Brunei and the British in the Nineteenth Century

Brunei and the British in the Nineteenth Century relates the remarkable tale of the encounter between the Sultanate of Brunei, that in 1800 possessed nominal hegemony over most of northern Borneo, and Western colonialists, particularly the British.

The study focuses on two notable protagonists: Pengiran Indera Mahkota (c. 1790s–1858), a high-born Bruneian courtier, and James Brooke (1803–1868), a former English soldier and gentleman-adventurer. Pengiran Indera Mahkota was governor (rajah) of Sarawak, then a small area of Brunei. He penned his cautionary words and counsel in a popular verse form titled, Syair Rakis, which he presented to the throne in 1847. James Brooke successfully detached Sarawak from Brunei, establishing his own dynastic “raj”, ruling as the “White Rajah” of Sarawak from 1841 until his passing to be succeeded by his younger nephew, as Rajah Charles Brooke. In this book, textual analysis together with archival research present a mapping of verse (poem) and fact (history) that reveal a confluence of the two that was compatible. It shows the veracity of the forewarnings and intuitive hunches in the Syair Rakis that uncannily reflected historical developments. Although Pengiran Indera Mahkota’s counsel was not acted upon, and the outcome for Brunei was unfavourable, the book argues that Pengiran Indera Mahkota was a significant figure, whose prominent and pivotal role deserves greater recognition.

This book will be of interest to historians and scholars of Southeast Asian history, Imperial and Colonial history and Malay literature.