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History
An independent mini-state on the Island of Borneo.
The people speak Malay languages, like their neighbors in
Sabah and Sarawak. The land was part of the Hindu Majapahit kingdom
which ruled much of the area from the 13th to 15th centuries.
Islam arrived in the 15th century when Brunei became a Sultanate,
which in 1521 controlled most of Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago.
But by the end of the 16th century the Portuguese and Dutch had
reduced the power of the sultan by annexing much of his territory.
He also lost control of northern Borneo to the Sulu people. By
the 17th century the Dutch controlled much of what is now Indonesia.
In the 19th century the Sultan controlled Sarawak and part
of Sabah. Part of Sarawak was leased to the Brooke family, known
as the White Rajahs, who handed their lands to the British colonial
office after the Japanese occupation. Gradually Britain took
over the Sultan's lands in Borneo and by 1888 the whole was under
British control and separated from the Sultan's control. He himself
was confined to the area around his capital, Dar Es Salaam (=
Place of Peace or Islam)
The Sultan of Brunei refused to join with the other Borneo
territories when Malaysia was formed and became reluctantly independent
alone in 1984. Its oil wealth and small population make it a
south east Asian Kuwait. It keeps a Gurkha mercenary force to
defend against enemies.
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South East Asia
