Raj of Sarawak Kerajaan Sarawak | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1841–1946 | |||||||||||||||
Motto: Latin: Dum Spiro Spero[1][2] (While I breathe, I hope)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Anthem: Gone Forth Beyond the Sea | |||||||||||||||
![]() The Raj in the 1920s | |||||||||||||||
Status | Independent sovereign state (1841–1888) Independent protected state[3] (1888–1946) | ||||||||||||||
Capital | Kuching | ||||||||||||||
Common languages | English, Iban, Melanau, Bidayuh, Sarawak Malay, Chinese etc. | ||||||||||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy[4][5] | ||||||||||||||
White Rajah | |||||||||||||||
• 1841–1868 (First) | James Brooke | ||||||||||||||
• 1868-1917
(Second) | Charles Anthony Brooke | ||||||||||||||
• 1917–1946 (Third) | Vyner Brooke | ||||||||||||||
Legislature | Council Negri | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 24 September 1841 | ||||||||||||||
• Protected state | 14 June 1888 | ||||||||||||||
16 December 1941 | |||||||||||||||
10 June 1945 | |||||||||||||||
• Ceded as a Crown colony | 1 July 1946 | ||||||||||||||
Currency | Sarawak dollar | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Today part of | Malaysia |
The Raj of Sarawak, Kingdom of Sarawak or State of Sarawak, was an independent state founded in 1841 in northwestern Borneo and was in a treaty of protection with the United Kingdom from 1888. It was established from a series of land concessions acquired by the Englishman James Brooke, from the Sultan of Brunei. Sarawak was recognised as a sovereign state by the United States in 1850 and by the United Kingdom in 1864. The Kingdom is now the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Following recognition, Brooke expanded the Raj's territory at the expense of Brunei. Several major rebellions occurred against his rule, causing him to be plagued by debt incurred in countering the rebellions, and the sluggish economic situation at the time. His nephew, Charles Brooke, succeeded James and normalised the situation by improving the economy, reducing government debts and establishing public infrastructure. In 1888, the Raj acquired protected state status from the British Government whilst avoiding cession.
To promote economic growth, Charles Brooke encouraged the migration of Chinese workers from Qing China and British Singapore for agricultural work. With proper economic planning and stability, Sarawak prospered and emerged as one of the world's major producers of black pepper, in addition to oil and the introduction of rubber plantations. He was succeeded by his son Charles Vyner Brooke but World War II and the arrival of Imperial Japanese forces ultimately brought an end to the Raj, with the territory placed under British Military Administration upon the Japanese capitulation in 1945, and annexed by Britain as its last acquisition as a Crown Colony in 1946, contrary to the Atlantic Charter.
Under the proposed arrangement, Brunei, Sarawak , and North Borneo would become "independent protected states", preserving their absolute rights of internal govt, but carrying on their relations with foreign states only through the medium of the protecting power.