History Of Sarawak

Historians have scant knowledge about Borneo's early history, a
certain fact though is the presence of modern man in Sarawak some
40,000 years ago (discovery of a Homo Sapiens skull at the Niah
Caves), but most of today's indigenous populations belong to the same
Austronesian groups, brought by maritime migratory waves in the last
5,000 or so years, who have settled along the Malayan peninsula, the
Indonesian, Philippine, Micronesian and Polynesian archipelagos, and
as far as Madagascar to the west and Easter Island to the east.
Archeological finds and trade records from the Indian and Chinese
empires prove that during the last millennium there was a thriving
barter trade of manufactured goods and exotic jungle produce between
these two empires and the island of Borneo.

By the 14th century, Islam, introduced by Muslim traders, had gained a
foothold in the coastal areas of Borneo and by the 16th century the
Malay sultanate of Brunei would control most of the island's coasts,
but its power would wane slowly with the rise of other sultanates and
the arrival of Dutch in the south and British adventurers in the
north.

In 1839, Sarawak, then a dependency of the Brunei sultanate, was in
rebellion against the central power, when arrived on the scene,
looking for commercial ventures with his well armed schooner, a young
British adventurer by the name of James Brooke who will soon find
himself involved in the local disputes. The young Brooke will assist
the Sultan's representative and bring peace to the area, for which he
will be rewarded in 1841 with the title of Rajah of Sarawak. So will
start the epic saga of the White Rajahs, paternalistic despots who
will reign for a century over the destinies of Sarawak's peoples,
introducing along the way profound and permanent changes to their
lifestyles.

From 1841 to 1868, the 1st Rajah, James Brooke, will organise his
administration, try to expand his territory and he will strive to
pacify the many warring tribes and to stamp out the practices of head
hunting and piracy. The 2nd Rajah, Charles Brooke (1868-1917), will
continue his predecessor work and expand Sarawak's territory to about
its present size. The 3rd Rajah, Vyner Brooke (1917-1946), will
witness Sarawak's transition into the modern era and the wrenching
changes caused by the Japanese occupation (1941-1945). Unable to face
the cost of re-building after the occupation, the Brookes will cede
Sarawak in 1946 to the British Crown, becoming a Crown Colony until
1963, when she will join the newly formed Federation of Malaysia.

Ever since, Sarawak has steadily kept on progressing and prospering,
and together with the other states of Malaysia is looking forward to
achieving "Vision 2020", the goal shared by all Malaysians to achieve
developed nation status by the year 2020.