The Centenary (2006) of the British Residency in Brunei

THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
Vol. LXI No. 82 DECEMBER 2005

Title :
The Centenary (2006) of the British Residency in Brunei.

Author :
AVM Horton

Abstract:

The start of 2006 will mark the centenary of the British Residential Era in Brunei, the seminal event in the sultanate’s modern history. The installation of Mr MSH McArthur (1872-1934)as the first British Resident in January 1906 remains a fundamental point of departure, marking the conclusion of a prolonged period of relative and absolute decline which had begun in the sixteenth century and seemed certain to culminate in the country’s disappearance from the map of nations. Having at one time controlled extensive coastal areas in Borneo along with the southern Philippines (including Sulu), and even parts of Luzon,1 Brunei on the eve of the Residential Era had been reduced to a small, tump state surrounded by Sarawak territory except along the coast. The purpose of this short article is to sketch how Brunei changed in the five decades or so following January 1906. The passage of time allows us a better sense of historical perspective; not only is it now one hundred years since the Residency began, but it is also not far short of half a century since it ended in September 1959. After an intermediate stage of internal self-government, Negara Brunei Darussalam achieved full independence on 1 January 1984 and assumed its rightful place in the international community.

DOI:
XXXX

Download Abstract

How to cite:
AVM Horton. (2005). The Centenary (2006) of the British Residency in Brunei. The Sarawak Museum Journal, LXI (82): 207-228

References

Borneo Bulletin (Kuala Belait, 1953-; available nowadays online).
Braighlinn, G. 1992. Ideological Innovation Under Monarchy: Aspects of Legitimation Activity in Contemporary Brunei (VU University Press, Amsterdam).
Brown, Donald E. 1970. Brunei: The Structure and History of a Bornean Malay Sultanate. Monograph of the Brunei Museum Journal, Brunei Museum, Brunei Town.
Brunei Annual Report 1963. 236, with modifications by the present writer.
Colonial Office Series of Documents (Public Record Office, later National Archives, Kew). CO 273. Straits Settlements (despatches).
Eusoff Agaki Haji-Ismail [Dato Paduka Haji Awang Mohd Eussoff Agaki bin Haji Ismail]. 1991 “Brunei Darussalam: Its Re-Emergence as a Sovereign and Independent Malay-Muslim Sultanate (1959-1983)” (MPhil thesis, University of Hull, May 1991).
Foreign Office Series of Documents (Public Record Office, later National Archives, Kew). FO 12. “Borneo and Sulu”.
Foreign Office Series of Documents (Public Record Office, later National Archives, Kew). FO 572. Confidential print of FO 12.
Hussainmiya, Dr Haji B.A. 1992a. “Some Aspects of Social and Political Developments in Brunei Darussalam, 1950-1959: The Role of Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien III”, Abu Bakar Apong and Hussainmiya 1992: 164-82. 1994a. “Residents versus Rulers in Brunei Darussalam”. Text of a paper presented at the International Seminar on the Brunei Malay Sultanate in Nusantara, Berakas, 13-17 November 1994.
Hussainmiya, Dr Haji B.A. 1994b. “The Role of Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddin III in Brunei History: Problems and Prospects in Brunei Historiography”. Text of a paper presented at the International Seminar on the Brunei Malay Sultanate in Nusantara, Berakas, 13-17 November 1994.
Hussainmiya, Dr Haji B.A. 1995. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III and Britain: The Making of Brunei Darussalam (OUP, KL).
Hussainmiya, Dr Haji B.A. 2000. The Brunei Constitution of 1959: An Inside History (Brunei Press Sendirian Berhad, Bandar Seri Begawan).
McArthur, M.S.H. 1904. “Report on Brunei in 1904” (original held at the Public Record Office, Kew, reference FO 572/39: pp. 4f-48; published subsequently by Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio, 1987).
Matassim bin Haji Jibah, Awang. 1983a. “Political Development in Brunei with reference to the Reign of Sultan Omarali Saifuddin III, 1950-67” (MA Thesis, Hull).
Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Awang. 1992. Liku-Liku Perjuangan Pencapaian Kemerdekaan Negara Brunei Darussalam (Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, Bandar Seri Begawan).
Nonitahani Johan. 2004. “Perkembangan politik terpenting di Brunei antara tahun 1905 hingga 1963” [‘The most important political developments in Brunei 1905-1963’], Pelita Brunei, Aneka section, 16 Jun 2004: 2, 7.
Ooi Keat Gin. 1998. Japanese Empire in the Tropics: Selected Reports and Documents of the Japanese period in Sarawak, Northwest Borneo, 1941-1945 (two volumes; Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio).
Poulgrain, Gregory John. 1998. The Genesis of ‘Konfrontasi’: Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, 1945-1965 (with a Foreword by Pramoedya Ananta Toer; Crawford House Publishing, Bathurst, and C Hurst and Co, London).
Reece, Bob. 1998. Masa Jepun: Sarawak Under the Japanese 1941-1945 (Sarawak Literary Society, no place, no date; preface dated March 1998).
Rhodes James, Robert. 1981. Churchill: A Study in Failure 1900-1939 (Pelican Books, Harmondsworth, 1981; originally published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1970).
Saunders, Graham. 2002. A History of Brunei (RoutledgeCurzon, London, second edition, 2002; originally published by Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1994).
State of Brunei. 1965. Annual Report 1963 (State of Brunei; printed at the Brunei Press Ltd, Kuala Belait).
Stockwell, A.J. 2004. “Britain and Brunei, 1945-1963: Imperial Retreat and Royal Ascendancy”, in Modern Asian Studies (38): 785-819.
Tarling, N. 1970. “Britain and Sarawak in the Twentieth Century: Raja Charles, Raja Vyner and the Colonial Office”, in JMBRAS, 43(2): 25-52.
Tarling, N. 1971. Britain, the Brookes & Brunei (OUP; Kuala Lumpur, Singapore).The Times (London).
Zaini Haji Ahmad Al-Haj (Ed.). 1988. The People’s Party of Brunei: Selected Documents/Partai Rakyat Brunei: Dokumen Terpilih (INSAN, Kuala Lumpur).

Useful Links

Scan for Mobile

Calendar

Polls

Announcement

Facebook

Youtube

	AJAX Error Sorry, failed to load required information. Please contact your system administrator.
Close