Of Rajahs and Hornbills: A timeline of Brooke Sarawak
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Thank you! I've seen some of these maps before, but not the others. Interesting how each of them are slightly different in delineating tribal/ethnic boundaries, but that's what happens when trying to draw boundaries in such a diverse island.
The Indian community of Sarawak is small, but there. The first wave of Sikh troops employed (or exiled) there are now complimented by a smaller stream of shopkeepers, house servants, Chettiar moneylenders, and even a few Tamil workers for the few plantations there. Kuching and the south portion of Sarawak are where most have settled, though you can find an Indian shop or two in most downstream towns. Right now, the more international ones are casting their eyes up to Indochina while listening into the first whispers of Indian nationalism back in their subcontinent.
The Penan are still wandering around north-central Sarawak, but they have been contacted by both the Brookes and local officials - Ranee Margaret even wrote meeting them in the late 1870's, according to her memoirs. Being one of the few truly nomadic hunter-gatherer groups, they tend to stay away from populated centers or from other Dayaks, though a few have canoed/trekked to a downstream post office or trading post to exchange some goods. They are mostly left alone.
(And speaking of which, here's another new info I found about them: while some have speculated that the Penan are a remnant of Stone Age hunter-gatherers, other scholars have posited a much different view that the Penan are descendants of settled peoples/communities that fled into the rainforest in later centuries to escape violence and persecution, often from the Iban or other headhunting subgroups.)
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Ah so as per OTL? Interestingly enough this was when my maternal family began to migrate to what was then Singapore perhaps they had an alternate route of migration and ended up in Sarawak?
Malayalees were the second largest Indian sub-ethnic group after Tamils in Malaya so I'd assume it'd be largely the same in the East. Whatever the case whatever the Indian Community gets up to in their homeland's struggle for Independence will be interesting to read. Second Singapore mutiny mayhaps?I remember going to Sarawak in a field trip when I was ten and it's one of those places which stuck with me long after I left. I still remember the Iban Longhouses and the absolutely terrifying Melanau Tall Houses (that is the literal translation of their name in malay) as well as the unique Malay dialect of Sarawak but what really stuck with me were the stories our Iban tour guide told us of the Penan. Hunter-gatherers and people of the land surviving on a an everyday basis that was really interesting to a urbanite Singaporean like me who had never heard of such a thing especially in a place where our very own Orang Asli were driven off in the 1960s to make way for a canal. Glad to hear that they're being left alone and not hounded by the Malaysian Government for their land and the natural resources held within. Inshaallah it stays that way in Brooke's Sarawak.
That is very interesting to think about. Settled people forced to take up the entirely opposite way of life to survive? Lmao.
Perkahwinan of the Rajah: Prologue
North Bridge Road, British Singapore, 9 April 1907
The ringing entrance bell lifted Andrew Tong’s spirits more than it should. Still, it was almost closing time.
“Who could be coming in now?” Asked Kean behind him, his sewing machine shuddering down as with the disappearing daylight streaming in through the windows.
Andrew turned around, “Never you mind! Are you finished with that?” As the shop’s proprietor, he didn’t want to say just how precarious they all were, with half their customer base vanishing because of the War. It was a miracle of god the remaining revenues were just enough to pay for the shop’s monthly expenses.
After taking one quick sweep of all the workers and their tasks, he made his way to the front end, passing through racks of unsold undershirts and waistcoats that were once desirable amongst Singapore’s European elite and up-and-coming locals. Please let this be an unaffected customer, please let this be an unaffected customer…
Donning on his overcoat to further embellish himself, despite the layers of fabric adding to the stifling heat around his body, he pushed any doubts out of his head and voiced out in accented English. “Welcome!”
Immediately, the portly man standing by the entrance looked high-minded and pompous to the proprietor’s eyes, with a look on his mixed visage that expressed a taste for the best and nothing less. An Anglo-Indian? Oh well. Customers were customers.
“Good evening!” The man said in a cultured British accent. “I was wondering if I can get a good suit done in three days?”
What? “I’m… sorry? What did you say?”
“I said, can you tailor a suit within three days?” Annoyance was seeping into the man’s voice.
Andrew was flummoxed. Suit patrons weren’t usually this bold. “…Well, we have a selection of suits and coats that you can try! You might obtain your selection of choice sooner than you wish!”
And with that, he whisked the Anglo-Indian into a tailoring whirlwind. For the next half-an-hour, Andrew and his backroom assistants made the measurements, fittings, and cuts to an assortment of stored suitwear, all the while making sure the customer’s pomposity was sated with flattery. Every once in a while, the Anglo-Indian would bark out something like, “My father is one of the wealthiest businessman in Rangoon, you know?” Or, “Have you heard what is happening in Indochina? Dreadful. Very bad for business.” By the time Andrew was back on the front end with the finished suits, he wished hard for some cold baijiu.
But as the final payment was made, he realized he hadn’t asked yet on why the man wanted the clothes. “Is there a function or celebration you need to go?”
The Anglo-Indian only laughed. “Oh, no! Nothing like that! It’s… well, you will see.”
“See?”
“Yes! Don’t worry! You will remember my name soon enough! Everyone will! All the newspapers will say my name! Then everyone would want some suits from your little tailors’!”
Somehow, something of that ‘little tailors’ pricked Andrew deep.
As the front door opened once more, he made a note to ask around for anything about the Anglo-Indian and for anything odd that is being held in Singapore. After locking the door, Andrew finally made his way back to where all the workers were finishing up.
“Why did the man want the suits for?” asked Kean.
“I don’t know.” Andrew answered, shrugging. “Wonder what he said about remembering his name, too…”
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(Uploaded from the Penang state archives: The Malay Tribune, 10 April 1907)
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After years of planning, it’s FINALLY HAPPENING, FOLKS.
Baijiu: traditional distilled liquor from China, often made using sorghum or barley (in the northern regions especially) or with rice and other grains (with rice being prominent in China’s south).
"Suitable Consort" will be threading the needle a bit. House Brooke is more parvenu than the Napoleons and have gone half native in the indies atop that, which narrows the European noble/royal options (and US social climbers). However it may still be a generation or two too soon to bite the bullet and wed the daughter of a Chinese and/or Malay grandee.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
I hope that mysterious customer intends to be famous by wooing the Rajah's sister, and not by assassinating someone important.
The Brooke family does seem to be in a position where "proper spouses" would be a bit troublesome to find.
Well, he'll certainly be trying to woo at least one of the Brookes. Whether they will be receptive is another question...
A possible option. By this point, there would be tens of thousands of transplanted European families residing across Southeast Asia and beyond, from Burma to the Philippines, to say nothing of the communities in India or China or in the British dominions down south. A fair number may already have their sights on Sarawak to land a once-in-a-lifetime chance of being a Prince/Princess Consort!
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This is making me wonder about currently deposed royal families who might be interested in attaching their names to a title with some actual land. The Bagrationis are the oldest out there, but probably way off the table unless they have completely fallen out with Russia.
Potentially, the most prestigous house which might conceivably call on the rajas would be the Welfs, but even that sounds exceedingly unlikely.
Potentially, the most prestigous house which might conceivably call on the rajas would be the Welfs, but even that sounds exceedingly unlikely.
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Marriage prospects came up in a much older discussion. Have you desided to go with a different potential match than the Clunies-Ross?
There's also the problem of the Bagrationis being preoccupied in the Caucasus and Russia for the moment. Plus, a fair number of them probably think Sarawak is some kind of Javanese spice. For the Welfs, (woah, talk about a family tree!) they would rather aim for a British or German match as befitting their history than hightail across the globe to wed a half-native family.
With that said, I wonder if some of these descendants have enough of a rebellious phase to set out east. Probably would get them disinherited, but stranger things have happened. 🧐
The family I've picked then is still the same now, though I'm willing to hear counter-proposals. The spousal candidates don't need to be blue-blooded royals; Margaret Brooke herself came from a minor noble family and her father, Joseph Clayton Jennyns de Windt, was a captain in the 15th Hussars of the British army.
You do need to explain how they found out Sarawak, though.
EDIT: and before ya'll are thinking, the Michałowskis of Medan aren't for the game, though they may be invited to the Brookes' wedding as the only other fully-transplanted European nobility around.
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Somewhere out there, some poor historian is suffering immensely from trying to map out the Wettin family tree.
Just placing a comment here so that the coming update won't lie at the bottom of the page.