Of Rajahs and Hornbills: A timeline of Brooke Sarawak
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All I can say is Brooke is making a lot of mistakes vs a minor power very far from their logistics base. Unless it was butterflied away, The Brooke's also didn't take advantage of what is happening Banjarmasin war which is happening at the same time. From what I read, the interpretation of the Brooke's in ttl are weak and incompetent monarchs.
Sorry for the late reply, everyone.
I just reread the TL because of you and...ugggghh. Was my writing really that bad? I literally cringed at some of the earlier parts.
Still though, thanks for sticking through the TL until now.
John Brooke may a bit of a recalcitrant hard-head, but he knows what the deal meant for Sarawak and what it meant for the Brooke family, and he didn't like Leopold's "let me rule them by myself" tone as well.
However, he also knows that snubbing a European royal on crass terms would land him in a lot of a trouble, so ITTL he replied back to Leopold in a purple prose-filled document (though the student's summation in the exam sums up his reaction to the letter perfectly).
International recognition will help Sarawak to some extent; it will prevent them from being gobbled up by another power in the medium-term and it also provides a precedent for future independence should the land gets subjugated later on. However, Sarawak's independence also means that whatever territory it takes will be made known to nearby powers, and there is also the chance of the kingdom being manipulated internationally on a grander scale than during it's adventurer-state era.
There is a balance to be made for kingdom in the future, and it won't be the only state in the region making tough decisions.
Well, this is what happens if you delegate power to a person who is unused to it. If James or Charles Brooke were the ones in charge, they would have ordered warriors to retake Sentarum immediately, cut a deal with the Dutch that would ensure their lands' sovereignty, and absolutely made sure that the dispute stays as a local dispute between Sarawak and the DEI. Instead, they got a person who pleaded with the British instead, turning a local land dispute international and entangling it with British-Dutch interests in the region.
I feel sorry for making John Brooke the scapegoat here, but he and Rajah James disagreed on the kingdom's independence IOTL, and something like the Borneo Conference could bring out the best/worst in him. Also, the passage of Rajah James having a stroke wasn't entirely fiction; between 1846 to 1861 James Brooke suffered no less than three strokes IOTL, with the last one so severe that he had to conduct the Battle of Mount Sadok on a stretcher. To be honest, I'm actually amazed that he made it to 1868 at all and how passionate he was to pull the battle through.
As for the Banjarmasin War, it happened but the Dutch gained the upper hand faster ITTL, and as a result the War ended more quickly than IOTL, creating more time for Batavia to focus on retaking Sentarum.
This is actually one of the more..." interesting in the Chinese-sense" part of the TL.
On one hand, The American Civil War is a hodgepodge of butterflies for both the U.S and the surrounding region, and I don't think I can dare myself to even make a 'Abraham Lincoln survives' angle without blowing into a lot of problems. On the other hand, the main guy that started the whole "Sabah ends up with Baron Von Overbeck" episode was an American Civil War naval officer, and the guy was also the United States Consul to Brunei in that era. He even met Sultan Abdul Mo'min and demanded that a part of the surrounding land be bequeathed to him to build the U.S Consulate.
...Hmm... maybe we'll get a narrative in the U.S during the Civil War, or maybe a short blurb on one of the updates showing what has happened over there ITTL. There was one book that mentioned Seward asking Lincoln on who the Consul to Brunei would be; maybe we'll get a POV narrative from them.
I just reread the TL because of you and...ugggghh. Was my writing really that bad? I literally cringed at some of the earlier parts.
Still though, thanks for sticking through the TL until now.
John Brooke may a bit of a recalcitrant hard-head, but he knows what the deal meant for Sarawak and what it meant for the Brooke family, and he didn't like Leopold's "let me rule them by myself" tone as well.
However, he also knows that snubbing a European royal on crass terms would land him in a lot of a trouble, so ITTL he replied back to Leopold in a purple prose-filled document (though the student's summation in the exam sums up his reaction to the letter perfectly).
International recognition will help Sarawak to some extent; it will prevent them from being gobbled up by another power in the medium-term and it also provides a precedent for future independence should the land gets subjugated later on. However, Sarawak's independence also means that whatever territory it takes will be made known to nearby powers, and there is also the chance of the kingdom being manipulated internationally on a grander scale than during it's adventurer-state era.
There is a balance to be made for kingdom in the future, and it won't be the only state in the region making tough decisions.
Well, this is what happens if you delegate power to a person who is unused to it. If James or Charles Brooke were the ones in charge, they would have ordered warriors to retake Sentarum immediately, cut a deal with the Dutch that would ensure their lands' sovereignty, and absolutely made sure that the dispute stays as a local dispute between Sarawak and the DEI. Instead, they got a person who pleaded with the British instead, turning a local land dispute international and entangling it with British-Dutch interests in the region.
I feel sorry for making John Brooke the scapegoat here, but he and Rajah James disagreed on the kingdom's independence IOTL, and something like the Borneo Conference could bring out the best/worst in him. Also, the passage of Rajah James having a stroke wasn't entirely fiction; between 1846 to 1861 James Brooke suffered no less than three strokes IOTL, with the last one so severe that he had to conduct the Battle of Mount Sadok on a stretcher. To be honest, I'm actually amazed that he made it to 1868 at all and how passionate he was to pull the battle through.
As for the Banjarmasin War, it happened but the Dutch gained the upper hand faster ITTL, and as a result the War ended more quickly than IOTL, creating more time for Batavia to focus on retaking Sentarum.
This is actually one of the more..." interesting in the Chinese-sense" part of the TL.
On one hand, The American Civil War is a hodgepodge of butterflies for both the U.S and the surrounding region, and I don't think I can dare myself to even make a 'Abraham Lincoln survives' angle without blowing into a lot of problems. On the other hand, the main guy that started the whole "Sabah ends up with Baron Von Overbeck" episode was an American Civil War naval officer, and the guy was also the United States Consul to Brunei in that era. He even met Sultan Abdul Mo'min and demanded that a part of the surrounding land be bequeathed to him to build the U.S Consulate.
...Hmm... maybe we'll get a narrative in the U.S during the Civil War, or maybe a short blurb on one of the updates showing what has happened over there ITTL. There was one book that mentioned Seward asking Lincoln on who the Consul to Brunei would be; maybe we'll get a POV narrative from them.
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And just when I thought my Photoshop would stop glitching already. I tried to make a political map of the East Indies to go hand-in-hand with the last update (and try experimenting on a different style), but my image program started glitching so I had to call it off partway.
There are a lot of problems with this map. The Batak tribes of Sumatra aren't mentioned, Aceh and Siak are wrongly sized, Sulawesi isn't crossed-out, etc. Still though, it does give a general-ish picture of the region during the time of the Borneo Treaty and after, and it does show the main points of contention between the British and the Dutch.
Here are some of the international disputes at play after the Borneo Treaty:
British Empire: Has intentions to influence the sultanate of Siak Sri Inderapura on Sumatra, but was snatched by the Dutch whom subjugated the polity in 1858. Currently not recognizing Dutch overlordship of the sultanate.
The Empire is also taking an interest in Borneo, and a British Consul has been appointed to Sarawak.
Dutch East Indies: Has intentions for Sultanate of Aceh to be under their influence, but is blocked by the British Empire whom guaranteed the sultanate's independence. Britain is still not budging on the issue.
The Dutch have also gained the Sentarum Floodplains and are currently exploring the Bornean interior, albeit at the cost of a rising death toll from disease and angry Dayaks.
Line of Demarcation: A proposal during the 1862 conference that was supposed to clearly divide British and Dutch spheres on influence in the East Indies in perpetuity, but fell though because of both Powers' reluctance to give up their claims and guarantees.
I tried to make a political map of the East Indies to go hand-in-hand with the last update (and try experimenting on a different style), but my image program started glitching so I had to call it off partway.There are a lot of problems with this map. The Batak tribes of Sumatra aren't mentioned, Aceh and Siak are wrongly sized, Sulawesi isn't crossed-out, etc. Still though, it does give a general-ish picture of the region during the time of the Borneo Treaty and after, and it does show the main points of contention between the British and the Dutch.
Here are some of the international disputes at play after the Borneo Treaty:
British Empire: Has intentions to influence the sultanate of Siak Sri Inderapura on Sumatra, but was snatched by the Dutch whom subjugated the polity in 1858. Currently not recognizing Dutch overlordship of the sultanate.
The Empire is also taking an interest in Borneo, and a British Consul has been appointed to Sarawak.
Dutch East Indies: Has intentions for Sultanate of Aceh to be under their influence, but is blocked by the British Empire whom guaranteed the sultanate's independence. Britain is still not budging on the issue.
The Dutch have also gained the Sentarum Floodplains and are currently exploring the Bornean interior, albeit at the cost of a rising death toll from disease and angry Dayaks.
Line of Demarcation: A proposal during the 1862 conference that was supposed to clearly divide British and Dutch spheres on influence in the East Indies in perpetuity, but fell though because of both Powers' reluctance to give up their claims and guarantees.
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First...you know that now in Europe there is a statesman on level equal at Bismark in term of cunning and capacity? Interesting time ahead
For the event well:
- At the first place there will be gaining Venezia or Rome. But with Rome under French 'protection' he will concentrate on Venetia like Italy various goverment had done in OTL. What we can expect is a much more planned war (the Austro-Prussian war, know in Italy as the Third war of independence), instead of the improvvisated endevour of OTL...basically suck being Austria.
- Lincoln offered at Garibaldi a command in the Unioninst Army with the grade of General. Cavour will try to make him accept that offer (probably using some third party) as this mean keeping the hero of two world away (the two
- If he survives till 1870 there is the accession to the Throne of Spain by Amedeo son of VIctor Emanuele II. OTL the King was actively involved in the affair basically keeping a tight control of it and Amedeo reign was brief and not very remarcable as he, among other things, was not really into the Spanish culture or even language.
In the same year there is a first attempt for a commerical colony in Papua-Guinea but is immediately blocked by the British and the Dutch.
But this are just the first thing that come in my mind.
First...you know that now in Europe there is a statesman on level equal at Bismark in term of cunning and capacity? Interesting time ahead
Well, I had to read him in high school despite Malaysia being entirely unconnected with Italian history save for the "here is a leader who knows how to unite a country" shtick (we had to study Bismark on this too).
Well, Count Cavour was definitely not silent on Venice being a part of Italy and with him around, the Third War of Independence might go a lot better than OTL. However, there is also the chance that the long hours spent in office would drain him before the conflict, even though he has a better doctor ITTL. Besides that, with him around Austria might pay more attention to the defense of Venetia-Lombardy before 1866, just because of him being a heavyweight on the international scene.
On Garibaldi, I know that he refused to fighting the Civil War IOTL because of Abe Lincoln not declaring the abolition of slavery. I don't know if that would change with Cavour around, though I can see the statesman trying to get him away from Italy as much as possible. Also, your sentence ended really abruptly.
I didn't know about that at all. I dunno if a still-living Cavour would try and support such a venture, considering Amadeo was all 'meh' in ruling Spain in the first place. Then again, the count would probably be too old at this point to stop Victor Emmanuel from going on his plans.
Also, are there any sources for Italian colonial attempts in Papua other than the De Rays Expedition? I keep hearing that there was an attempt around 1870 but I can't seem to find any trace of it.
Update probably tomorrow or the weekend, though with Hari Raya coming up I might postpone everything until the next week after.
Well, it was only 50 at the time of death (due to malaria and the wrong treatment of that ailment) so even with the added stress of ruling Italy, 5 more years are not an irrealistic assumption.
Regarding being quite vocal and determinated about getting Venice, well it was a very open secret (scrap that, not even a secret) that the newly founded Kingdom of Italy want it and it was the position of every politicians regardless of party; as a not the Count of Cavour tried in the last period of his life to enter in an alliance with Prussia as he thought it had similar aspiration against Austria.
Regarding better Austrian preparation, well i don't know,in OTL the Hasburg goverment started a program to upgrade the defense of Veneto and reform of the army so from that point of view i don't see much change.
The biggest change on the italian side is the fact that Cavour will painstalking prepare the war, and it will reing both the King and the generals (the hardest work
) and regarding the consequence of this there are some thread in this same forum that will explain that more in detail.In foreign policy the principal objective of Cavour will be kept Italy in the Great powers diplomatic loop so i doubt that will be isolated as OTL and start a colonial empire (unlike Bismark he greatly supported various endevour).
The other big problem is the Roman question, as Rome is seen as the natural capital of Italy and even Nappy III want the problem resolved as this block any possible attempt of allaince with Italy, but Cavour or not Cavour, the Pope was totally against any possible agreement so unless something happen to Pope Pio IX i doubt much will change
Damn, i just want to say that the two man really don't like each others, so Cavour will be happy to see Garibaldi in another continent; maybe the Count hope to foster better relations with the USA and use that to convince the General.
Oppose probably not, but we can see a better preparation (Cavour was a chessmaster and all about preparation) of Amedeo...maybe even a different and more capable candidate
the 70 expedition was a minor event so is not really widely know or studied, there are some italian sources as Storia economica coloniale by Vittorio Franchini; basically the explorer Emilio Cerruti returned to Florence (at the time capital of Italy) with treaty signed by the sultan of the island of Aru, Kai and Balscicu where they accepted italian sovereignity and the man also take possession of some land in the north of Papua.
Ah yes, that was one of the things I noticed about Cavour. If things are done right, I want to be able to swing this to an earlier Italian colonial empire. One of my overall goals of this TL is to make a more diverse SE Asia, and the statesman could be the key.
Hmm… I’m still new to the world of papal politics, and I want to keep the butterflies a bit restrained for now (also, I have no clue on how to mess with Pope Pius at this point). If the Franco-Prussian War still happens as OTL (and considering Prussia and France back then, it probably will), we could see another ‘Prisoner of the Vatican’, though things could change when the next century comes around.
Hmm… possible, though that still doesn’t solve the slavery issue. What could be the chance of Garibaldi coming to the US after the Emancipation Proclamation is signed? That could give Cavour an opening to get the guy out of Italy for a few years.
*looks at Victor’s family and children*
Err…maybe I don’t wanna mess with that for the moment.
Huh, if the proposal was sent to Florence rather than Rome, than that means this happened during the 1860’s when the Risorgimento was incomplete. I also recall there being a proposal for Aceh to be made a protectorate too. If Italy wins the Third War of Independence decisively (especially with her navy), this could give her a chance to go abroad, especially if Assab is taken in 1868. The British and Dutch might spin in their chairs though, if Italy decides to go for the Far East.
And speaking of fleet, what would be the outcome of a successful battle of Lissa? I know the battle could have really turned in the Italians’ favor and was bungled because of incompetence and rivalry among the captains
rolleyes. If Italy won the battle, would the fleet sail straight to Venice or bombard some Dalmatian ports/military places first?Also, where's Balscicu? I know Aru and Kai, but never heard of that one
A much less isolated Italy, in this period, can create a lot of colonial butterfly.
Cavour or not Cavour except in case of earlier death of Pio iX the situation in ROme will not change. Maybe...and is a very big maybe, if Cavour is still around during the Franco-Prussion war and go for help Nappy III (as the king and much of the pidemontese intelligentsia desired), with the intention to get Rome (and Tunisia) later as compensation, the good Count is the only politician that can have some hope to survive the political orderl of: why we are helping the French and not snatching Rome?
The problem is that in 62 when things IRC seemigly had a little smooth out he was wounded in an expedition trying to liberate Rome and 'honorable guest' of the goverment in prison due to this effort. Maybe Cavour block this attempt at Rome from the start, and on the spot and in the heat of the situation Garibaldi accept the US proposal to get away from that man.
*looks at Victor’s family and children*
Err…maybe I don’t wanna mess with that for the moment.
Ehy, image us stuck with them
It happen a couple of month before OTL conquest of Rome. Regarding Aceh, it was IRC in 73 that the idea of a protectorate floated in the italian diplomatic circles, the investigative mission done by Bixio under the pretext of a commercial mission was cut short by his sudden death and the project ended with him.
And speaking of fleet, what would be the outcome of a successful battle of Lissa? I know the battle could have really turned in the Italians’ favor and was bungled because of incompetence and rivalry among the captains
Ok, a succesfull Lissa mean that the italian plan can continue, this consinst in two part:
- bombard the Austrian supply route in Venetia and harrass the military there and Istria
- launch probing attack on Dalmatia and look very menacing.
In this manner the military situation of the Hasburg army in the Italian front is much more precarious and they must continue their retreat.
Said that is better understand that the Battle of Lissa was a final attempt to recover some glory/momentum due to the land defeat; is more probable that with a more clear chain of command, giving the exact command of the front at LaMarmora or Cialdini and the king kept at distance from the front the land campaing is going to be more favorable to Italy. Naturally you can say that Cavour want to showcase the Italian Navy and decide in every case to launch a naval campaign; in that case we can easily see some much needed pre war preparation (the admirals said that they need at least three months to prepare the fleet...but it was deniend) and some smoothing of the various rivalry with some transfer.
As consequence, well probably at the end things will be the same, except maybe the aquisition of Trentino as the various reward for the war were already been decided by a treaty between Italy and Prussia, plus the other european powers will have not permitted a too much harsh treaty against Austria-Hungary.
The big change will be in the external and internal perception of Italy, the new nation had won her first unitary war fair and square, there will be no French meddling and Venice plus the iron crow of Lombardy will be given at the italian directely and no through Napoleon III; in this manner apart the self-confidence shot, Italy will be seen as more capable ally by other powers.
Also, where's Balscicu? I know Aru and Kai, but never heard of that one
Must be the old (19th century) italian translation of a nearby island, i've tried to identify but fruitless.
Sarawak during the 1860's
I really need to think of different fonts for this
Vivian Tan, The Government of Sarawak; Past and Present (Kayangan Publishing: 1992)
The Sarawak that emerged from the crises of the 1850's was a far cry from the land that James Brooke first set foot on in 1839. Though battered by rebellions and nipped of territories by the Dutch, the adventurer-state came out from the period paradoxically stronger and robust than before. In the face of superior weaponry and skills, most of the insurrectionists either surrendered to Brooke forces or left the nation entirely, either moving deeper into the Bornean interior, across the river deltas into Brunei, or up the mountains into Dutch territory.
Besides this, the rebellions and tangentially related Borneo Treaty also taught the miniscule Sarawak government several new lessons; that the kingdom would need an elite fighting force to nip future rebellions from blossoming; for greater discussion between chieftains, lords, and the European Residents of the land; and – most importantly – that whatever future lands gained must be immediately settled and built-up with to prevent future partitions. These lessons and way in which they were implemented would, in time, form the backbone of the nation today and still influence Sarawak’s relations with the outside world.
The first of these lessons would be encapsulated in 1862 when the new Rajah Muda of Sarawak (Charles Brooke) authorised the creation of an elite paramilitary force that could act as "special operatives in situations of combat". The force, known as the Sarawak Rangers, were composed of a selection of Manok Sabong – fighting men from the Iban subgroup, handpicked by the Residents and the Brooke family from various longhouse villages. The selected men were then grouped together and put under the command of a British officer to, as written by the first Ranger commander Henry Rodway, "...[to] protect the borders, man strategic forts, and fight any rebels that run afoul of them."
In lieu of Rajah James’s Romanticism (though some would say pragmatism), the selected Dayaks were asked not to abandon their native styles of fighting. In fact, they were instead asked to amalgamate British weaponry and fighting skills with that of their own, as well as providing input on jungle warfare with their overseers. This would result in a mixed combat approach that lended well to the thick jungles and swamps of Borneo. As the decades passed, the Sarawak Rangers would expand its force to include Bidayuhs, Kayans, Malays and even a few Sikhs, each group adding to the repertoire new combat options and styles, and each adding to the Rangers' overall effectiveness in irregular conflict situations. In time, this elite fighting force would sow the seeds of the modern Royal Sarawak Army...
Another lesson learned from the era was the need for greater communication between the region's multiple overlords. While the Residency system of European Residents, native officers, and local lords and chieftains did resolve all but the greatest conflicts on the local level, they were helpless against large regional rebellions such as those of Libau Rentap and Sharif Masahor. In addition, the different needs of the kingdom's Divisions during the 1850's began showing themselves in lopsided growth for the overall state, with more resources being diverted to one particular area at the expense of others. In the wake of this, a forum for discussion at the state level was sorely required.
The answer to this problem would be twofold in nature. First, the Kuching government redrew the Divisons of Sarawak with an added ruling that larger administrative areas can have two or more Residencies to better administer the land. The other solution took a longer time to be thought of, and even longer to be executed. In the end though, it's implementation would sow in the kingdom the seeds to not just modern governance, but representative governance...
Temenggung Jugah Anak Barieng, Early Sarawak: 1846-1868 (Kenyalang Publishing, 2000)
Though battered and bruised, Sarawak made it through the instability of the 1850's in a much more stable position then it had been, and none of this was more exemplified than the way the kingdom improved itself during the 1860's.
With the major rebellions of the past decade now largely over and with the Borneo Treaty settling –for now – the question of the Sentarum Floodplains, the Kuching administration now focused itself on paying back its creditors from which it owed large amounts of money to, a laborious process that would continue until the end of the decade. Both the government and the White Rajahs borrowed large sums of cash in trying to combat the rebellions as well as building up the infrastructure of Kuching village, a process that had to be repeated when the 1857 Uprising burned most of the administrative buildings to the ground.
The servicing of debt would strain the kingdom's finances back to levels resembling the beginning years of the state, though the discovery of coal near the town of Simunjan in 1863 did brought much needed revenue for the balance sheets. Several of the creditors such as Baroness Burdett-Courts also offered a partial write-down of the debts they incurred, further reducing the strain on the country. Despite all these measures, the Kingdom of Sarawak in the early 1860's was more cash-strained than it would ever be for the rest of the 19th century.
Aside from debt servicing, the administration also began looking at other ways of defending itself. Both Rajah James and Rajah Muda Charles realized that a native fighting force was sorely needed to combat future uprisings from spiralling out of control. From this way of thought would the Sarawak Rangers be created; a paramilitary force that could man strategic forts, patrol the kingdom's borders, conduct jungle warfare effectively, and – above all – gain the trust of the local populace. Local Dayak tribes would make up this new fighting force, later supplemented with Malays and Sikhs as the kingdom grew in size and complexity.
It was also during this era that Sarawak would gain the first of her ships and gunboats, forming the basis of her riverine and maritime fleet. From the very start, the kingdom had to rely on gunboats and merchant vessels either borrowed from the Royal Navy or loaned from sympathetic shipping figures. However, as the debt situation began to clear up in the mid-1860's the Kuching government began purchasing several shipping vessels and riverine gunboats outright, rebranding them as the new possessions of the upstart nation. While the number of gunboats and shipping vessels owned was paltry compared that of its closest neighbour, British Singapore, the Kingdom of Sarawak can – for the first time – finally boast of having a (miniscule) fleet of her own.
But perhaps one of the greatest achievements of this decade – and one that would mark the kingdom’s transition into a full-fledged state – was not an economical shift but an administrative one. The unrest of the past decade saw the need for greater communication between the Residents and the kingdom's inhabitants, a need that was further highlighted when the Kuching government uncovered the lopsided growth of the nation's Divisions. However, it wouldn’t until 1867 when Rajah Muda Charles finally tackled the problem by convening an assembly of European Residents, Malay lords and Dayak chieftains to discuss major issues. However, in a land dominated almost entirely by wild rainforests and uncharted territory, such an order seemed near-impossible to execute.
Despite it all, a meeting was eventually chaired, though it was a far cry from the grand assembly Rajah Muda Charles wanted. On September 7th 1867, Charles Brooke, 5 British officers, 16 Malay lords and a handful of Melanau chieftains all convened at the town of Bintulu, forming the first session of the Council Negri. The meeting was supposed to discuss national matters and offer collective advice for the Kuching government and the White Rajahs, as well as acting as a rubber stamp for the Brooke government’s policies.
However, as time passed the Council Negri would slowly evolve into more than just an advisory assembly…
Charlie MacDonald, Strange States and Bizzare Borders (weirdworld.postr.rom, 2014)
Okay, at this point you'd probably be thinking "Wait a sec, I can see the Dayaks getting duped by this, but why aren't the Malays doing anything? Can't they see that their "ruler" is not from their country at all!? They're not even Muslims for crying out loud! Why aren't they rebelling!? GARBLHGARBLHGARBLE!!1!1"
Okay, number one: never do that in public, it's indecent.
And number two, no one pretended that the Brookes were locals. Everyone could see that their rulers were all foreigners, and people did question why they are ruled by a non-Muslim family. The thing is...everyone at the time was kinda 'meh' about it all, and aside from a few people who did rebel, the Malays were kinda OK with being ruled. Before you scream again, you need to understand that people living in Sarawak at the time had vastly different priorities than people living today.
Let's think of it this way: imagine you are a Malay fruit-seller living in a riverside village. You have a farm and a fruit orchard that you depend on for cash, and you have a small business selling them to other villages downstream. However, your fruit-selling business is kinda uncertain due to climate factors and all, and that's not including the Dayaks that roam the river a few times a year. Usually their war Perahus just pass your village as they head downstream, but sometimes they land on your home and demand fruits to so that your head wouldn't be cut off. You also pay taxes to the local Bruneian official, who may or not overtax you (different parts, different tax rates) and who may or may not pocket the money for himself.
All in all, your life could've been way better. And that's exactly what the Brookes did.
Now imagine the White Rajah coming to village on a boat, flanked by Dayaks and Malay warriors. Speaking in Malay (Wow, a foreigner who speaks Malay! He understands us!), he tells you and your village that he would try to make your life here better and wants your co-operation in making this dream. All he asks is for some warriors to join him against the head-hunters and that you now pay taxes to his official instead of that Bruneian oaf instead. You ask what happened to the Bruneian oaf, the man answers that he has been fired from his job.
At first, it seemed as if nothing changed. You sell your fruits, row your boat, do the normal things most Malays do... then you begin to notice it; your tax rates are a bit lower than before, and there are no more warring Dayaks to bribe fruit to. In fact, most of the Dayaks who came down here now are of the trading sort, not the 'cutting-heads-off' rabble, and they wanna trade with your village offering goods from the jungle for your own wares. You also begin to notice more and more people travelling the rivers; with less war expeditions it's now safer to travel for everyone. You take advantage of this and began selling the fruits to the wayfarers, and your business grows.
And this was repeated, for the most part, throughout all of Sarawak. Brooke rule meant safe rule, and the Malays knew this more than anyone else. Also, most of their lords and headmen were already involved in governing the country alongside the Residents, so it wasn't as if they were entirely sidelined in the new order. The Brookes also didn't try and convert them to Christianity, earning them major points from the locals (though not so much for the Dayaks).
To be fair, a few Malay villages did rebel against this, seeing that they simply traded one overlord for another (the Brookes being non-Muslims might've played a factor as well). However, they almost never lasted long and were always defeated by the White Rajah and his new army. Besides that, there were many villages that refused to pay taxes for the first few years because they were uncertain of their new European Residents.
In the end though, almost everyone slept better in the night because of the new security the White Rajahs brought...and no one wanted to change that (although the jury is out on attempted burglary and murder; that's the village's problem, not the Brookes).
__________
Footnotes:
1) The Council Negri was an actual body of the government that convenes European Residents, Malay lords and Dayak chieftains about once every three years that basically acts as a giant discussion group and rubber stamp for the White Rajahs. A monument still exists in Bintulu that commemorates the first meeting.
2) Yes, the Sarawak Rangers were an actual thing.
Vivian Tan, The Government of Sarawak; Past and Present (Kayangan Publishing: 1992)
The Sarawak that emerged from the crises of the 1850's was a far cry from the land that James Brooke first set foot on in 1839. Though battered by rebellions and nipped of territories by the Dutch, the adventurer-state came out from the period paradoxically stronger and robust than before. In the face of superior weaponry and skills, most of the insurrectionists either surrendered to Brooke forces or left the nation entirely, either moving deeper into the Bornean interior, across the river deltas into Brunei, or up the mountains into Dutch territory.
Besides this, the rebellions and tangentially related Borneo Treaty also taught the miniscule Sarawak government several new lessons; that the kingdom would need an elite fighting force to nip future rebellions from blossoming; for greater discussion between chieftains, lords, and the European Residents of the land; and – most importantly – that whatever future lands gained must be immediately settled and built-up with to prevent future partitions. These lessons and way in which they were implemented would, in time, form the backbone of the nation today and still influence Sarawak’s relations with the outside world.
The first of these lessons would be encapsulated in 1862 when the new Rajah Muda of Sarawak (Charles Brooke) authorised the creation of an elite paramilitary force that could act as "special operatives in situations of combat". The force, known as the Sarawak Rangers, were composed of a selection of Manok Sabong – fighting men from the Iban subgroup, handpicked by the Residents and the Brooke family from various longhouse villages. The selected men were then grouped together and put under the command of a British officer to, as written by the first Ranger commander Henry Rodway, "...[to] protect the borders, man strategic forts, and fight any rebels that run afoul of them."
In lieu of Rajah James’s Romanticism (though some would say pragmatism), the selected Dayaks were asked not to abandon their native styles of fighting. In fact, they were instead asked to amalgamate British weaponry and fighting skills with that of their own, as well as providing input on jungle warfare with their overseers. This would result in a mixed combat approach that lended well to the thick jungles and swamps of Borneo. As the decades passed, the Sarawak Rangers would expand its force to include Bidayuhs, Kayans, Malays and even a few Sikhs, each group adding to the repertoire new combat options and styles, and each adding to the Rangers' overall effectiveness in irregular conflict situations. In time, this elite fighting force would sow the seeds of the modern Royal Sarawak Army...
Another lesson learned from the era was the need for greater communication between the region's multiple overlords. While the Residency system of European Residents, native officers, and local lords and chieftains did resolve all but the greatest conflicts on the local level, they were helpless against large regional rebellions such as those of Libau Rentap and Sharif Masahor. In addition, the different needs of the kingdom's Divisions during the 1850's began showing themselves in lopsided growth for the overall state, with more resources being diverted to one particular area at the expense of others. In the wake of this, a forum for discussion at the state level was sorely required.
The answer to this problem would be twofold in nature. First, the Kuching government redrew the Divisons of Sarawak with an added ruling that larger administrative areas can have two or more Residencies to better administer the land. The other solution took a longer time to be thought of, and even longer to be executed. In the end though, it's implementation would sow in the kingdom the seeds to not just modern governance, but representative governance...
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Temenggung Jugah Anak Barieng, Early Sarawak: 1846-1868 (Kenyalang Publishing, 2000)
Though battered and bruised, Sarawak made it through the instability of the 1850's in a much more stable position then it had been, and none of this was more exemplified than the way the kingdom improved itself during the 1860's.
With the major rebellions of the past decade now largely over and with the Borneo Treaty settling –for now – the question of the Sentarum Floodplains, the Kuching administration now focused itself on paying back its creditors from which it owed large amounts of money to, a laborious process that would continue until the end of the decade. Both the government and the White Rajahs borrowed large sums of cash in trying to combat the rebellions as well as building up the infrastructure of Kuching village, a process that had to be repeated when the 1857 Uprising burned most of the administrative buildings to the ground.
The servicing of debt would strain the kingdom's finances back to levels resembling the beginning years of the state, though the discovery of coal near the town of Simunjan in 1863 did brought much needed revenue for the balance sheets. Several of the creditors such as Baroness Burdett-Courts also offered a partial write-down of the debts they incurred, further reducing the strain on the country. Despite all these measures, the Kingdom of Sarawak in the early 1860's was more cash-strained than it would ever be for the rest of the 19th century.
Aside from debt servicing, the administration also began looking at other ways of defending itself. Both Rajah James and Rajah Muda Charles realized that a native fighting force was sorely needed to combat future uprisings from spiralling out of control. From this way of thought would the Sarawak Rangers be created; a paramilitary force that could man strategic forts, patrol the kingdom's borders, conduct jungle warfare effectively, and – above all – gain the trust of the local populace. Local Dayak tribes would make up this new fighting force, later supplemented with Malays and Sikhs as the kingdom grew in size and complexity.
It was also during this era that Sarawak would gain the first of her ships and gunboats, forming the basis of her riverine and maritime fleet. From the very start, the kingdom had to rely on gunboats and merchant vessels either borrowed from the Royal Navy or loaned from sympathetic shipping figures. However, as the debt situation began to clear up in the mid-1860's the Kuching government began purchasing several shipping vessels and riverine gunboats outright, rebranding them as the new possessions of the upstart nation. While the number of gunboats and shipping vessels owned was paltry compared that of its closest neighbour, British Singapore, the Kingdom of Sarawak can – for the first time – finally boast of having a (miniscule) fleet of her own.
But perhaps one of the greatest achievements of this decade – and one that would mark the kingdom’s transition into a full-fledged state – was not an economical shift but an administrative one. The unrest of the past decade saw the need for greater communication between the Residents and the kingdom's inhabitants, a need that was further highlighted when the Kuching government uncovered the lopsided growth of the nation's Divisions. However, it wouldn’t until 1867 when Rajah Muda Charles finally tackled the problem by convening an assembly of European Residents, Malay lords and Dayak chieftains to discuss major issues. However, in a land dominated almost entirely by wild rainforests and uncharted territory, such an order seemed near-impossible to execute.
Despite it all, a meeting was eventually chaired, though it was a far cry from the grand assembly Rajah Muda Charles wanted. On September 7th 1867, Charles Brooke, 5 British officers, 16 Malay lords and a handful of Melanau chieftains all convened at the town of Bintulu, forming the first session of the Council Negri. The meeting was supposed to discuss national matters and offer collective advice for the Kuching government and the White Rajahs, as well as acting as a rubber stamp for the Brooke government’s policies.
However, as time passed the Council Negri would slowly evolve into more than just an advisory assembly…
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Charlie MacDonald, Strange States and Bizzare Borders (weirdworld.postr.rom, 2014)
Okay, at this point you'd probably be thinking "Wait a sec, I can see the Dayaks getting duped by this, but why aren't the Malays doing anything? Can't they see that their "ruler" is not from their country at all!? They're not even Muslims for crying out loud! Why aren't they rebelling!? GARBLHGARBLHGARBLE!!1!1"
Okay, number one: never do that in public, it's indecent.
And number two, no one pretended that the Brookes were locals. Everyone could see that their rulers were all foreigners, and people did question why they are ruled by a non-Muslim family. The thing is...everyone at the time was kinda 'meh' about it all, and aside from a few people who did rebel, the Malays were kinda OK with being ruled. Before you scream again, you need to understand that people living in Sarawak at the time had vastly different priorities than people living today.
Let's think of it this way: imagine you are a Malay fruit-seller living in a riverside village. You have a farm and a fruit orchard that you depend on for cash, and you have a small business selling them to other villages downstream. However, your fruit-selling business is kinda uncertain due to climate factors and all, and that's not including the Dayaks that roam the river a few times a year. Usually their war Perahus just pass your village as they head downstream, but sometimes they land on your home and demand fruits to so that your head wouldn't be cut off. You also pay taxes to the local Bruneian official, who may or not overtax you (different parts, different tax rates) and who may or may not pocket the money for himself.
All in all, your life could've been way better. And that's exactly what the Brookes did.
Now imagine the White Rajah coming to village on a boat, flanked by Dayaks and Malay warriors. Speaking in Malay (Wow, a foreigner who speaks Malay! He understands us!), he tells you and your village that he would try to make your life here better and wants your co-operation in making this dream. All he asks is for some warriors to join him against the head-hunters and that you now pay taxes to his official instead of that Bruneian oaf instead. You ask what happened to the Bruneian oaf, the man answers that he has been fired from his job.
At first, it seemed as if nothing changed. You sell your fruits, row your boat, do the normal things most Malays do... then you begin to notice it; your tax rates are a bit lower than before, and there are no more warring Dayaks to bribe fruit to. In fact, most of the Dayaks who came down here now are of the trading sort, not the 'cutting-heads-off' rabble, and they wanna trade with your village offering goods from the jungle for your own wares. You also begin to notice more and more people travelling the rivers; with less war expeditions it's now safer to travel for everyone. You take advantage of this and began selling the fruits to the wayfarers, and your business grows.
And this was repeated, for the most part, throughout all of Sarawak. Brooke rule meant safe rule, and the Malays knew this more than anyone else. Also, most of their lords and headmen were already involved in governing the country alongside the Residents, so it wasn't as if they were entirely sidelined in the new order. The Brookes also didn't try and convert them to Christianity, earning them major points from the locals (though not so much for the Dayaks).
To be fair, a few Malay villages did rebel against this, seeing that they simply traded one overlord for another (the Brookes being non-Muslims might've played a factor as well). However, they almost never lasted long and were always defeated by the White Rajah and his new army. Besides that, there were many villages that refused to pay taxes for the first few years because they were uncertain of their new European Residents.
In the end though, almost everyone slept better in the night because of the new security the White Rajahs brought...and no one wanted to change that (although the jury is out on attempted burglary and murder; that's the village's problem, not the Brookes).
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Footnotes:
1) The Council Negri was an actual body of the government that convenes European Residents, Malay lords and Dayak chieftains about once every three years that basically acts as a giant discussion group and rubber stamp for the White Rajahs. A monument still exists in Bintulu that commemorates the first meeting.
2) Yes, the Sarawak Rangers were an actual thing.
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Wow was that a wall of text.
And that's it for at least the next ten days or so. Happy Eid everybody!
And that's it for at least the next ten days or so. Happy Eid everybody!
Holy Mackerel, the Rangers are pretty badass. And while it seems Sarawak ain't exactly the wealthiest place 'round those parts, at least they seem to be well-administered and "fairly" well off, all things considered. The last bit did help breaking down the mentality of your average Sarawakian, what with the quality of life going up instead of depending on bribes and untrustworthy officials. Safe rule does have its merits, after all!
Well, once you rule a country that have lot of locals that know how to seriously fight, you kinda need a badass force to somewhat keep the peace.
As for the "fairly" well-off part, it needs to be said that the Brooke family at this point basically replaced the Bruneian sultan as ruler of the land and fully knitted together the old ruling system with that of their own, keeping together a lot of the people who know how to administer the land from rebelling. If it hadn't for this, Sarawak would have been a lot harder to rule.
And IMO, the last part had to be included because at this point, there really needs to be an explanation for why do the Malays allow the Brookes to rule. There will be dissenters - there will always be dissenters - but by and large, the increased trade and relative safety lended the family substantial support among the locals.
Well, once you rule a country that have lot of locals that know how to seriously fight, you kinda need a badass force to somewhat keep the peace.
As for the "fairly" well-off part, it needs to be said that the Brooke family at this point basically replaced the Bruneian sultan as ruler of the land and fully knitted together the old ruling system with that of their own, keeping together a lot of the people who know how to administer the land from rebelling. If it hadn't for this, Sarawak would have been a lot harder to rule.
And IMO, the last part had to be included because at this point, there really needs to be an explanation for why do the Malays allow the Brookes to rule. There will be dissenters - there will always be dissenters - but by and large, the increased trade and relative safety lended the family substantial support among the locals.
True about needing hardasses to keep other hardasses in line, if only they can develop a reputation like OTL's Ghurkas and Sikhs...oh wait
. Typically as long as the people's day to day activities can be normalized and stability brought to the local level, you can get away with some morally gray government setups (within reason, of course). That being said, the fact that the Brookes are pretty much just a drop-in for the previous leadership in the region seems to have not ruffled TOO many feathers. And of course being outsiders means the possible view that they're (relatively) unbiased and objective in their decisions. Here's to their reign not suffering too many setbacks or crap-ups, so as to keep being those good stewards of the land and the people happy.
True about needing hardasses to keep other hardasses in line, if only they can develop a reputation like OTL's Ghurkas and Sikhs...oh wait
Typically as long as the people's day to day activities can be normalized and stability brought to the local level, you can get away with some morally gray government setups (within reason, of course). That being said, the fact that the Brookes are pretty much just a drop-in for the previous leadership in the region seems to have not ruffled TOO many feathers. And of course being outsiders means the possible view that they're (relatively) unbiased and objective in their decisions. Here's to their reign not suffering too many setbacks or crap-ups, so as to keep being those good stewards of the land and the people happy.
Well, they may see some regional action in the future, I'll give you that
but for the Rangers to become as reputable as the Sikhs would require a giant international conflict to get involved in. I'm thinking of bringing a on alt-Great War/Great European War by 1903-1905, but at this point I'm more focusing on the regional stuff for the moment (with the possible exception of Italy and the Ottoman Empire. Oh, we haven't heard of the OE yet? Don't worry, we will soon ).As for the Brooke family, one of things I've learned is that they did very good job of ruling, or at looking like they're good at ruling. Learning the Malay language and Malay customs also helped them a lot with gathering local support, and you're not wrong in them being foreigners giving them a good perception both at home and abroad (though sadly, this will change in the future).
ITTL Sarawak will be one weird state by the end of the colonial era, and then some.
Okay, considering the update after next that I'm planning to write (next update is a culture one, followed by international snippets), I need to ask all of you this: what was the greatest naval battle in the American Civil War, and how bad was the Union fleet at the end of the fighting? It was a naval officer from the ACW that started the ball for Northern Borneo, and things could go way differently ITTL.
Also (though this will not come into play until waaay later in the TL) how big was German investment in South-East Asia?
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So after defeating the Ibans, Brooke made elite soldiers of them - a very British thing to do.
I wonder also if the Council Negri will become a House of Lords to an eventual elected House of Commons, or if the council itself will transform over time into an elected house.
Eid Mubarak to you and yours.
I wonder also if the Council Negri will become a House of Lords to an eventual elected House of Commons, or if the council itself will transform over time into an elected house.
Eid Mubarak to you and yours.
Replying from my phone here, so forgive my brevity and spelling mistakes.
Well, the Brookes do need a fighting force to keep the peace somehow and what better than using one of the fiercest tribes in all of Sarawak to do so? Also, using the fighting men also ties their villages closer to the state, with extra protection and weapons to boot.
As for the Council Negri, it could really go either way. It could be packed with chieftains and the Malay elite and evolve into an alt-House of Lords, or it could be full of appointed reformist figures who would want development and progress turning the whole thing into a proto-Parliament. The way to self-governance might take some time.
Also (and again), happy Eid Mubarak to everyone out there.
EDIT: Still asking on what's the biggest/most decisive naval battle in the American Civil War, and how bad is the Union fleet at the end of it. There might be another Whte Rajah state coming soon, though no guarantees on how long it'll last.
Well, the Brookes do need a fighting force to keep the peace somehow and what better than using one of the fiercest tribes in all of Sarawak to do so? Also, using the fighting men also ties their villages closer to the state, with extra protection and weapons to boot.
As for the Council Negri, it could really go either way. It could be packed with chieftains and the Malay elite and evolve into an alt-House of Lords, or it could be full of appointed reformist figures who would want development and progress turning the whole thing into a proto-Parliament. The way to self-governance might take some time.
Also (and again), happy Eid Mubarak to everyone out there.
EDIT: Still asking on what's the biggest/most decisive naval battle in the American Civil War, and how bad is the Union fleet at the end of it. There might be another Whte Rajah state coming soon, though no guarantees on how long it'll last.
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I would throw in that possibly the battle of Mobile Bay could be it but that's probably my Alabamian state pride talking really if no one else finds the answer I'll tap my Uncle for info on it.
if no one else finds the answer I'll tap my Uncle for info on it.