Ten Free Books You Must Read Before You Die 5: Rajah Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB (born James Brooke; 29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868) was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was English; his mother, Anna Maria, was born in Hertfordshire, the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre, and his mistress Harriott Teasdale. James Brooke was born in Secrore, a suburb of Benares, India.
He attempted to trade in the Far East, but was not successful. In 1833, Brooke inherited £30,000, which he used as capital to purchase a 142-ton schooner, The Royalist. Setting sail for Borneo in 1838, he arrived in Kuching in August to find the settlement facing an Iban and Bidayuh uprising against the Sultan of Brunei. Offering his aid to the Sultan, he and his crew helped bring about a peaceful settlement. Having threatened the Sultan with military force, he was granted the title of Rajah of Sarawak on 24 September 1841, although the official declaration was not made until 18 August 1842.
Brooke began to establish and cement his rule over Sarawak: reforming the administration, codifying laws and fighting piracy, which proved to be an ongoing issue throughout his rule. Brooke returned temporarily to England in 1847, where he was given the Freedom of the City of London, appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Labuan, British consul-general in Borneo and was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).
Brooke became the centre of controversy in 1851 when accusations against him of excessive use of force against natives, under the guise of anti-piracy operations, ultimately led to the appointment of a royal commission in Singapore in 1854: its investigation did not confirm the charges, but the accusations continued to haunt him.
During his rule, Brooke faced threats from Sarawak warriors like Sharif Masahor and Rentap, but remained in power. Brooke ruled Sarawak until his death in 1868, following three strokes over a period of ten years. He is buried in Sheepstor church near Burrator, Plymouth, as are his successors.
Notes From Admin: This is one of the books from BUILDERS OF GREAT BRITAIN series published in the late 1800s. Of course, the book is skewed since it was written by a Brit, just like Churchill once said "history is written by victors". Nevertheless, it is a nice read about our past from the view point of others and not from some "sekolah atap" politicians. The book was written by one Sir Spenser St John, first published by T Fisher Unwin in 1897. This copy is from the University of California library and scanned by Microsoft in 2007.