I.C. Phlegethon. C. R. Wylie | [92] |
| H.M.S. Dido. From Expedition to Borneo. Keppel. C. R. Wylie | [92] |
| The present Rajah as a midshipman | [105] |
| Attack on Sherip Usman's stronghold. C. R. Wylie. From Views in the Eastern Archipelago | [151] |
| Old Sekrang fort. C. R. Wylie. From Ten Years in Sarawak | [153] |
| Sea-Dayak shield and arms. C. R. Wylie | [153] |
| On the war-path. Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [184] |
| Government station at Bau. Photo, Buey Hon | [185] |
| Old Chinese temple, Kuching. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [196] |
| Chinese procession | [205] |
| Malay lela (cannon) and spears. C. A. Bampfylde | [207] |
| Sherip Masahor's spear. C. R. Wylie | [207] |
| Kanowit. C. A. Bampfylde | [244] |
| Native tools and hats. C. A. Bampfylde and C. R. Wylie | [246] |
| Melanau sun-hat. C. R. Wylie | [246] |
| Plan of operations at Muka | [249] |
| Sarawak flag: execution kris. C. R. Wylie | [267] |
| Sulu kris. C. A. Bampfylde and C. R. Wylie | [268] |
| Native musical instruments. C. A. Bampfylde and C. R. Wylie | [279] |
| Kayan mortuary. C. A. Bampfylde and C. R. Wylie | [279] |
| Punan mortuary. Photo by Mrs. E. A. W. Cox | [283] |
| Kayan mortuary. Photo by Mrs. E. A. W. Cox | [288] |
| Sea-Dayak house. From a photo by Lambert and Co. C. R. Wylie | [295] |
| The Rajah's grave. Photo by Major W. H. Rodway | [295] |
| Kuching. C. R. Wylie, from photos by Buey Hon | [299] |
| Fort Margherita, Kuching. C. R. Wylie, from photo by Buey Hon | [307] |
| Berrow Vicarage. C. R. Wylie, from a photo | [307] |
| Fort Brooke, Sibu. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [324] |
| H.H.S. Zahora. C. R. Wylie, from a photo | [325] |
| Daru'l Salam. C. R. Wylie. From Life in the Forests of the Far East | [326] |
| Bruni gong. C. R. Wylie | [326] |
| The Sultan's palace. C. R. Wylie, from a photo by Mrs. E. A. W. Cox | [332] |
| Trusan Fort. Photo, Mrs. E. A. W. Cox | [345] |
| On the Lawas river. Photo, M. G. Bradford | [363] |
| The Gazelle. Photo, Buey Hon | [372] |
| Sea-Dayak war-boat. Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [373] |
| Land-Dayak weapons. C. R. Wylie | [373] |
| The Sarawak Rangers. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [376] |
| Rangers in mufti. Photo, Buey Hon | [377] |
| Kapit Fort. Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [380] |
| Fort Alice, Simanggang. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [385] |
| Sea-Dayak war-boats. Photo, C. A. Bampfylde | [391] |
| The Astana. C. R. Wylie, from photos | [393] |
| Kuching, from down river. Photo, Buey Hon | [394] |
| Drawing-room, Astana. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [397] |
| Dining-room, Astana. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [397] |
| The Esplanade, Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [399] |
| Hospital, Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [403] |
| The Malay Members of Supreme Council. Photo, Buey Hon | [407] |
| The Police. Photo, Buey Hon | [409] |
| Chinese Street, Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [413] |
| Interior of Museum, Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [415] |
| Buildings in Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [421] |
| General Market, Kuching. Photo, Lambert and Co. | [423] |
| Chesterton House, Cirencester. Photo, W. D. Moss | [424] |
| The Borneo Company's Offices, Kuching. Photo, Buey Hon | [425] |
| A pepper garden | [434] |
| Chinese sluicing for gold. Photo, Buey Hon | [436] |
| Brooketon coal-mines. Photo, Buey Hon | [437] |
| Cyanide works at Bau. Photo, Buey Hon | [438] |
| St. Joseph's and St. Thomas's Churches. Photo, Buey Hon | [439] |
| Malay mosque. Photo, Buey Hon | [439] |
| S.P.G.'s boys' school. Photo, Buey Hon | [441] |
| S.P.G.'s girls' school. Photo, Buey Hon | [442] |
| R.C. boys' school. Photo, Buey Hon | [443] |
| Chinese temple | [450] |
| [Map at end of volume.] | |
TITLES
Sultan.—Supreme head of the once large Bruni Sultanate, which is now only a corner or enclave within the raj of Sarawak. Iang di Pertuan, the Lord who Rules, is the correct supreme title in Bruni, and the one most generally in use.[[1]]
Sultan Muda, heir-apparent. Lit. young Sultan, but seldom used. Iang di Pertuan Muda is the more correct Malay title. Cp. Pangiran, infra.
Rajah (fem. Rani, or Ranee).—The old title of the Bruni sovereigns. It is a Sanskrit word, and means king. But in Bruni it was improperly assumed by those (male and female) of royal descent. This has fallen into disuse, that is, none of them now bears such a title, but in referring to the princes of Bruni generally the term Rajah Rajah[[2]] would be used. Rulers of districts were never entitled to the title ex officio. Such rulers are feudal chiefs with the title of Pangiran, and their chieftainship is generally hereditary.