Omar Ali Saifuddin I was the 18th Sultan of Brunei from 1740 until his abdication in favor of his eldest son Muhammad Tajuddin in 1778. He succeeded his father in law, Sultan Hussin Kamaluddin as Sultan of Brunei upon the latter's abdication from the throne in 1740.
Abdul Jalilul Akbar was the tenth Sultan of Brunei. He succeeded his father, Muhammad Hassan, in 1598 and ruled until his death in 1659. When he ascended to the throne, his uncle Pengiran Di-Gadong Sahibul Mal Besar Omar acted as his regent.
Reign
The Sultan was known in Brunei history for ordering Datu Imam Yaakub to create the 'Salasilah Sultan-Sultan Brunei' or Genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei.[1] The genealogical framework would serve as a guide for Khatib Haji Abdul Latif to craft and write the Batu Tarsilah. Khatib Haji Abdul Latif continued the craft during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin. Until today, the Batu Tarsilah serves as a historical source for local and foreign academics to study the history of Brunei.
His Highness continued the implementation of pitis currency. The first pitis or coinage was firstly introduced to the sultanate by Sultan Nasruddin.[1]
During his reign, he had improved his sultanate's relations with the Spanish who were based in the Philippines.[3]
The pitis was a currency of Brunei last issued in 1868 which circulated into the 20th century. It is also referred to as the picil by Antonio Pigafetta and some variants of it were referred to as the kue and the paku. It was later replaced by the Straits dollar in Brunei, which is valued at 4000 pitis or 800 paku and at par with the Spanish dollar.
Spanish account
According to the Spanish records, the Spanish made a contact with the Sultan of Brunei, Muhammad Alauddin, in 1682 who were attempting to conclude a treaty. The Spanish-Brunei treaty was finally signed in 1685 which bears the name of the Sultan 'Sultan Mahamat Alaodin Rey de la isla de Borney'.[3] The treaty permitted the Spanish to send Chinese merchants to Brunei.[3] In return, Brunei vowed to lend assistance to the Spanish in quelling the Sama-Bajau who were harassing the Spanish controlled parts of the Philippines.[4]
The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia with their origins from the southern Philippines. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah; or are known by the exonyms Bajau and Samal or Siyamal. They usually live a seaborne lifestyle, and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the perahu, djenging, balutu, lepa, pilang, and vinta. Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.
The Spanish sources mention that Sultan Muhammad Alauddin had no legitimate heir to succeed him. The sources clarify that the Spaniards were amazed at Pengiran Bendahara whom the Spanish viewed as an able and energetic man.[4] Pengiran Bendahara was the first in line to the throne. This seems to suggest that Pengiran Bendahara eventually succeeded Muhammad Alauddin.
Uncertainties
Sultan Muhammad Alauddin was mentioned in the Spanish records which described that he ruled Brunei around the mid 17th century. However, the Spanish sources are not identical to those of Brunei's sources which are the 'Silsilah' and Batu Tarsilah. The Spanish sources describe the monarch had no legitimate heir. The Spanish assumed that the Pengiran Bendahara might be the one who eventually succeeds him.
In contrast, according to Brunei's tradition, Sultan Muhammad Alauddin was succeeded by his cousin, Hussin Kamaluddin, who ascended to the throne for the second time in 1737, and later his eldest son, Omar Ali Saifuddin I in 1740 after Hussin Kamaluddin abdicated.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
