Historians have scant knowledge about Borneo's early history, a certain fact though is the presence of modern man in Sarawak some 40,000 years ago (discovery of a Homo Sapiens skull at the Niah Caves), but most of today's indigenous populations belong to the same Austronesian groups, brought by maritime migratory waves in the last 5,000 or so years, who have settled along the Malayan peninsula, the Indonesian, Philippine, Micronesian and Polynesian archipelagos, and as far as Madagascar to the west and Easter Island to the east. Archeological finds and trade records from the Indian and Chinese empires prove that during the last millennium there was a thriving barter trade of manufactured goods and exotic jungle produce between these two empires and the island of Borneo.
By the 14th century, Islam, introduced by Muslim traders, had gained a foothold in the coastal areas of Borneo and by the 16th century the Malay sultanate of Brunei would control most of the island's coasts, but its power would wane slowly with the rise of other sultanates and the arrival of Dutch in the south and British adventurers in the north.
In 1839, Sarawak, then a dependency of the Brunei sultanate, was in rebellion against the central power, when arrived on the scene, looking for commercial ventures with his well armed schooner, a young British adventurer by the name of James Brooke who will soon find himself involved in the local disputes. The young Brooke will assist the Sultan's representative and bring peace to the area, for which he will be rewarded in 1841 with the title of Rajah of Sarawak. So will start the epic saga of the White Rajahs, paternalistic despots who will reign for a century over the destinies of Sarawak's peoples, introducing along the way profound and permanent changes to their lifestyles.
From 1841 to 1868, the 1st Rajah, James Brooke, will organise his administration, try to expand his territory and he will strive to pacify the many warring tribes and to stamp out the practices of head hunting and piracy. The 2nd Rajah, Charles Brooke (1868-1917), will continue his predecessor work and expand Sarawak's territory to about its present size. The 3rd Rajah, Vyner Brooke (1917-1946), will witness Sarawak's transition into the modern era and the wrenching changes caused by the Japanese occupation (1941-1945). Unable to face the cost of re-building after the occupation, the Brookes will cede Sarawak in 1946 to the British Crown, becoming a Crown Colony until 1963, when she will join the newly formed Federation of Malaysia.
Ever since, Sarawak has steadily kept on progressing and prospering, and together with the other states of Malaysia is looking forward to achieving "Vision 2020", the goal shared by all Malaysians to achieve developed nation status by the year 2020.
