The Anglo-Bruneian War was a year-long war fought by the United Kingdom against the Bruneian Empire and the Kingdom of Marudu. It exposed Brunei's complete weakness and would eventually cause the fall of the Bruneian Sultanate.
Prelude
In July 1774, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien I had promised the island of Labuan to Great Britain in exchange for protection against the Pirates. However, the offer came to nothing,[2] with Brunei instead fighting the Sulu Sultanate in order to weaken it in the Twenty Years' War.
By the 1800s, several foreign powers had started to come to Southeast Asia, starting with the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511 and the Dutch conquests of Java and Southern Borneo made possible by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. In this context, Labuan became more important to the foreign powers as they began to venture into Borneo from Labuan.
The expansion of other western powers in the region caused Britain to realise the need for a permanent harbour in northwestern Borneo to prevent further foreign interference. The British worried that the Sultan might seek the assistance of other foreign powers who, at that time, were active in Southeast Asia, such as the Americans. Nevertheless, Labuan was considered a safe shelter, strategically situated to protect British interests in the region, especially the trade route with China. With the assistance of James Brooke, Britain now sought to take over Labuan.
The British though never deployed any soldiers, not including the Sarawakian forces, they did deploy squadron of from six to eight ships.[3][4] Relying local volunteers and the armies of Brooke aligned chiefs[citation needed][5]. But nonetheless were way more modernised than the Bruneians and Marudu armies.[6]
Brunei, in contrast, were less modern than their British adversaries but were not as technologically and organisation lacking as the Chinese in the First Opium War.[7][8][non-primary source needed] Their forces did not depend on bows and arrows but rather old but effective traditional cannons[9] and already had acquired muskets before the war.[10][11] With their only issue being their armies were smaller than the Sarawakians and British and their navy being completely outdated, relying on traditional boats[12] which were outmatched by the British steamships.
Marudu didn't have manpower issue as Brunei due to Syarif Osman making allies with other princes in Sabah.[13] But were disorganised and easily frightened without Osman and later were forced to fight in guerilla warfare.[13]
War
in August 1845, Rear-Admiral Thomas Cochrane who previously arrived at Brunei in July, reappeared with a handful ships to release two Lascar seamen who were believed to be hidden there.[3][4] Badruddin accused Yusof of being involved in the slave trade due to his close relations with a notable pirate leader Sharif Usman in Marudu Bay and the Sultanate of Sulu.[3] Denying the allegation, Yusof refused to attend a meeting with Cochrane, and escaped after being threatened with force by Cochrane before regaining his own force in Brunei's capital. Cochrane then sailed away to Marudu Bay in pursuit of Usman, while Yusof was defeated by Badruddin.[3][4] Hashim managed to establish a rightful position in Brunei Town to become the next sultan after successfully defeating the pirates led by Yusof who fled to Kimanis in northern Borneo, where he was executed.[14][15] Yusof was the favourite noble to the Sultan and with Hashim's victory, this upset the chances of the son of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II becoming the next leader.[15][16] Mahkota, after his capture in Sarawak in 1844 became the Sultan's adviser in Yusof's absence. He prevailed on the Sultan to order the execution of Hashim,[4] whose presence had become unwelcome to the royal family, especially due to his close ties with Brooke that were favourable to English policy.[17] Beside that, an adventurer[a] named Haji Saman, who was connected to Yusof, played upon the Sultan's fear of Hashim taking his throne.[12]
By the order of the Sultan, Hashim and his brother Badruddin together with their family were assassinated in 1846.[4][17][19] One of Badruddin's slaves, Japar, survived the attack and intercepted HMSHazard, which brought him to Sarawak to inform Brooke. Enraged by the news, Brooke organised an expedition to avenge Hashim's death with the aid of Cochrane from the Royal Navy with Phlegethon.[12] On 6 July 1846, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II complained through a letter about the discourtesy of HMS Hazard and invited Cochrane to ascend the capital of Brunei with two boats.
HEICS Phlegethon, HMS Spiteful and HMSRoyalist then moved up to the river on 8 July where they were fired on from every position with slight damage.[12]Mahkota and the Sultan retreated upriver while most of the population fled upon their arrival at Brunei's capital, leaving the brother of the Sultan's son, Pengiran Muhammad, who was badly wounded and Pengiran Mumin, an opponent of the Sultan's son who despised the decision of his royal family to be involved in conflict with the British.[4][12] The British destroyed the town forts and invited the population to return with no harm to be done to them while the Sultan remained hiding in the jungle. Another expedition was sent to the interior but failed to find the Sultan. Brooke remained in Brunei with Captain Rodney Mundy and HMSIris along with the Phlegethon and HMS Hazard while the main expedition continued their mission to suppress piracy in northern Borneo.[12]
Upon finding that Haji Saman was living in Membakut and that he was involved in the plotting that caused Hashim's death, HEICS Phlegethon and HMS Iris departed there destroyed Haji Saman's house and captured the town of Membakut although Saman managed to escape.[12] Brooke returned again to Brunei and finally managed to induce the Sultan to return to the capital where the Sultan wrote a letter of apology to Queen Victoria for the killings of Hashim, his brother and their family.[20] Through his confession, the Sultan recognised Brooke's authority over Sarawak and mining rights throughout the territory without requiring him to pay any tribute as well granting the island of Labuan to the British.[20] Brooke departed Brunei and left Mumin in charge together with Mundy to keep the Sultan in line until the British government made a final decision to acquire the island. Following the ratification agreement of the transfer of Labuan to the British, the Sultan also agreed to allow British forces to suppress all piracy along the coast of Borneo.[20]
The loss of Labuan was a big blow to Brunei, as Labuan was considered as its only gateway through the sea to the outside world. It was after the loss of Labuan that Brunei began to lose most of its territories, mainly to the Brooke Regime in Sarawak and British North Borneo Chartered Company in North Borneo. However thanks to the assassination of Muda Hashim by Pengiran Muhammad Yusof, it sabotaged any chances of the United Kingdom and James Brooke of putting a Pro-British sultan in the Bruneian throne as the Muda Hashim line was destroyed by the last ruling sultan, Sultan Hashim Jalilul.
Notes
↑ Some claim that Haji Saman was a late commander of the Bruneian Army.[18]
Sidhu, Jatwan S. (2016). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN978-1-4422-6459-5.
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Haji Saman's house
James Brooke 
Captain Mundy 
Syarif Osman (WIA)
