page_title: Raj of Sarawak
section_title: Foundation and early years
hierarchical_section_title: Raj of Sarawak / History / Foundation and early years
caption_attribution_description: Sir James Brooke (1803–1868)Čeština: James Brooke
context_page_description: The Raj of Sarawak, also State of Sarawak, was an independent state, and later a British protectorate, located in the northwestern part of the island of Borneo. It was established as an independent state from a series of land concessions acquired by an Englishman, James Brooke, from the Sultanate of Brunei. Sarawak received recognition as an independent state from the United States in 1850, and from the United Kingdom in 1864.
  Following recognition, Brooke expanded the Raj's territory at the expense of Brunei. Several major rebellions occurred against his rule, causing him to be plagued by debt incurred in countering the rebellions, and the sluggish economic situation at the time. His nephew, Charles Brooke, succeeded James and normalised the situation by improving the economy, reducing government debts and establishing public infrastructure. In 1888, the Raj acquired protectorate status from the British Government.
  To gear up economic growth, the second Rajah encouraged the migration of Chinese workers from China and Singapore to work in the agricultural fields.
context_section_description: The raj was founded by James Brooke, an English adventurer who arrived to the banks of Sarawak River and decided to berth his schooner there in 1839. After serving in the First Anglo-Burmese War where he was severely wounded in battle, Brooke returned to England in 1825 to recover from his injury. Despite his attempts to return into service, he was unable to return to his station in India before his temporary leave from the service expired. Overstaying his furlough resulting in his position in the military being forfeited, but he was awarded a pension by the government for his service. He continued on from India and went to China to improve his health.
  On his way to China in 1830, he saw the islands of the Asiatic Archipelago, still generally unknown to Europeans. He returned to England and made an abortive trading journey to China in the Findlay before his father died in 1835. Inspired by the adventure stories regarding the success of the East India Company (EIC) where his father had been serving especially from the efforts of Stamford Raffles to expanding the company influence in the Asiatic Archipelago, he purchased a schooner named Royalist using the £30,000 left to him by his father. He recruited a crew for the schooner, training in the Mediterranean Sea in late 1836, before beginning their sail to the Far East on 27 October 1838. By July 1839, he reached Singapore and came across some British sailors who had been shipwrecked and helped by Pengiran Raja Muda Hashim, the uncle of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II of Brunei.
  Brooke originally planned to sail to Marudu Bay in northwestern Borneo, but the British Governor-General in Singapore asked him to thank Raja Muda Hashim in southwestern Borneo. The following month he sailed to the western coast of the island and on 14 August 1839, berthed his schooner on the banks of the Sarawak River and met Hashim to deliver the message. The Raja told Brooke that his presence in the area was to control a rebellion against the Sultanate of Brunei caused by the oppressive policies of Pengiran Indera Mahkota, a kinsman of the Sultan. Mahkota had earlier been dispatched by the Sultan to monopolise the antimony in the area; which as a result directly affecting the incomes of the local Malays there and growing frustration from the indigenous Land Dayak who had been forced to work in the mines for about 10 years. It has also been alleged that the rebellion against Brunei was aided by the neighbouring Sultanate of Sambas and the government of the Dutch East Indies, who wanted to establish economic rights over the antimony. Despite Hashim's efforts to stop the rebellion, it came to no avail thus leading him to seek direct help from Brooke.
  Responding to the request, a force of local natives that was raised and led by Brooke managed to temporarily stop the rebellion. Brooke was granted a large quantity of antimony from the local mines and authority in the Sarawak River area as a reward. After that, Brooke became embroiled in Hashim's campaign to restore order in the area. Brooke returned to Singapore and spent another six months cruising along the coasts of the Celebes Islands before returning to Sarawak on 29 August 1840.
caption: James Brooke, the founder of the raj
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