Event Desc:
Before 1841 Sarawak was under the Sovereignty of the Sultan of Brunei. James Brooke, an Englishman helped the Sultan’s Uncle Hassim quell a rebellion of Dyaks. In doing so he was granted the province of Sarawak, its revenues and its trade. Nominally, he remained the feudal lord of the Sultan until five years later, in 1846, he became Sarawak’s absolute ruler. Sarawak continued to be privately ruled by the Brooke family for nigh on 100 years until the Japanese invaded in 1941.
It was remarkable that James Brooke actually set up a Government with such a small number of men. In 1843 there were only 13, some of which were crew of the Royalist. By 1860 there were only 14 Officers in Government Service and by 1891 there were 57 Europeans in total, 32 of whom were in the Rajah’s Government Service.
The presentation will show how the early Postal Service evolved which was amazing considering the small number of administrators. With so few Europeans it is not surprising why early outgoing material from Sarawak is scarce and with the average temperature of Sarawak at 85 degrees and humidity at 94%, incoming even more so. After gaining access to the Brooke archives, much of it held in the Bodleian Library, Simon’s research has added more to this romantic and fascinating story.