Sultans of Brunei
A history of the sultans of Brunei.
Contents
Sultanate of Brunei
Upon conversion to Islam, Awang Alak Betatar adopted the name Muhammad Shah and converted his title from raja to sultan. He established both the sultanate of Brunei and the house of Bolkiah.
In the 17th century, parts of the northeastern shoreline were ceded to the sultanate of Sulu. Then in the 18th century, the sultanate of Bulungan rose from a vassal of Sulu to the dominant power in this region. This is important only insofar as the fact that the Sulu were conquered by the Spanish, while the Bulungan came be vassalized by the Dutch.
British Protectorate
Omar Ali Saifuddin II was deposed by a joint UK and US naval force. He was reinstated to power as a British vassal, and then forced to sign the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce which granted the UK to annex land at will. The island of Labuan was also ceded.
Land cessions accelerated in the 1880s, after the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) was founded. These territories were organized as Sarawak and North Borneo, under the command of a high commissioner based in Singapore.
Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin was forced to sign a protectorate agreement in 1888, formally bringing Brunei into the British Empire.
World War 2
The Japanese quickly conquered the entire island of Borneo, reorganizing it into 5 prefectures.
After the island was retaken, a British Military Administration was established. Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo (now known as Sabah) all transitioned back into being colonies of the British Empire.
The now-independent Philippines claimed Brunei as the successor state to the sultanate of Sulu.
Brunei Darussalam
Work on a new constitution began in 1953 under Omar Ali Saifuddien III, and it was finally ratified in 1959.
Omar Ali Saifuddien intended for Brunei to join the emerging Malay state. The Brunei Revolt was a short-lived insurrection in 1962, led by the TNKU, that sought to seize power and prevent this union. While the revolt was quickly put down, it did influence the sultan against union with Malaysia.
Brunei officially became independent of the British Empire on January 1st, 1984.
The official name of the state is Brunei Darussalam.
Dynasties
Bolkiah
The house of Bolkiah has ruled Brunei continuously since the 1360s