Sarawak Uprising of 1836

Sarawak Uprising

Upper Sarawak Geological Survey by Hiram Williams in 1846, focused on Siniawan
Date2nd June 1836 – 20th December 1840
(4 years)
Location
modern day Bau District, Sarawak
Result

Bruneian Victory

  • Uprising suppressed
Territorial
changes		 Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Datu Patinggi Ali  
Datu Patinggi Abdul Gapur
Datu Tumanggong Mersal
other rebels chiefs		 Omar Ali Saifuddien II
Pengiran Indera Mahkota
Pengiran Muda Hashim
Sharif Jafar
Sharif Shabab
Orang Kaya Temenggung Lundu
Orang Kaya Pemanca Bintulu
Chiefs of Miri and Mukkah
James Brooke
Strength
~7,000+ troops[1]
  • around ~10,000 troops[1]
    • 70 troops sent by Sharif Jafar
    • 600 troops under James Brooke
Casualties and losses
Heavy

The Sarawak Uprising of 1836 or sometimes called the Sarawak War of Independence or Sarawakian Revolutionary War, was a armed conflict against Brunei led by a former governor of Sarawak, Datu Patinggi Ali.

This war would lead to the demise of the Bruneian Empire and would open the doors of a new Sarawak after the war's end under the White Rajah, James Brooke who would modernise Sarawak to the European standard.

Prelude to war

Antimony ore was discovered in Siniawan and Jambusan in 1823.[2] The Bruneian sultan had appointed Ali as the governor of Sarawak in the 1820s.[3] The Chinese mined antimony ore in Siniawan,[4] while the Malays who resided in the Tonga Tanah used Bidayuh laborers. However, as soon as Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II Brunei realized that antimony ore and gold had been discovered in the Bau area, the Sultan named Pengiran Indera Mahkota as the new Governor of Sarawak in 1827,[5][6] replacing Datu Patinggi Ali, allowing Brunei to take control of the antimony mines and commerce. The administrative center of Sarawak was relocated by Pengiran Indera Mahkota in 1826 from Lidah Tanah to Santubong and subsequently to Kuching.[7][8] It is said that he moved the administrative center to Kuching using the fear of pirates as justification. However, a deliberate measure was taken to lessen Ali's influence and authority. The full control of mining activities and antimony trade in Bau was made feasible by Pengiran Indera Mahkota when they seized power from Ali to govern Sarawak.[9]

Mullen, a supporter of Ali, said that Bidayuh and Malays were made to work long hours in the antimony mine. Before Pengiran Indera Mahkota arrived, he had been in charge of them for a considerable time. When he saw the misery of his followers—who were compelled to labor at Pengiran Indera Mahkota's antimony mine—he was reportedly angered. The insistence of Pengiran Indera Mahkota that his followers pay extremely high taxes infuriated Ali even more. Additionally, because Pengiran Indera Mahkota controlled all commercial activity, they could not trade as freely as before.[9]

Forces

Brunei

Upon hearing of Ali's rebellion the Sultan of Brunei sent his uncle Pengiran Muda Hashim to assist Mahkota in destroying the rebels.[10] Overall Bruneian military command in the duration of the war, under the Sarawak de facto diarchy Mahkota and Muda Hashim. Between late 1836-1840, they had additional men ordered by the Sultan of Brunei to finally quell the rebellion.[11] They also later had the support of James Brooke in the Kota Belidah and Lidah Tanah.[9] During the conflict, the Iban, Kayan, Kenyah and pro-Bruneian Malays sided with the Mahkota.[12][13] Brunei deployed around an estimated around 1,040+ men during the course of the war, excluding James Brooke, of which were made up Malay levies, retinue, retainers and guards.[14][15]

Rebels

Ali's forces quickly gathered at Siniawan making fortifcations in Lidah Tanah.[9] In around 1836-1837, an exiled prince of the name "Usop"[a] promised support from the Sultan of Sambas which made many more Bidayuh joined the rebellion desperate to free themselves from Bruneian oppression.[16] Before the Bidayuh joined the rebellion, it was primarily the Bruneian, Sarawakian Malays and Orang Ulu who were in active rebellion.[9] However after the capture of Bau, the rebels was slowly outnumbered by the Bruneian forces.

War

Following 10 years of hardship as a slave worker, Ali rallied his supporters from Siniawan to oppose Pengiran Indera Mahkota. They began to resist in 1836. Datu Bandar, Datu Amar, and Datu Temenggong helped Ali. Patinggi Ali, one of Datu's disciples, first constructed defensive fortifications in Siniawan, Lidah Tanah, and other locations—an additional location upstream Bau. They aimed to remove the Bruneian governor and liberate Sarawak from the Sultanate of Brunei's rule. In addition to setting up battle plans, he offered them encouragement and counsel. They put up a fierce fight against Pengiran Indera Makkota. They were still unable to vanquish Pengiran Indera Mahkota despite several battles. Similarly, Ali was defeated by Pengiran Indera Mahkota as well.[9]

This conflict persisted and worsened in 1838 and into 1839. Ali seek assistance from the Dutch through the Sultanate of Sambas.[17][18][16] Pengiran Muda Hashim understood how tough it would be to overcome Ali's troops. James Brooke, an English traveler in Kuching at the time, was approached for assistance.[19] Brooke and a few other Royalist crew members sailed up the Sarawak River to Siniawan in 1840.[20] The ship was outfitted with contemporary weaponry. There were several conflicts and occasionally discussions with Ali. At last, Brooke was said to have defeated his army at the Lidah Tanah citadel with 600 part-time troops who were Iban, Malay, and Chinese.[9]

The scarcity of food supplies at the time forced Ali's supporters to flee, and many of them—particularly the Bidayuh people—starved to death. The fact that Datu Patinggi Abdul Gapur and Datu Tumanggong Mersal fled to Sambas and Datu Patinggi Ali sought safety in Sarikei after Brooke put an end to the uprising demonstrated the Sultanate of Sambas' sympathy for the rebels.[17] By late 1840, Datu Patinggi Ali had promised to terminate the conflict, but only if Pengiran Indera Mahkota and his family left Kuching. They were spared along with him and his supporters. The conflict with Pengiran Indera Mahkota ended with the aforesaid arrangement. Ultimately, he and his supporters were able to drive Pengiran Indera Mahkota and his family from Sarawak.[9] At Belidah in December 1840, he submitted, knowing that Brooke would go on to rule an independent Sarawak, with the idea that Brooke would take over the role of Rajah and put an end to his oppression by the Brunei Pengirans.[21][17]

Aftermath

James was able to put an end to the Datu Patinggi Ali-led uprising with the help of his powerful cannons and skillful military strategies. As a return for his accomplishments, Pengiran Muda Hashim signed a contract on 24 September 1841, giving Brooke the position of Rajah of Sarawak and land from the westernmost point of Sarawak, Tanjung Datu, to the Samarahan river.[22] On 18 September 1842, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II made this appointment official. In exchange, Brooke agreed to keep Sarawak's traditions and religion intact, to give the Sultan an annual tribute of $2,500, and to refrain from separating Sarawak from Brunei without the Sultan's permission. The Sultan made a serious political error in appointing Brooke, but the Englishman had the support of the Royal Navy.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b James Brooke 1846.
  2. ^ Pat Foh Chang (1997). Heroes of the Land of Hornbill (search Siniawan+1823). Chang Pat Foh. ISBN 978-983-9475-04-3 – via books.google.com.
  3. ^ Pat Foh Chang (1997). Heroes of the Land of Hornbill (search Datu+Patinggi+Ali+Governor). Chang Pat Foh. ISBN 978-983-9475-04-3 – via books.google.com.
  4. ^ Alex Ling (2013). GOLDEN DREAMS OF BORNEO. Xlibris Corporation. p. 301. ISBN 978-1-4797-9168-2 – via books.google.com.
  5. ^ Ooi, Keat Gin; King, Victor T. (29 July 2022). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
  6. ^ Marie-Sybille de Vienne (9 March 2015). Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century. NUS Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-9971-69-818-8.
  7. ^ Pat Foh Chang (1995). The Land of Freedom Fighters (search Lidah+Tanah+1826). Ministry of Social Development.
  8. ^ Alice Yen Ho (1998). Old Kuching. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-983-56-0050-0 – via books.google.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Lawrence Law (2020). PERANG MENENTANG KESULTANAN BRUNEI DI BAU PADA ABAD KE-19 (PDF) (in Malay). Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Batu Lintang.
  10. ^ Singh, D. S. Ranjit (26 November 2019). The Indonesia–Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands: Historical Antecedents and the International Court of Justice Judgment. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. p. 30. ISBN 978-981-4843-64-5.
  11. ^ Mail, Asbol (2021). "The Role of The Military, The Bruneian Political Power and The Malay Realm (14th – 19th Century): From a Historical Perspective". Academy of Bruneian Studies.
  12. ^ The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy
  13. ^ ‘The Journal of James Brooke, Esq.’ of Sarawak” Vol. 1 -p. 174-78
  14. ^ "Sarawak Before 1841". sarawak.gov.my. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  15. ^ Hugh, Low Sarawak: Its Inhabitants and Productions (1848)
  16. ^ a b Collier, L.; Runciman, Steven; Belgrave, Charles (1961-03). "The White Rajahs". The Geographical Journal. 127 (1): 59. doi:10.2307/1793244. ISSN 0016-7398. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b c JOANNA YAP (3 April 2016). "Tracing influence of Brunei and Sambas in formation of S'wak". www.theborneopost.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  18. ^ Pat Foh Chang (1997). Heroes of the Land of Hornbill (searchKalimantan+Indera+Mahkota). Chang Pat Foh. ISBN 978-983-9475-04-3 – via books.google.com.
  19. ^ Pat Foh Chang (1995). The Land of Freedom Fighters (search Brooke+Lidah+Tanah). Ministry of Social Development – via books.google.com.
  20. ^ William L. S. Barrett (1988). Brunei and Nusantara History in Coinage. Brunei History Centre. p. 229.
  21. ^ "A portrait of Datu Patinggi Ali". www.brooketrust.org. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  22. ^ Prosiding Kolokium 35 Tahun Sarawak Bersama Malaysia Dan Esei Pilihan Yang Berlangsung Di Kota Samarahan, Sarawak 22 Ogos 1998. Fakulti Sains Sosial, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1999. p. 27. ISBN 978-983-9151-06-0.
  23. ^ History, Borneo (29 December 2014). "Borneo History: Raja Muda Hashim". Borneo History. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

Notes

  1. ^ His actual name was Yusof
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