Bombardment of Brunei Town (1846)

Bombardment of Brunei Town (1846)
Part of Anglo-Bruneian War
The signing of the Treaty of Labuan between the Sultan of Brunei and the British delegation on 18 December 1846 at the Brunei palace [1] [2]
Date 1846 Location Brunei Town Result British victory
Belligerents
Bruneian Empire House of Bolkiah	United Kingdom Raj of Sarawak
Commanders and leaders
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien II Pengiran Yusof	Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane
Units involved
Sultan's guards	Royal Navy
Strength
1,000 guards [3] [4]	Squadron of from six to eight ships. [5] [6]
Casualties and losses
1 wounded	None

The Bombardment of Brunei Town (1846) was a British bombardment of the Bruneian capital, Brunei Town, in order to force the Sultan to make the Treaty of Labuan effective during the Anglo-Bruneian War. The incident succeeded in the purpose of forcing Brunei to effect a unfair agreement.

Background

Previously, the Royal Navy had already went to Brunei Town in July 1845 but returned in August to release two Lascar seamen who were believed to be hidden there. ^{[5] [6]} 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. ^[5] Denying the allegation, Yusof refused to attend a meeting with Cochrane. Starting the Battle of Brunei Town. ^{[7] [ full citation needed ]} Fighting started when Yusof fired a cannon shot at Cochrane's squadron from his house. HMS Vixen fired on his house in retaliation, with Yusof fleeing. ^[7]

Two days after Cochrane and his steamers left, Yusof seized the hill behind his late house with 300 Kedayans, and commenced an attack on Brunei Town, with Badruddin defeating him with a force similar in manpower. ^[8] Yusof once again commenced another attack, this time using privateers likely from Marudu which were defeated by Hashim. ^{[9] [10]} He fled to Kimanis in northern Borneo, who was executed later. ^{[9] [10]}

Bombardment

HEICS Phlegethon, HMS Spiteful and HMS Royalist then moved up to the river on 8 July where they were fired on from every position with slight damage. ^[11] 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. ^{[6] [11]} 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 HMS Iris along with the Phlegethon and HMS Hazard while the main expedition continued their mission to suppress piracy in northern Borneo. ^[11]

Soon after the signing of the 1846 treaty, the British put pressure on Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II to cede Labuan to the British. The Sultan refused and employed delaying tactics.

However the British navy lined up British warships near the Sultan's palace with cannons ready to fire if the Sultan refused to sign the treaty. The Sultan had no choice but to put the royal seal, symbolising the surrender of Labuan Island to Great Britain as a crown colony, ceding it to the British Queen "in perpetuity", to provide British traders with a harbour where they could protect their trade interests. After the signing, James Brooke was knighted and later appointed the first British governor of Labuan.

It was on 24 December 1846 when Captain Mundy, commanding HMS Iris (1840), took possession of Labuan, "in the Name of Her Majesty Victoria Queen of Great Britain and Ireland under the Direction of His Excellency Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, C.B., Commander-in-Chief".^{[ citation needed ]}

Aftermath

The Anglo-Bruneian War officially ended on 24 December 1846 with the treaty signed, however James Brooke would expand Sarawak all the way to 1890 with the cession of Limbang.

References

1. Mundy 1848, p. 294.
2. Evans, Rahman Zainal & Khet Ngee 1996, pp. 18–19.
3. Pires 1515.
4. Nicholl, Robert (1975). European sources for the history of the Sultanate of Brunei in the Sixteenth Century. Muzium Brunei. OCLC   4777019.
5. Saunders 2013, p. 76.
6. Gott 2011, p. 374.
7. Cree 1845. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCree1845 (help)
8. Keppel, Captain (1846). "THE EXPEDITION TO BORNEO OF H.M.S. DIDO FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY: WITH EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF JAMES BROOKE, ESQ., OF SARAWAK". The Daily Brunei Resources. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
9. Miller 1970, p. 95.
10. Royal Asiatic Society 1960, p. 292.
11. Saunders 2013, p. 77.

Sources

• Evans, Stephen R.; Rahman Zainal, Abdul; Khet Ngee, Rod Wong (1996). The History of Labuan Island (Victoria Island) (PDF). Calendar Print Pte Ltd. ISBN   978-9-81007-764-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 August 2025 – via Wasabi Technologies Storage.
• Gott, Richard (2011). Britain's Empire: Resistance, Repression and Revolt. Verso Books. ISBN   978-1-84467-892-1.
• Miller, Harry (1970). Pirates of the Far East. Hale. ISBN   9780709114291.
• Mundy, Rodney (1848). Narrative of Events in Borneo and Celebes, down to the Occupation of Labuan: from the Journals of James Brooke, Esq. Vol. 1. John Murray.
• Pires, Tomé (1515). Suma Oriental que trata do Mar Roxo até aos Chins[An Account of the East, from the Red Sea to China] (in Portuguese).
• Royal Asiatic Society (1960). Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 33. Royal Asiatic Society.
• Saunders, Graham (2013). A History of Brunei. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-136-87394-2.