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| Brunei Darussalam Negara Brunei Darussalam | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Bandar Seri Begawan |
| Official languages | Malay |
| Demonym(s) | Bruneian |
| Government | Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy |
• Sultan and Prime Minister | Hassanal Bolkiah |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,765 km² |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 460,345 |
Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is an absolute monarchy in Southeast Asia which shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Indonesia, with the former splitting the country into two. Brunei is a member of ASEAN and the Commonwealth of Nations.
History
Precolonization
Pre-Sultanate Era
The single oldest known instance of archaeological evidence of human activity within Brunei is the Kota Batu archaeological site, where they found the remains of a thriving trade port city and settlement dating to the 6th to 7th centuries CE, with artifacts like Chinese coins and porcelain from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. Kota Batu is Malay for “Stone Fort.” Despite the majority of the settlement being made of wood and bamboo, there were some stone remnants remaining. Remnants of the local cultures are diverse, including ancient timber and stone houses, old covered walkways, and the man-made island of Pulau Terindak.[1]
The site was continually occupied over centuries. Chinese records from 977 CE, specifically the Chu-fan-chi trade record, named Brunei “Pu-ni” and mentioned it was protected by timber walls, while European records from 1521 CE mention a city built on water with a stone-walled palace. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the area now had royal mausoleums, specifically the tombs of two sultans: Sultan Sharif Ali and Sultan Bolkiah.[2]
Limau Manis was a secondary port, or feeder, to Kota Batu in the pre-sultanate era. There are thousands of Chinese porcelain shards from both the Song and Yuan dynasties at the archaeological site, and carbon-dating places them around the 10th century to the mid-14th century CE. Limau Manis was a bustling, large riverine trading port. There were also local earthenware, iron slags, and beads.[3]
Over 50,000 ceramic shards from China during the Song and Yuan dynasties have been collected from the site, with fewer from the Ming and Qing periods, as well as from Thailand (Thai Sukhothai wares) and Vietnam (Annam wares). Due to the narrow Sungai Limau Manis river channel, there is a prevailing theory that large ships at that time anchored in the Brunei Bay area, and smaller local ships transported goods from there to the Limau Manis port.[4]
Brunei was a vassal state under the Srivijaya Empire, an Indonesian maritime empire that was the center and spreader of Buddhism in the region. Srivijaya was based on the island of Sumatra. It did not have direct control over Brunei and mainly expected it to pay tribute as a tributary state, as Srivijaya controlled the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Sunda. Chinese records at this time call “Po-Ni” (Brunei) a wealthy kingdom with a fleet of warships to protect its trade. Despite the proximity to the Srivijaya Empire, Buddhism did not spread much in Brunei at that time.[5]
Due to Srivijaya being the center of Buddhism, specifically Mahayana Buddhism, and due to the vassalage of Brunei, this spread to Brunei on a small scale, blending with local traditions in small pockets. Srivijaya began facing constant conflicts, including a major invasion in 1025 CE by the Chola dynasty under Raja Raja Chola I, who captured the Srivijaya king, Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman.[6]
Srivijaya lost its influence over Brunei around the 13th century, due to the Chola invasion and shifting trade routes, which sealed the already fragile state of the empire. Brunei’s sovereignty lasted only for a short period, as in the 14th century it became a vassal of the Majapahit Empire according to the Nagarakretagama, a 14th-century Javanese text.[7]
In 1363 CE, Brunei’s ruler Awang Alak Betatar changed his name to Muhammad Shah and converted to Islam while establishing himself as the first sultan of Brunei and subsequently the Sultanate. Reasons for the conversion may have included contact with Muslim traders and his marriage to a Johor princess.[8]
Sultanate Period
Brunei’s Sovereignty
According to archaeological and Portuguese historical accounts, the Sultanate was fully institutionalized later, around the 15th–16th century. However, during the early 14th century, the Sulu Kingdom rebelled and launched major attacks on Kota Batu, the capital of Brunei at that time, looting its treasury, gold, and sacred pearls. Brunei was left weakened by the assault from the Sulu Kingdom and had to be rescued by a Majapahit fleet, which repelled the Sulu forces. In the initial stages of the establishment of the Sultanate of Brunei, a Chinese report from this period describes Brunei as poor and totally controlled by Majapahit.[9]
Brunei’s independence from the Majapahit was a gradual process in the late 14th century, driven primarily by the decline of Majapahit and the intervention of Ming Dynasty China. Throughout the late 14th century, the Majapahit Empire began to wane. After the powerful prime minister Gajah Mada died in 1364 and King Hayam Wuruk died in 1389, the empire entered a period of internal conflict, with a major civil war known as the Regreg War severely draining the empire’s financial resources and weakening its ability to enforce control.[10]
Sultan Muhammad Shah, understanding the weakening of the Majapahit Empire, began to seek alternative protection, namely from the Ming Dynasty. The largest move toward this goal occurred when Sultan Abdul Majid traveled to Nanjing, China, with a large delegation in 1408 to formalize a tributary relationship and seek the Emperor’s recognition. Sultan Abdul Majid died in China around October 1408 and was buried there. The Yongle Emperor respected the dying wishes of the sultan and sent a powerful mission to the Majapahit Empire, ordering them to stop demanding tribute from Brunei.[9]
As Ming China was more powerful than the weakened Majapahit, the latter accepted the demands of the Yongle Emperor. With Majapahit threatened, Brunei was now able to operate freely as a sovereign state around the year 1408.[11]
Golden Age
Due to Brunei’s location, it became a profitable and safe port along the maritime Silk Road, attracting merchants from China, the Malay Archipelago, and India. Brunei controlled valuable resources such as camphor, spices, pearls, and gold. The reign of the fourth sultan, Sharif Ali, was the period during which the Islamic nature of the sultanate was spread and firmly solidified through the building of the first mosque in Brunei and the creation of the royal emblem (the Panji-Panji).[11]
Sharif Ali constructed the stone ramparts of Kota Batu, reportedly hiring Chinese builders to assist in the construction, according to the Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei. This may indicate a potential link between the Ming Dynasty and Brunei. Under Sharif Ali, legal developments were established, such as the Hukum Kanun Brunei, which integrated Islamic law into the national legal framework. He spent much of his reign participating in the maritime Silk Road trade network and deepening Islamic influence within the country, including adding Darussalam to the country’s name.[9]
Sultan Bolkiah ascended the throne, and the reign of Sultan Bolkiah is seen as the peak of Brunei’s golden age. During his rule, he expanded the territory of the sultanate and was known as Nakhoda Ragam (“The Singing Admiral”) due to his naval conquests. He extended Brunei’s control over the coast of Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah, now under Malaysia), as well as Manila and the Sulu Archipelago, both of which are under the Philippines today.[9]
Tomé Pires was a Portuguese apothecary and colonial diplomat, and in his work Suma Oriental he wrote about Bruneian merchant ships being a vital part of maritime trade within the Southeast Asian archipelago. These trade networks extended from the southern Philippines to major trade centers in the region, including the port of Guangzhou in China. According to Pires, Bruneian merchants utilized junk (zong/zhong) ships in their long-distance trade; junk ships are a type of Chinese vessel with a flat bottom.[12]
LGBT Discrimination
Brunei has some of the worst conditions for LGBT people in the world with Equaldex ranking them the second worst country behind Afghanistan. In 2019 the punishment for homosexual acts was changed from ten years imprisonment to the death penalty for married men, 100 lashes for unmarried men, and ten years imprisonment for women.[13] Despite these human rights violations, Brunei still continues to receive support from imperialist powers who themselves claim to support LGBT rights.
References
- ↑ Trails to Tropical Treasures – A Tour of ASEAN Cultural Heritage (1998).
- ↑ Antonio Pigafetta (1521). Brunei and Spain 1521 – Borneo History.
- ↑ Gabriel Y. V. Yong & Noor Hasharina Hassan (2022). Historical Geography of the Limau Manis Archaeological Site. [PDF]
- ↑ Asiyah Az-Zahra Ahmad Kumpoh, Stephen C. Druce, Nani Suryani Abu Bakar (2022). Brunei Historiography.
- ↑ Pierre-Yves Manguin. The Oxford Handbook of Early Southeast Asia: 'Srivijaya'.
- ↑ Fhadrul Irwan. Srivijaya : a Buddhist centre in maritime Southeast Asia (7th-11th Centuries).
- ↑ Suhadi, Machi. Masalah Negara Vasal Majapahit.
- ↑ Robert Nicholl (2011). Some Problems of Brunei Chronology.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Graham Saunders, A History of Brunei. (1994). [PDF] Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Theodoor Gautier Thomas Pigeaud (1960). Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wang Gungwu (1959). The Nanhai Trade: A Study of the Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea. [PDF]
- ↑ Tomé Pires (1512). Suma Oriental: The Spice Trade of the East.
- ↑ "LGBT Rights in Brunei" (2024). Equaldex.