Rajah Brooke

by Sir Spenser St. John

1846, which opened under the finest auspices, soon however changed its aspect. News came of marauding on the part of the Sakarang Dyaks; but this was trifling to what followed. H.M.S. Hazard, Commander Egerton, had been sent by the admiral to Brunei to communicate with Rajah Muda Hassim. As soon as the ship anchored at the mouth of the Brunei river, a native hurried on board, and by signs made the officers understand that some great calamity had occurred at the capital, while he appeared to warn Egerton not to proceed up the river. Fortunately his warning was attended to; and as he kept repeating in Malay, ‘Tuan Brooke’ and ‘Sarawak,’ the Hazard weighed anchor and proceeded to that place. The Malay brought serious news indeed. The Sultan had ordered the murder of Muda Hassim, Budrudin and the rest of the legitimate royal family, and had succeeded in destroying the most important chiefs. These were his own uncles and cousins.

A conspiracy seems to have been hatched among the Sultan’s followers, who were the friends and associates of the late Pangeran Usop, to kill Muda Hassim and his family, not only for the sake of revenge, but to prevent them gaining a preponderating influence in the country. Already the people were looking to them as the rising power, and the Sultan’s prestige was visibly declining. Besides, with their increasing influence they were acquiring too many of the profits which used to accrue to the Sultan’s entourage. As the representatives of the party which preferred the old methods of government, the latter disliked the alliance which was springing up between this branch of the royal family and the Rajah of Sarawak, as the representative of the English, and therefore they found no difficulty in persuading the half-imbecile Sultan that his immediate deposition was meditated. He therefore gave the order that Muda Hassim and his family should be attacked and killed. Though warned that some conspiracy was brewing, they took no heed, lulled in fancied security, and were easily surprised. Muda Hassim defended his home with a few followers, but finding that they would soon be overpowered, shot himself so as not to fall into the hands of his enemies.

Pangeran Budrudin was attacked at the same time. Brooke wrote to Keppel, on April 5th 1846, ‘After fighting desperately and cutting down several of the Sultan’s hired assassins, he was shot in his left wrist, his shoulder and chest were cut open so as to disable his right arm. A woman, by name Nur Salum, fought and was wounded by his side. His sister and a slave boy called Jaffir, though both wounded, remained by him, the rest of his few followers having been cut down or having fled. The four retired into the house and barred the door. Budrudin, wounded and bleeding, ordered the boy to get down a cask of powder, break in the head and scatter it in a small circle. He then told Jaffir to escape, gave him my signet ring, of which I had made him a present, and told him to beg me not to forget him and to tell the Queen of England of his fate. He then called the women to him, and when the boy had dropped through the flooring into the water, fired the powder, and all three were blown into the air.’ No hero could have died more nobly, and what fine creatures must those women have been!

No natives ever appear to consider or to care for the consequences of their acts until the acts are done. They are blinded by their hate; but no sooner had the conspirators murdered the principal members of the royal family than they began to tremble for the future. They knew the friendship which united the English Rajah to Pangeran Budrudin, and began to reflect that he would spare no pains to punish them. With the death of this brave pangeran all hopes of regenerating the Government of Brunei vanished.

At that time we had in the East an admiral who dared to act—Sir Thomas Cochrane. When he heard of the massacre he determined to proceed to Brunei to inquire what was the meaning of these violent measures. He rightly argued that the massacre did not directly concern England, unless the Sultan was about to repudiate all his engagements with us. On his way he called in at Sarawak to see Brooke, and to ask him, as the British Government’s confidential agent, to accompany the expedition.

The squadron arrived off the Brunei river on the 6th June, and Sir Thomas immediately sent a message to the Sultan, saying he was about to visit the capital and desired an interview with His Highness. Some messengers of inferior rank brought down the reply that the admiral might ascend the river in two small boats. No notice was taken of this restriction, and the steamers, with the smaller vessels in tow, and accompanied by the boats of the squadron, began to ascend the river. As they neared the capital they were received with volleys from every battery; but the marines and blue-jackets were soon on shore, and the defenders fled in haste. On entering the central canal of Brunei, a battery at the Sultan’s Palace opened fire, which did considerable damage to the Phlegethon. There was no serious resistance, however, and when the force took possession of the town they found it completely deserted. The Sultan escaped to the interior, and the party sent to capture him naturally failed in their object.

A provisional government was established under Pangeran Mumein, a respectable noble, not of royal descent, and Pangeran Mahomed, a brother of Muda Hassim, but not of much intelligence; then a proclamation was issued, saying that the Sultan might return to his capital if he were prepared to fulfil his engagements.

Nothing ever raised the prestige of the English so much as the capture of Brunei. As a military feat of arms it was of no importance, but to the tribes of the interior it was looked upon as a marvel of heroism. They naturally thought Brunei to be the only great power on earth, so that when they heard that the English had taken their capital, they rejoiced that their oppressors had received such a lesson. Cautiously looking around to see that no Malay was present, they would laughingly tell how they had seen the Sultan and his nobles flying through the jungle with the English at their heels, and ask why having once taken the country we did not keep it. These or similar inquiries were made wherever I travelled in the interior.

Sir Thomas Cochrane, having seen the establishment of the provisional government, sailed for China; but during his passage up the north-west coast of Borneo destroyed several pirate communities, and, leaving Captain Mundy of H.M.S. Iris to complete the work, proceeded to Hong Kong.

When Brooke returned to Sarawak he was indeed received as the ‘Conquering Hero.’ The Malays there were very much like the tribes of the interior, thoroughly imbued with the idea that the Sultan of Brunei was a great monarch, second to none; and therefore the news that the capital had been taken and that the Sultan had fled to the woods was a complete surprise; but the surprise was only equalled by the pleasure it gave, as the Brunei Government was unpopular to the last degree, indeed hated for its oppression.