Of Rajahs and Hornbills: A timeline of Brooke Sarawak

[lukedalton]

Hmm...given the financial situation caused by the Bey trying to reform the place, I could see the debt "commission" sent by Europe in 1869 to include more Italian members than OTL. In time, the British, French, and Italians would try to gain influence over Tunisia by using it's finances, and London will be spooked. I think then by 1875-1879 either Italy or France shall finally try to take over the Bey, offering to share Tunisia via a condominium. Most likely, this will happen after the Russo-Turkish War as Europe would want at least something after the Ottomans defeated Russia.

How does that sound?

Sound good, if we add some more years of Cavour diplomacy (as a member of the piedmontese intelligentia it was usually pro-french and without Nappy III meddling in the third war of independence things will be generally more smooth), both powers diplomatic isolation...but with a correlation of force a little different so for France an alliance with Italy can be seen as more productive (and not a something to take granted due to France being the biggest economic patner of Italy).

And I agree, the Latin Alliance sounds like a usable term, though I wonder what will they call themselves once other powers join in the fray.

Well depend by the powers joining, more probable candidate are Greece (it's in a situation much like OTL Italy both in economic and political sense but with the Ottoman in place of Austria-Hungary) and it need support for growing and expand...plus both Rome and Paris eyed Ottoman land, the other is probably Spain and in this case France can step up his aide against the Carlist or come to rescue after the Spanish-American war; in this case Latin Alliance can remain and absorb/integrate the Latin Monetary Union.

Hmm... I dunno much about this part, but didn't the Three Emperors League fell apart anyhow due to disagreements between all the three powers? And political leanings don't necessarily guarantee imperial alliances, the Franco-Russian one being the most memorable to me. Who knows, maybe the alliance system ITTL will go a bit weird as well.

It's was more due to both Russia and Austria not reaching an agreement towards their objective in the Balkans...but with Russia losing the war agaisnt the Ottoman and so in need of a success but a little humbled and A-H being more openly defeat in '66 (with more territorial loss probably) and so face a much more aggressive liberal Italy (expecially if allied with Repubblican France) they can be much tempted to patch things up...plus as OTL example Italy and Austria-Hungary remained member of the Triple Alliance for 30 years even with very contrastant interest (sure by the end the alliance was deader than Disco...still existed formally) and the Franco-Russian was both a very pragmatic alliance and served France to exit the diplomatic isolation created by Bismark.
We can have a multipolar world with the Latin Alliance, the Three emperor, Great Britan and allies (Portugal, Dutch and the Ottoman) and the USA as a free/solo player.
As a note Austria was interested in a stable Ottoman Empire in the sense that it needed strong enough to resist other powers but not strong enough to resist Wien meddling, basically the Hapsburg policy was to protect the Porte unless it was her doing the carving.

This is the one thing I'm extremely clueless about. If London courts Austria, then it's probable Germany would get involved as well, and I'm really in two minds about this. On one hand, there's Kaiser Wilhelm and the man will probably start a war with some power or other anyhow (though the Prussian government and the palace are also at fault here). Plus, his naval arms-race would anger Britain as much as the Italians did, so I'm really tempted for him to have an "accident" and have one of his brothers rule instead.

Nooo, not Kaiser Willy our favorite walking diplomatic blunder...on the other side no German interest in colonies mean more for the others and as a positive note a division of Congo among the various colonial powers it will be a win for everyone involved (local population included)

I really want a war starting at the first decade of the 1900's, maybe between 1906-1910. That way it would provide Southeast Asia a different catalyst for modernization and/or invasion, not to mention it was this decade that many of the central and supporting characters in this TL (The Brookes, Abu Bakar, etc.) would live their last years, and I want them to do something in all the fighting and chaos.

It will not be so hard if trend remain the same, in OTL the period was full of war scare and as all things the concert of Europe has an expiration date and there will be a moment when the contrastant interest of the various power will be too much to avoid the conflict.

As general a more rich Italy mean:

- different migratory flux in both size and destination. France will be the more probable destination and in this case her demographic problem can be somewhat less than OTL.
- the ITTL first dreadnought type ship can be owned by the Regia Marina, as it was originally a project by an italian but was refused...due to budgetary reason.

 

[Gian]

What I meant is that would Spain have a presence in Borneo, cause I would be much interested in that.

 

[Al-numbers]

Well depend by the powers joining, more probable candidate are Greece (it's in a situation much like OTL Italy both in economic and political sense but with the Ottoman in place of Austria-Hungary) and it need support for growing and expand...plus both Rome and Paris eyed Ottoman land, the other is probably Spain and in this case France can step up his aide against the Carlist or come to rescue after the Spanish-American war; in this case Latin Alliance can remain and absorb/integrate the Latin Monetary Union.

Hmm... Greece and Spain? I have a feeling the aftermath of the Spanish-American War would turn out badly for the latter's political stability, and I don't know much of the Carlist Wars to form a concise opinion on the matter. Greece though... I can see her just be persuaded enough to join the Alliance as a "second-tier power", especially if the status of Crete gets shafted and the war of 1897 gets butterflied or delayed (more pressure for 1905-1906!).

But if there's something I learnt from all this discussion, it's that I should check up on European history more often, so that's something.

We can have a multipolar world with the Latin Alliance, the Three emperor, Great Britan and allies (Portugal, Dutch and the Ottoman) and the USA as a free/solo player.
As a note Austria was interested in a stable Ottoman Empire in the sense that it needed strong enough to resist other powers but not strong enough to resist Wien meddling, basically the Hapsburg policy was to protect the Porte unless it was her doing the carving.

HMM...

A multipolar would like that is interesting in itself, but I think there's also something in changing events and incidents until new connections are forged and old ones rearranged. I dunno. Maybe I need some time to think about this.

As for Austria and the Ottomans, I'm juggling a few ideas that would make their relationship a bit...weird compared to OTL. I'm especially interested in a strong Porte and a more robust empire, but one that also influences the world through economic rather than military might. Also, more connected to the East Indies, but that's another discussion.

As for Austria, I wonder what will happen if the Ottomans end up becoming more powerful and more stable (relatively) than OTL. No Bosnian annexation, that's for sure, but I wonder if there are knock-off effects on both the empire and Russia. There's certainly going to be an Austro-Hungarian Sarawak Company (it's just too cool!!), but that's also another discussion for later.

Nooo, not Kaiser Willy our favorite walking diplomatic blunder...on the other side no German interest in colonies mean more for the others and as a positive note a division of Congo among the various colonial powers it will be a win for everyone involved (local population included)

I wouldn't be so happy about the Congo just yet. Leopold is still alive, and there might be new ITTL complications due to... um... "versatility issues."

It will not be so hard if trend remain the same, in OTL the period was full of war scare and as all things the concert of Europe has an expiration date and there will be a moment when the contrastant interest of the various power will be too much to avoid the conflict.

As general a more rich Italy mean:

- different migratory flux in both size and destination. France will be the more probable destination and in this case her demographic problem can be somewhat less than OTL.
- the ITTL first dreadnought type ship can be owned by the Regia Marina, as it was originally a project by an italian but was refused...due to budgetary reason.

True, but there's also real world history to consider. There's a reason why OTL WWI happened in 1914. Maybe if Japan gets involved...

As for Italy, the migrant issue sounds plausible, though I do wonder if the Italian government "sponsors" colonization to Tunisia and the East Indies like France did IOTL. As for the dreadnoughts, well I'm not a military historian, so I leave that to you and the other readers to decide.

What I meant is that would Spain have a presence in Borneo, cause I would be much interested in that.

They might. They certainly viewed Sulu as a region that belonged to them both IOTL and ITTL, and some scholarly works did say that they viewed eastern Borneo as part of the Spanish Philippines due to it being a part of the sultanate. As OTL history has shown though, Spanish presence might be complicated by outside intervention, and I have a few outsiders that'll do the trick.

 

[lukedalton]

As for Austria and the Ottomans, I'm juggling a few ideas that would make their relationship a bit...weird compared to OTL. I'm especially interested in a strong Porte and a more robust empire, but one that also influences the world through economic rather than military might. Also, more connected to the East Indies, but that's another discussion.

As for Austria, I wonder what will happen if the Ottomans end up becoming more powerful and more stable (relatively) than OTL. No Bosnian annexation, that's for sure, but I wonder if there are knock-off effects on both the empire and Russia. There's certainly going to be an Austro-Hungarian Sarawak Company (it's just too cool!!), but that's also another discussion for later.

While a more stable and powerfull Ottoman Empire is clearly possible, the period will be very problematic for the Porte, Russia will want a rematch and the balkans will be always the balkans and the slav nationalism will be on the rise...not counting the Greece; the African part of the Empire is basically gone unless some miracle happen, Egypt is too ivital for Great Britain and the Horn of Africa will quickly become very important strategically, both France and Italy desire a strong colonial expansion and Tunisia and Libya seem a very easy target.
Maybe the cause of the war is the presence of a stronger Ottoman Empire (a mean and lean one) that has put a cap on the balkan powderkeg till the pressure is too high and explode bring the rest of the continent with it.

As for Italy, the migrant issue sounds plausible, though I do wonder if the Italian government "sponsors" colonization to Tunisia and the East Indies like France did IOTL. As for the dreadnoughts, well I'm not a military historian, so I leave that to you and the other readers to decide.

Regarding Tunisia, this is assured it's just beyond italian border, there's already a sizeble italian community and is a general good place; the east india it's more difficult but is very probable that some serious attempt will be done, after all we had tried in Lybia and the Horn of Africa

 

[Gian]

They might. They certainly viewed Sulu as a region that belonged to them both IOTL and ITTL, and some scholarly works did say that they viewed eastern Borneo as part of the Spanish Philippines due to it being a part of the sultanate. As OTL history has shown though, Spanish presence might be complicated by outside intervention, and I have a few outsiders that'll do the trick.

Like who?filler

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Maybe if Japan gets involved.../QUOTE]

Assuming a Meiji restoration as OTL, there's going to be way more incentive for Japan to a) Look South rather than North/towards China; and b) Join in the WWI analogue. Which in turn could butterfly away the insane militarist Empire of OTL... if they managed to acquire even a small area of resource-rich territory early, then there'd be less of a perceived need later on to go on a conquest spree, and the nation would have less of a chip on its shoulder so there'd be less fodder for right-wing groups to rabble-rouse with.

Also: no Kaiser Bill sounds a marvellous idea

 

[xt828]

b) Join in the WWI analogue.

Japan did that historically, it's how they got their Pacific possessions

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Japan did that historically, it's how they got their Pacific possessions

Aye, I know, but ITTL they could grab a fairly large chunk of real estate rather than some small (though well-placed) islands.

 

[Archangel]

Sarawak still has some room for growth (annexation/mediatization of Brunei, annexation of some of Sulu's lands, and maybe some "accidental" wrong border demarcations in the interior or "policing" rebellious Dutch protectorates).

 

[Al-numbers]

Like who?filler

Secret.

Maybe if Japan gets involved...

Assuming a Meiji restoration as OTL, there's going to be way more incentive for Japan to a) Look South rather than North/towards China; and b) Join in the WWI analogue. Which in turn could butterfly away the insane militarist Empire of OTL... if they managed to acquire even a small area of resource-rich territory early, then there'd be less of a perceived need later on to go on a conquest spree, and the nation would have less of a chip on its shoulder so there'd be less fodder for right-wing groups to rabble-rouse with.

Also: no Kaiser Bill sounds a marvellous idea

Japan did that historically, it's how they got their Pacific possessions

Aye, I know, but ITTL they could grab a fairly large chunk of real estate rather than some small (though well-placed) islands.

A Japan that joins this TL's WWI (and especially if said WW happens in 1905) would probably get involved both in the north and south, depending on which Power it would fight first. Vladivostok and the Sakhalin Islands would be one battlefront, and Micronesia another if Germany joins the Latin Alliance (Italian Papua and maybe an Italian North Borneo would form a third battlefront, but the British/Dutch/Sarawak would take care of that quickly). As for resources, that's going to be one major butterfly in this timeline; who knew there Japanese communities already in the East Indies by the 1900's...

As for Kaiser Bill, I'm still thinking. Without him, the 1905 war POD would be harder to achieve. On the other, Germany won't be seen as the main aggressor ITTL and might even stay neutral, or join with the British/Dutch alliance out of "shared enemies".

(You can see I really want a different war than most of the TL's here in AH.com. Oopsies )

Sarawak still has some room for growth (annexation/mediatization of Brunei, annexation of some of Sulu's lands, and maybe some "accidental" wrong border demarcations in the interior or "policing" rebellious Dutch protectorates).

Oh definitely. The 1870's will be a time of more territorial conquest by Sarawak, as well as more consolidation of it's coastal and interior territories. Expect most of Brunei to fall under the Brookes and southern Palawan being connected to the nation's economy by the end of the 1870's. However, also expect Brunei to go out on a limb and request foreign protection during this decade; the sultan might be going down, but he might just stop the Brookes by doing so, and there are many Powers to consider...

 

[Al-numbers]

Due to finals coming up, I may not go for the "Franco-Prussian War commentary", and this TL might remain silent for a week or two. I'll try to think of making a mini-update or two though!

Stay curious, everyone.

 

[Gian]

Oh definitely. The 1870's will be a time of more territorial conquest by Sarawak, as well as more consolidation of it's coastal and interior territories. Expect most of Brunei to fall under the Brookes and southern Palawan being connected to the nation's economy by the end of the 1870's. However, also expect Brunei to go out on a limb and request foreign protection during this decade; the sultan might be going down, but he might just stop the Brookes by doing so, and there are many Powers to consider...

Can you have Spain "protecting" Brunei, to protect its flank from foreign interference of Sulu? I really want a Spanish Borneo to come to pass.

 

[Namayan]

Can you have Spain "protecting" Brunei, to protect its flank from foreign interference of Sulu? I really want a Spanish Borneo to come to pass.

They are like mortal enemies since 1500s. Spain has no reason to go down south. There must be a reason for Spain to go conquering south and dedicate resources for conquest. If oil was discovered in Borneo earlier than OTL and Spain industrializes as early as France or Britain, that is your reason. But if Spain looks like OTL Spain, no reason for Spain to go down south.

Even Sulu in OTL wasnt conquered even though the Spanish had the capability to do so by late 1800s.

 

[lukedalton]

Secret.

A Japan that joins this TL's WWI (and especially if said WW happens in 1905) would probably get involved both in the north and south, depending on which Power it would fight first. Vladivostok and the Sakhalin Islands would be one battlefront, and Micronesia another if Germany joins the Latin Alliance (Italian Papua and maybe an Italian North Borneo would form a third battlefront, but the British/Dutch/Sarawak would take care of that quickly). As for resources, that's going to be one major butterfly in this timeline; who knew there Japanese communities already in the East Indies by the 1900's..

.

Take in consideration even French Indochina in the equation, sure the final result is not in discussion but between the French and Italian military presence it will be not the enormously one sided battle of OTL against the Germans.

As for Kaiser Bill, I'm still thinking. Without him, the 1905 war POD would be harder to achieve. On the other, Germany won't be seen as the main aggressor ITTL and might even stay neutral, or join with the British/Dutch alliance out of "shared enemies".

(You can see I really want a different war than most of the TL's here in AH.com. Oopsies )

The 'problem' with Germany is that Bismarck primary policy objective was to keep France isolated...and here with the 'Latin Alliance' it's partially failed (sure Italy is richer and more 'respected' of OTL but still clearly the new kid of the block and , more or less, the last of the Great Powers and even if Greece partecipate it's a minor power...still ) and this envisioned Germany as the guardian of the reactionary order in Europe and this mean a strong nation, maybe a little stronger for London taste plus as any young nation Germany will want to recognized as a great power and will stretch his muscle both political that military putting in collision with the other european powers.
As said before, with both Russia and Austria-Hungary in both worst place they can even found a 'gentlemen agreement' regarding their sphere of influence in the Balkans and if both the Ottoman and the Japanese are British ally things will be tense.

Great Britain itself remain partially in 'splendid isolation' and even in OTL refrained itself to forge binding alliance...and the German invasion of Belgium smooth a lot of things both in term of pubblic and political support, so there is the possibility that she will choose (at least initially) to sit things out.

The other two historical power of Asia aka Japan and China can play the wild card
Japan, initially had a lot of French influence and maybe can become a France ally instead of a British one or the Chinese can avoid or find a diplomatic solution at the first sino-Japanese war and see a war between the european powers as a mean to regain terroritory and status.

Edit: good luck for your finals

 

[Al-numbers]

Managed to write this in my free time.

Johor Bahru, Johor Sultanate, 11 September 1870​

"The Sarawak Gazette?"

Abu Bakar looked at the folded sheet of paper that lay on his right hand, astonished. Beside him, Jaafar could only nod in acknowledgement at the man's surprise. Ever since the grand tour of Europe just four years back, the Johorean monarch had become enthused with grand ideas on modernization. From buying English books on the industrialization of Europe to discussing plans for a direct telegraph service to London, Abu Bakar was becoming more ambitions - and more restless - by the month.

"And this... the French and the Prussians..."

"They are fighting, yes."

"They didn't look so hostile when we met them."

"Yes, we." Jaafar posited. "But as you yourself know, Tuanku, such friendliness often dissipates in times of sheer crisis. And even the closest friends do have disagreements."

"Friendly disagreements do not start wars."

"That... is not for me to answer."

Frowning, the monarch looked back to the paper, unfurling the front page to read the inside contents. Beside him, Jaafar could almost see the cogs and wheels turning in his dear friend's head. If the Sarawak Rajah could publish his own newspaper...

"It will not work."

Abu Bakar looked up. "I haven't even asked yet."

"But you are thinking about it. Tuanku, the Rajah of Sarawak made the newspaper so that his foreign Residents would not be cut off from the world. The Kuching public could hardly read something like this."

"I've heard some of the public over there can read things like this."

"Only because of the missionary schools and the Civil Service, which the Rajah had established since his first arrival to Sarawak. If we want to create our own paper, we need to create some readers first."

Abu Bakar looked at his friend for a few seconds, unblinking.

"Then let's create our readers."

**********​

Amarjit Kaur, Sarawak under Charles, (Lido Press, 1999)

…Established in 1870, the Sarawak Gazette would later become the most recognizable aspect of Brooke rule upon the land, featuring not just stories and events, but weather reports, shipping arrangements, price indexes, court affairs, and even the yearly tax revenues from the kingdom’s various Residencies. However, in terms of actual news the Gazette would slowly shift from international matters to local affairs, converting to a mixed news format by the mid-1800’s.

This shift from global outlook to local matters was a hallmark of Rajah Charles Brooke’s policy over the 1870’s. To this day, no one can exactly say why. It was clear from his journals that the man was a practical person, preferring efficiency over the Romantic ideals held by his predecessor, Rajah James Brooke. The fact that Charles had to organize and lead war expeditions during the turmoil of the 1850’s might also affect his leanings, though Rajah James also did the same during that decade – and even more, considering his short takeover of Sentarum. Then there was Sarawak itself to consider; the kingdom was growing more and more by the month, with new towns and interior territories being absorbed into the polity from Brunei. Charles might have thought that with Sarawak expanding, it might be more better-run if the locals would have a say – with a few foreign Residents to watch over the whole flock.

Photograph of Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak.​

Whatever the case, it was clear that from the moment Charles Brooke acceded the throne major changes were to be made. The first was a reshuffling of the justice system; cases of national importance or gross inhumanity were to be tried at the new Sarawak High Court, located in Kuching. The judges of the High Court would consist of a mixture of both English and Malays, with reserve powers to the latter if a particular case revolves round a cultural context. If the context takes a bent towards the Chinese and the Dayaks, then their leaders would fill in the role of being judges, with the jury consisting of members of either ethnicity. However, decisions of life and death in these cases were to be decided by the Rajah himself, and once the sentence was said, it cannot be overturned.

Change was also brought to the high echelons of government. The Supreme Council was expanded with the inclusion of several British officials, picked from the Sarawak Service or from British Singapore. However, this was counterbalanced by the addition of educated Malays into the Service itself, freshly minted from the missionary schools. Slowly, the kingdom’s administration began to take on a local character as more and more Malays began taking up jobs in the bureaucracy, creating such a reduction in foreign workers that only 21 European officials were working for the Service by 1879!

Besides that, Charles also opened up the British-Bruneian monarcial system so that it would be, comparatively, more open than it was before. In this, he was particularly concerned on the issue of information not reaching to his ears. Now, whoever would want an audience with the Rajah – whether to discuss Dayak issues or tax collection problems – need only wait till the doors to the Astana open every weekday morning. There, he would wait in a line comprised of Malay lords, Chinese merchants, and Dayak chieftains and wait till it was his turn to face the Rajah and the Supreme Council. While imperfect and crude, this system did ensure the flow of important information from the Astana to the rainforest at minimal cost, a crucial thing in an extremely wild and unexplored country.

The Astana in Kuching, the nexus of power in the Kingdom of Sarawak.​

However, there was also an inverse side to the ‘localization’ of the government, and this was the concentration of power in the hands of the Rajah. While James Brooke did exercise absolute power during his reign, it was nothing when compared to Charles’s. Besides the matter of life and death resting literally on his hands in the Sarawak High Court, the younger Brooke also commanded more war expeditions into the interior than his predecessor ever did, and though he always convened a War Council (comprising of the area’s Residents and allied Malay/Dayak chieftains) to plan his attacks, his final words were taken as law. There was also the case of the Council Negri; Charles packed the informal assembly full with Dayak chieftains – up to 75% of the whole crowd! – but relegated it to meeting once every three years in the name of “balanced and careful rule”. Indeed, most scholars agree that out of all the Sarawak Rajahs, Charles Brooke was the most absolutist.

The end result of all this was that the Sarawak government had an unusual ‘transparency’ for the time period, and it was one that fluctuated according to the times. Educated Malays could easily check the kingdom’s yearly tax revenues through the Gazette, and matters of national importance could reach the palace quickly via courier or a fast gunboat. However, issues of gross injustice were concentrated on the Rajah, and matters of war and national issues were a gray area that only Charles could traverse effectively.

As expected, Sarawak’s system of governance raised more than a few eyebrows among its colonial neighbors, and it wasn’t long before the kingdom itself attracted the eyes of Imperial Europe…

The new flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak, unveiled in 1870​

__________

Footnotes:

1) Yes, the Sarawak Gazette was a thing. And yes, they really did print about the Franco-Prussian War in it’s early editions.

2) IOTL, though Sarawak and Johor were next-door neighbors, they never seem to have much contact with one another besides the occasional borrowing of each other’s economic systems. ITTL, this will change.

3) The judiciary system was based on historical accounts of Kuching’s court system during the 1870’s, with a few butterflies here and there.

4) Incredibly, the ‘Open Palace’ system described was exactly as OTL, except that the Rajah did that almost everyday IOTL.

5) The demographic changes to the Council Negri and its relegation to being held once every three years was, unfortunately, also OTL.

 

[Jonathan Edelstein]

So Charles is establishing a Saudi-style monarchy, absolute but accessible to all petitioners? Given the poor infrastructure in Sarawak at the time, that doesn't seem too bad. On the other hand, it won't modernize well - if the Brookes try to keep up that style of governing into the mid-20th century, they'll have a fight on their hands.

Also, while I can certainly see Abu Bakar investing in education, wouldn't there be enough literate merchants and clerks in Johor Bahru to at least provide the initial readership for a newspaper?

 

[Herr Frage]

I find myself liking Abu Bakar, but I am not sure I like his chances. His reforms will ruffle feathers in a time when there are too many powerful meddlers waiting to take advantage. Still good luck to him.

Charles autocracy came a bit of s surprise. The Three meeting for the council in particular. That and his reduction of European presence may cause the British to regard him as, unBritish.

Still in this time period he nay have the right idea. The rapid expansion and the swiftly unstable colonial situation could benefit from the rapid response.

So he is still leading war bands even as Rajah? That must earn him and the Brooke's clan a very martial romantic feel abroad and respect at home.

The expansion of the indigenous role makes Sarawak more legitimate in native eyes I expect.

Finishing off Brunei seems a priority with new player entering the region. Either full annexation or reducing it to the pit it can become a de facto protectorate I would think.

 

[Archangel]

Interesting development in Sarawak. Brooke is concentrating power and doing reforms to ensure that the population feels respected by the state (making everyone equal before the law), but some day, reforms will have to be made to ensure that there won't unrest.

 

[chr92]

Just to say I'm still following this timeline eagerly. I'm enjoying, and admiring, both the ATL and the OTL bits.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Awesome update Jonathan Edelstein's Saudi comparison is pretty apt - especially given that Sarawak is also swimming in the black gold (and could get more, depending how much more of the island they claim).