[1] Brough, _Mine Surveying_, pp. 276-278; Marriott, _Trans. Inst.
Mining and Metallurgy_, vol. xiv. p. 255.
BORIS FEDOROVICH GODUNOV, tsar of Muscovy (c. 1551-1605), the most
famous member of an ancient, now extinct, Russian family of Tatar
origin, which migrated from the Horde to Muscovy in the 14th century.
Boris' career of service began at the court of Ivan the Terrible. He is
mentioned in 1570 as taking part in the Serpeisk campaign as one of the
archers of the guard. In 1571 he strengthened his position at court by
his marriage with Maria, the daughter of Ivan's abominable favourite
Malyuta Skuratov. In 1580 the tsar chose Irene, the sister of Boris, to
be the bride of the tsarevich Theodore, on which occasion Boris was
promoted to the rank of _boyar_. On his deathbed Ivan appointed Boris
one of the guardians of his son and successor; for Theodore, despite his
seven-and-twenty years, was of somewhat weak intellect. The reign of
Theodore began with a rebellion in favour of the infant tsarevich
Demetrius, the son of Ivan's fifth wife Marie Nagaya, a rebellion
resulting in the banishment of Demetrius, with his mother and her
relations, to their appanage at Uglich. On the occasion of the tsar's
coronation (May 31, 1584), Boris was loaded with honours and riches, yet
he held but the second place in the regency during the lifetime of his
co-guardian Nikita Romanovich, on whose death, in August, he was left
without any serious rival. A conspiracy against him of all the other
great boyars and the metropolitan Dionysy, which sought to break Boris'
power by divorcing the tsar from Godunov's childless sister, only ended
in the banishment or tonsuring of the malcontents. Henceforth Godunov
was omnipotent. The direction of affairs passed entirely into his hands,
and he corresponded with foreign princes as their equal. His policy was
generally pacific, but always most prudent. In 1595 he recovered from
Sweden the towns lost during the former reign. Five years previously he
had defeated a Tatar raid upon Moscow, for which service he received the
title of _sluga_, an obsolete dignity even higher than that of boyar.
Towards Turkey he maintained an independent attitude, supporting an
anti-Turkish faction in the Crimea, and furnishing the emperor with
subsidies in his war against the sultan. Godunov encouraged English
merchants to trade with Russia by exempting them from tolls. He
civilized the north-eastern and south-eastern borders of Muscovy by
building numerous towns and fortresses to keep the Tatar and Finnic
tribes in order. Samara, Saratov, and Tsaritsyn and a whole series of
lesser towns derive from him. He also re-colonized Siberia, which had
been slipping from the grasp of Muscovy, and formed scores of new
settlements, including Tobolsk and other large centres. It was during
his government that the Muscovite church received its patriarchate,
which placed it on an equality with the other Eastern churches and
emancipated it from the influence of the metropolitan of Kiev. Boris'
most important domestic reform was the _ukaz_ (1587) forbidding the
peasantry to transfer themselves from one landowner to another, thus
binding them to the soil. The object of this ordinance was to secure
revenue, but it led to the institution of serfdom in its most grinding
form. The sudden death of the tsarevich Demetrius at Uglich (May 15,
1591) has commonly been attributed to Boris, because it cleared his way
to the throne; but this is no clear proof that he was personally
concerned in that tragedy. The same may be said of the many, often
absurd, accusations subsequently brought against him by jealous rivals
or ignorant contemporaries who hated Godunov's reforms as novelties.
On the death of the childless tsar Theodore (January 7, 1598),
self-preservation quite as much as ambition constrained Boris to seize
the throne. Had he not done so, lifelong seclusion in a monastery would
have been his lightest fate. His election was proposed by the patriarch
Job, who acted on the conviction that Boris was the one man capable of
coping with the extraordinary difficulties of an unexampled situation.
Boris, however, would only accept the throne from a _Zemsky Sobor_, or
national assembly, which met on the 17th of February, and unanimously
elected him on the 21st. On the 1st of September he was solemnly crowned
tsar. During the first years of his reign he was both popular and
prosperous, and ruled the people excellently well. Enlightened as he
was, he fully recognized the intellectual inferiority of Russia as
compared with the West, and did his utmost to bring about a better state
of things. He was the first tsar to import foreign teachers on a great
scale, the first to send young Russians abroad to be educated, the first
to allow Lutheran churches to be built in Russia. He also felt the
necessity of a Baltic seaboard, and attempted to obtain Livonia by
diplomatic means. He cultivated friendly relations with the
Scandinavians, in order to intermarry if possible with foreign royal
houses, so as to increase the dignity of his own dynasty. That Boris was
one of the greatest of the Muscovite tsars there can be no doubt. But
his great qualities were overbalanced by an incurable suspiciousness,
which made it impossible for him to act cordially with those about him.
His fear of possible pretenders induced him to go so far as to forbid
the greatest of the boyars to marry. He also encouraged informers and
persecuted suspects on their unsupported statements. The Romanov family
in especial suffered severely from these delations. Boris died suddenly
(April 13, 1605), leaving one son, Theodore II., who succeeded him for a
few months and then was foully murdered by the enemies of the Godunovs.
See Platon Vasilievich Pavlov, _On the Historical Significance of the
Reign of Boris Godunov_ (Rus.) (Moscow, 1850); Sergyei Mikhailivich
Solovev, _History of Russia_ (Rus.) (2nd ed., vols. vii.-viii., St
Petersburg, 1897). (R. N. B.)
BORISOGLYEBSK, a town of Russia, in the government of Tambov, 100 m.
S.S.E. of the city of that name, in 51 deg. 22' N. lat. and 43 deg. 4'
E. long. It was founded in 1646 to defend the southern frontiers of
Muscovy against the Crimean Tatars, and in 1696 was surrounded by wooden
fortifications. The principal industries are the preparation of wool,
iron-casting, soap-boiling, tallow-melting, and brick-making; and there
is an active trade in grain, wool, cattle, and leather, and two
important annual fairs. Pop. (1867) 12,254; (1897) 22,370.
BORKU, or BORGU, a region of Central Africa between 17 deg. and 19 deg.
N. and 18 deg. and 21 deg. E., forming part of the transitional zone
between the arid wastes of the Sahara and the fertile lands of the
central Sudan. It is bounded N. by the Tibesti Mountains, and is in
great measure occupied by lesser elevations belonging to the same
system. These hills to the south and east merge into the plains of Wadai
and Darfur. South-west, in the direction of Lake Chad, is the Bodele
basin. The drainage of the country is to the lake, but the numerous
khors with which its surface is scored are mostly dry or contain water
for brief periods only. A considerable part of the soil is light sand
drifted about by the wind. The irrigated and fertile portions consist
mainly of a number of valleys separated from each other by low and
irregular limestone rocks. They furnish excellent dates. Barley is also
cultivated. The northern valleys are inhabited by a settled population
of Tibbu stock, known as the Daza, and by colonies of negroes; the
others are mainly visited by nomadic Berber and Arab tribes. The
inhabitants own large numbers of goats and asses.
A caravan route from Barca and the Kufra oasis passes through Borku to
Lake Chad. The country long remained unknown to Europeans. Gustav
Nachtigal spent some time in it in the year 1871, and gave a valuable
account of the region and its inhabitants in his book, _Sahara und
Sudan_ (Berlin, 1879-1889). In 1899 Borku, by agreement with Great
Britain, was assigned to the French sphere of influence. The country,
which had formerly been periodically raided by the Walad Sliman Arabs,
was then governed by the Senussi (q.v.), who had placed garrisons in the
chief centres of population. From it raids were made on French
territory. In 1907 a French column from Kanem entered Borku, but after
capturing Ain Galakka, the principal Senussi station, retired. Borku is
also called Borgu, but must not be confounded with the Borgu (q.v.) west
of the Niger.
A summary of Nachtigal's writing on Borku will be found in section 28
of _Gustav Nachtigal's Reisen in der Sahara und im Sudan_ (1 vol.),
arranged by Albert Frankel (Leipzig, 1887). See also an article (with
map) by Commdt. Bordeaux in _La Geographie_, Oct. 1908.
BORKUM, an island of Germany, in the North Sea, belonging to the
Prussian province of Hanover, the westernmost of the East Frisian chain,
lying between the east and west arms of the estuary of the Ems, and
opposite to the Dollart. Pop. about 2500. The island is 5 m. long and
2-1/2 m. broad, is a favourite summer resort, and is visited annually by
about 20,000 persons. There is a daily steamboat service with Emden,
Leer and Hamburg during the summer months. The island affords pasture
for cattle, and a breeding-place for sea-birds.
BORLASE, WILLIAM (1695-1772), English antiquary and naturalist, was born
at Pendeen in Cornwall, of an ancient family, on the 2nd of February
1695. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and in 1719 was
ordained. In 1722 he was presented to the rectory of Ludgvan, and in
1732 he obtained in addition the vicarage of St Just, his native parish.
In the parish of Ludgvan were rich copper works, abounding with mineral
and metallic fossils, of which he made a collection, and thus was led to
study somewhat minutely the natural history of the county. In 1750 he
was admitted a fellow of the Royal Society; and in 1754 he published, at
Oxford, his _Antiquities of Cornwall_ (2nd ed., London, 1769). His next
publication was _Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the
Islands of Scilly, and their Importance to the Trade of Great Britain_
(Oxford, 1756). In 1758 appeared his _Natural History of Cornwall_. He
presented to the Ashmolean museum, Oxford, a variety of fossils and
antiquities, which he had described in his works, and received the
thanks of the university and the degree of LL.D. He died on the 31st of
August 1772. Borlase was well acquainted with most of the leading
literary men of the time, particularly with Alexander Pope, with whom he
kept up a long correspondence, and for whose grotto at Twickenham he
furnished the greater part of the fossils and minerals.
Borlase's letters to Pope, St Aubyn and others, with answers, fill
several volumes of MS. There are also MS. notes on Cornwall, and a
complete unpublished treatise _Concerning the Creation and Deluge_.
Some account of these MSS., with extracts from them, was given in the
_Quarterly Review_, October 1875. Borlase's memoirs of his own life
were published in Nichol's _Literary Anecdotes_, vol. v.
BORMIO (Ger. _Worms_), a town of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of
Sondrio, 41-1/2 m. N.E. of the town of Sondrio. Pop. (1901) 1814. It is
situated in the Valtellina (the valley of the Adda), 4020 ft. above
sea-level, at the foot of the Stelvio pass, and, owing to its position,
was of some military importance in the middle ages. It contains
interesting churches and picturesque towers. A cemetery of pre-Roman
date was discovered at Bormio in 1820.
The baths of Bormio, 2 m. farther up the valley, are mentioned by Pliny
and Cassiodorus, the secretary of Theodoric, and are much frequented.
BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742-1791), Austrian mineralogist and
metallurgist, was born of a noble family at Karlsburg, in Transylvania,
on the 26th of December 1742. Educated in a Jesuit college in Vienna, he
was for sixteen months a member of the order, but left it and studied
law at Prague. Then he travelled extensively in Germany, Holland and
France, studying mineralogy, and on his return to Prague in 1770 entered
the department of mines and the mint. In 1776 he was appointed by Maria
Theresa to arrange the imperial museum at Vienna, where he was nominated
to the council of mines and the mint, and continued to reside until his
death on the 24th of July 1791. He introduced a method of extracting
metals by amalgamation (_Uber das Anquicken der Erze_, 1786), and other
improvements in mining and other technical processes. His publications
also include _Lithophylacium Bornianum_ (1772-1775) and _Bergbaukunde_
(1789), besides several museum catalogues. Von Born attempted satire
with no great success. _Die Staatsperucke_, a tale published without his
knowledge in 1772, and an attack on Father Hell, the Jesuit, and king's
astronomer at Vienna, are two of his satirical works. Part of a satire,
entitled _Monachologia_, in which the monks are described in the
technical language of natural history, is also ascribed to him. Von Born
was well acquainted with Latin and the principal modern languages of
Europe, and with many branches of science not immediately connected with
metallurgy and mineralogy. He took an active part in the political
changes in Hungary. After the death of the emperor Joseph II., the diet
of the states of Hungary rescinded many innovations of that ruler, and
conferred the rights of denizen on several persons who had been
favourable to the cause of the Hungarians, and, amongst others, on von
Born. At the time of his death in 1791, he was employed in writing a
work entitled _Fasti Leopoldini_, probably relating to the prudent
conduct of Leopold II., the successor of Joseph, towards the Hungarians.
BORNA, a town of Germany in the kingdom of Saxony, on the Wyhra at its
junction with the Pleisse, 17 m. S. by E. of Leipzig by rail. Pop.
(1905) 9176. The industries include peat-cutting, iron foundries, organ,
pianoforte, felt and shoe factories.
BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786-1837), German political writer and satirist,
was born on the 6th of May 1786 at Frankfort-On-Main, where his father,
Jakob Baruch, carried on the business of a banker. He received his early
education at Giessen, but as Jews were ineligible at that time for
public appointments in Frankfort, young Baruch was sent to study
medicine at Berlin under a physician, Markus Herz, in whose house he
resided. Young Baruch became deeply enamoured of his patron's wife, the
talented and beautiful Henriette Herz (1764-1847), and gave vent to his
adoration in a series of remarkable letters. Tiring of medical science,
which he had subsequently pursued at Halle, he studied constitutional
law and political science at Heidelberg and Giessen, and in 1811 took
his doctor's degree at the latter university. On his return to
Frankfort, now constituted as a grand duchy under the sovereignty of the
prince bishop Karl von Dalberg, he received (1811) the appointment of
police actuary in that city. The old conditions, however, returned in
1814 and he was obliged to resign his office. Embittered by the
oppression under which the Jews suffered in Germany, he engaged in
journalism, and edited the Frankfort liberal newspapers,
_Staatsristretto_ and _Die Zeitschwingen_. In 1818 he became a convert
to Lutheran protestantism, changing his name from Lob Baruch to Ludwig
Borne. This step was taken less out of religious conviction than, as in
the case of so many of his descent, in order to improve his social
standing. From 1818 to 1821 he edited _Die Wage_, a paper distinguished
by its lively political articles and its powerful but sarcastic
theatrical criticisms. This paper was suppressed by the police
authorities, and in 1821 Borne quitted for a while the field of
publicist writing and led a retired life in Paris, Hamburg and
Frankfort. After the July Revolution (1830), he hurried to Paris,
expecting to find the newly-constituted state of society somewhat in
accordance with his own ideas of freedom. Although to some extent
disappointed in his hopes, he was not disposed to look any more kindly
on the political condition of Germany; this lent additional zest to the
brilliant satirical letters (_Briefe aus Paris_, 1830-1833, published
Paris, 1834), which he began to publish in his last literary venture,
_La Balance_, a revival under its French name of _Die Wage_. The _Briefe
aus Paris_ was Borne's most important publication, and a landmark in the
history of German journalism. Its appearance led him to be regarded as
one of the leaders of the new literary party of "Young Germany." He died
at Paris on the 12th of February 1837.
Borne's works are remarkable for brilliancy of style and for a thorough
French vein of satire. His best criticism is to be found in his
_Denkrede auf Jean Paul_ (1826), a writer for whom he had warm sympathy
and admiration, in his _Dramaturgische Blatter_ (1829-1834), and the
witty satire, _Menzel der Franzosenfresser_ (1837). He also wrote a
number of short stories and sketches, of which the best known are the
_Monographie der deutschen Postschnecke_ (1829) and _Der Esskunstler_
(1822).
The first edition of his _Gesammelte Schriften_ appeared at Hamburg
(1829-1834) in 14 volumes, followed by 6 volumes of _Nachgelassene
Schriften_ (Mannheim, 1844-1850); more complete is the edition in 12
volumes (Hamburg, 1862-1863), reprinted in 1868 and subsequently. The
latest complete edition is that edited by A. Klaar (8 vols., Leipzig,
1900). For further biographical matter see K. Gutzkow, _Bornes Leben_
(Hamburg, 1840), and M. Holzmann, _L. Borne, sein Leben und sein
Wirken_ (Berlin, 1888). _Bornes Briefe an Henriette Herz_ (1802-1807),
first published in 1861, have been re-edited by L. Geiger (Oldenburg,
1905), who has also published Borne's _Berliner Briefe_ (1828)
(Berlin, 1905). See also Heine's witty attack on Borne (_Werke_, ed.
Elster, vii.), G. Gervinus' essay in his _Historiche Schriften_
(Darmstadt, 1838), and the chapters in G. Brandes, _Hovedstromninger i
det 19 de Aarhundredes Litteratur_ vol. vi. (Copenhagen, 1890, German
trans. 1891; English trans. 1905), and in J. Proelss, _Das junge
Deutschland_ (Stuttgart, 1892).
BORNEO, a great island of the Malay Archipelago, extending from 7 deg.
N. to 4 deg. 20' S., and from 108 deg. 53' to 119 deg. 22' E. It is 830
m. long from N.E. to S.W., by 600 m. in maximum breadth. Its area
according to the calculations of the Topographical Bureau of Batavia
(1894) comprises 293,496 sq. m. These figures are admittedly
approximate, and Meyer, who is generally accurate, gives the area of
Borneo at 289,860 sq. m. It is roughly, however, five times as large as
England and Wales. Politically Borneo is divided into four portions: (1)
British North Borneo, the territory exploited and administered by the
Chartered British North Borneo Company, to which a separate section of
this article is devoted; (2) Brunei (q.v.), a Malayan sultanate under
British protection; (3) Sarawak (q.v.), the large territory ruled by
raja Brooke, and under British protection in so far as its foreign
relations are concerned; and (4) Dutch Borneo, which comprises the
remainder and by far the largest and most valuable portion of the
island.
_Physical Features_.--The general character of the country is
mountainous, though none of the ranges attains to any great elevation,
and Kinabalu, the highest peak in the island, which is situated near its
north-western extremity, is only 13,698 ft. above sea-level. There is no
proper nucleus of mountains whence chains ramify in different
directions. The central and west central parts of the island, however,
are occupied by three mountain chains and a plateau. These chains are:
(1) the folded chain of the upper Kapuas, which divides the western
division of Dutch Borneo from Sarawak, extends west to east, and attains
near the sources of the Kapuas river a height of 5000 to 6000 ft.; (2)
the Schwaner chain, south of the Kapuas, whose summits range from 3000
to 7500 ft., the latter being the height of Bukit Raja, a plateau which
divides the waters of the Kapuas from the rivers of southern Borneo; and
(3) the Muller chain, between the eastern parts of the Madi plateau
(presently to be mentioned) and the Kapuas chain, a volcanic region
presenting heights, such as Bukit Terata (4700 ft.), which were once
active but are now long extinct volcanos. The Madi plateau lies between
the Kapuas and the Schwaner chains. Its height is from 3000 to 4000 ft.,
and it is clothed with tropical high fens. These mountain systems are
homologous in structure with those, not of Celebes or of Halmahera, but
of Malacca, Banka and Billiton. From the eastern end of the Kapuas
mountains there are further to be observed: (1) A chain running
north-north-east, which forms the boundary between Sarawak and Dutch
Borneo, the highest peak of which, Gunong Tebang, approaches 10,000 ft.
This chain can hardly be said to extend continuously to the extreme
north of the island, but it carries on the line of elevation towards the
mountains of Sarawak to the west, and those of British North Borneo to
the north, of which latter Kinabalu is the most remarkable. The
mountains of North Borneo are more particularly referred to in the
portion of this article which deals with that territory. (2) A chain
which runs eastward from the central mountains and terminates in the
great promontory of the east coast, known variously as Cape Kanior or
Kaniungan. (3) A well-marked chain running in a south-easterly direction
among the congeries of hills that extend south-eastward from the central
mountains, and attaining, near the southern part of the east coast,
heights up to and exceeding 6000 ft.
_Coasts._--Resting on a submarine plateau of no great depth, the coasts
of Borneo are for the most part rimmed round by low alluvial lands, of a
marshy, sandy and sometimes swampy character. In places the sands are
fringed by long lines of _Casuarina_, trees; in others, and more
especially in the neighbourhood of some of the river mouths, there are
deep banks of black mud covered with mangroves; in others the coast
presents to the sea bold headlands, cliffs, mostly of a reddish hue,
sparsely clad with greenery, or rolling hills covered by a growth of
rank grass. The depth of the sea around the shore rarely exceeds a
maximum depth of 1 to 3 fathoms, and the coast as a whole offers few
accessible ports. The towns and seaports are to be found as a rule at or
near the mouths of those rivers which are not barricaded too efficiently
by bars formed of mud or sand. All round the long coast-line of Dutch
Borneo there are only seven ports of call, which are habitually made use
of by the ships of the Dutch Packet Company. They are Pontianak,
Banjermasin, Kota Bharu, Pasir, Samarinda, Beru and Bulungan. The
islands off the coast are not numerous. Excluding some of alluvial
formation at the mouths of many of the rivers, and others along the
shore which owe their existence to volcanic upheaval, the principal
islands are Banguey and Balambangan at the northern extremity, Labuan
(q.v.), a British colony off the west coast of the territory of North
Borneo, and the Karimata Islands off the south-west coast. On Great
Karimata is situated the village of Palembang with a population of about
500 souls employed in fishing, mining for iron, and trading in forest
produce.
[Illustration: BORNEO]
_Rivers_.--The rivers play a very important part in the economy of
Borneo, both as highways and as lines along which run the main arteries
of population. Hydrographically the island may be divided into five
principal versants. Of these the shortest embraces the north-western
slope, north of the Kapuas range, and discharges its waters into the
China Sea. The most important of its rivers are the Sarawak, the
Batang-Lupar, the Sarebas, the Rejang (navigable for more than 100 m.),
the Baram, the Limbang or Brunei river, and the Padas. The rivers of
British North Borneo to the north of the Padas are of no importance and
of scant practical utility, owing to the fact that the mountain range
here approaches very closely to the coast with which it runs parallel.
In the south-western versant the largest river is the Kapuas, which,
rising near the centre of the island, falls into the sea between Mampawa
and Sukadana after a long and winding course. This river, of volume
varying with the tide and the amount of rainfall, is normally navigable
by small steamers and native prahus, of a draught of 4 to 5 ft., for
300 to 400 m., that is to say, from Pontianak up to Sintang, and thence
as far as Benut. The middle part of this river, wider and more shallow
than the lower reaches, gives rise to a region of inundation and lakes
which extend as far as the northern mountain chain. Among its
considerable tributaries may be mentioned the southern Melawi with its
affluent the Penuh. It reaches the sea through several channels in a
wide marshy delta. The Sambas, north of the Kapuas, is navigable in its
lower course for vessels drawing 25 ft. Rivers lying to the south of the
Kapuas, but of less importance in the way of size, commerce and
navigation, are the Simpang, Pawanand Kandawangan, in the neighbourhood
of whose mouths, or upon the adjacent coast, the principal native
villages are situated in each case. The Barito, which is the principal
river of the southern versant, takes its rise in the Kuti Lama Lake, and
falls into the Java Sea in 114 deg. 30' E. Its upper reaches are greatly
impeded by rocks, rapids and waterfalls, but the lower part of its
course is wide, and traverses a rich, alluvial district, much of which
is marshy. Cross branches unite it with two rivers of considerable size
towards the west, the Kapuas Murung or Little Dyak, and the Kahayan or
Great Dyak. The Katingan or Mendawei, the Sampit, Pembuang or Surian and
the Kota Waringin are rivers that fall into the sea farther to the west.
The rivers of the southern versant are waters of capacious drainage, the
basin of the Kahayan having, for instance, an area of 16,000 sq. m., and
the Barito one of 38,000 sq. m. These rivers are navigable for
two-thirds of their course by steamers of a fair size, but in many cases
the bars at their mouths present considerable difficulties to ships
drawing anything over 8 or 9 ft. Most of the larger affluents of the
Barito are also navigable throughout the greater part of their courses.
The south-eastern like the north-western corner of the island is watered
by a considerable number of short mountain streams. The one great river
of the eastern versant is the Kutei or Mahakan, which, rising in the
central mountains, flows east with a sinuous course and falls by
numerous mounts into the Straits of Madassar. At a great distance from
its mouth it has still a depth of three fathoms, and in all its physical
features it is comparable to the Kapuas and Barito. The Kayan or
Bulungan river is the only other in the eastern versant that calls for
mention. Most of the rivers of the northern versant are comparatively
small, as the island narrows into a kind of promontory. Of these the
Kinabatangan in the territory of British North Borneo is the most
important. Lakes are neither numerous nor very large. In most cases they
are more fittingly described as swamps. In the flood area of the upper
Kapuas, of which mention has already been made, there occurs Lake Luar,
and there are several lake expanses of a similar character in the basins
of the Barito and Kutei rivers. The only really fine natural harbour in
the island of which any use has been made is that of Sandakan, the
principal settlement of the North Borneo Company on the north coast.
_Geology._--The geology of Borneo is very imperfectly known. The
mountain range which lies between Sarawak and the Dutch possessions,
and may be looked upon as the backbone of the island, consists chiefly
of crystalline schists, together with slates, sandstones and
limestones. All these beds are much disturbed and folded. The
sedimentary deposits were formerly believed to be Palaeozoic, but
Jurassic fossils have since been found in them, and it is probable
that several different formations are represented. Somewhat similar
rocks appear to form the axis of the range in south-east Borneo, and
possibly of the Tampatung Mountains. But the Muller range, the Madi
plateau, and the Schwaner Mountains of west Borneo, consist chiefly of
almost undisturbed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Tertiary age. The
low-lying country between the mountain ranges is covered for the most
part by Tertiary and Quaternary deposits, but Cretaceous beds occur at
several localities. Some of the older rocks of the mountain regions
have been referred to the Devonian, but the evidence cannot be
considered conclusive. _Vertebraria_ and _Phyllotheca_, plants
characteristic of the Indian Gondwana series, have been recorded in
Sarawak; and marine forms, similar to those of the lower part of the
Australian Carboniferous system, are stated to occur in the limestone
of north Borneo. _Pseudomonotis salinaria_, a Triassic form, has been
noted from the schists of the west of Borneo. In the Kapoewas district
radiolarian cherts supposed to be of Jurassic age are met with.
Undoubted Jurassic fossils, belonging to several horizons, have been
described from west Borneo and Sarawak. The Cretaceous beds, which
have long been known in west Borneo, are comparatively little
disturbed. They consist for the most part of marls with _Orbitolina
concava_, and are referred to the Cenomanian. Cretaceous beds of
somewhat later date are found in the Marpapura district in south-east
Borneo. The Tertiary system includes conglomerates, sandstones,
limestones and marls, which appear to be of Eocene, Oligocene and
Miocene age. They contain numerous seams of coal. The Tertiary beds
generally lie nearly horizontal and form the lower hills, but in the
Madi plateau and the Schwaner range they rise to a height of several
thousand feet. Volcanic rocks of Tertiary and late Cretaceous age are
extensively developed, especially in the Muller Mountains. The whole
of this consists of tuffs and lavas, andesites prevailing in the west
and rhyolites and dacites in the east.
_Minerals._--The mineral wealth of Borneo is great and varied. It
includes diamonds, the majority of which, however, are of a somewhat
yellow colour, gold, quicksilver, cinnabar, copper, iron, tin, antimony,
mineral oils, sulphur, rock-salt, marble and coal. The exploitation of
the mines suffers in many cases from the difficulties and expense of
transport, the high duties payable in Dutch Borneo to the native
princes, the competition among the rival companies, and often the
limited quantities of the minerals found in the mines. The districts of
Sambas and Landak in the west, the Kahayan river, the mountain valleys
of the extreme south-east and parts of Sarawak furnish the largest
quantities of gold, which is obtained for the most part from alluvial
washings. The Borneo Company is engaged in working gold-mines in the
upper part of the Sarawak valley, and the prospects of the enterprise,
which is conducted on a fairly extensive scale, are known to be
encouraging. Diamonds are also found widely distributed and mainly in
the same regions as the gold. The Kapuas valley has so far yielded the
largest quantity, and Pontianak is, for diamonds, the principal port of
export. Considerable progress has been made in the development of the
oil-fields in Dutch Borneo, and the _Nederlandsch Indische Industrie en
Handel Maatschappij_, the Dutch business of the Shell Transport and
Trading Company, increased its output from 123,592 tons in 1901 to
285,720 tons in 1904, and showed further satisfactory increase
thereafter. This company owns extensive oil-fields at Balik Papan and
Sanga-Sanga. The quality of the oil varies in a remarkable way according
to the depth. The upper stratum is struck at a depth of 600 to 700 ft.,
and yields a natural liquid fuel of heavy specific gravity. The next
source is met with at about 1200 ft., yielding an oil which is much
lighter in weight and, as such, more suitable for treatment in the
refinery. The former oil is almost invariably of an asphalte basis,
whereas the latter sometimes is found to contain a considerable
percentage of paraffin wax. The average daily production is very high,
owing to a large number of the wells flowing under the natural pressure
of the gas. There is every reason to believe that the oil-fields of
Dutch Borneo have a great future. Coal mines have, in many instances,
been opened and abandoned, failure being due to the difficulty of
production. Coal of good quality has been found in Pengaron and
elsewhere in the Banjermasin district, but most Borneo coal is
considerably below this average of excellence. It has also been found in
fair quantities at various places in the Kutei valley and in Sarawak.
The coalmines of Labuan have been worked spasmodically, but success has
never attended the venture. Sadong yields something under 130 tons a
day, and the Brooketown mine, the property of the raja of Sarawak,
yields some 50 tons a day of rather indifferent coal. The discovery that
Borneo produced antimony was made in 1825 by John Crawfurd, the
orientalist, who learned in that year that a quantity had been brought
to Singapore by a native trader as ballast. The supply is practically
unlimited and widely distributed. The principal mine is at Bidi in
Sarawak.
_Climate and Health_.--As is to be anticipated, having regard to its
insular position and to the fact that the equator passes through the
very middle of the island, the climate is at once hot and very damp. In
the hills and in the interior regions are found which may almost be
described as temperate, but on the coasts the atmosphere is dense, humid
and oppressive. Throughout the average temperature is from 78 deg. to 80
deg. F., but the thermometer rarely falls below 70 deg., except in the
hills, and occasionally on exceptional days mounts as high as 96 deg. in
the shade. The rainy westerly winds (S.W. and N.W.) prevail at all the
meteorological stations, not the comparatively dry south-east wind. Even
at Banjermasin, near the south coast, the north-west wind brings
annually a rainfall of 60 in., as against 33 in. of rain carried by the
south-east wind. The difference between the seasons is not rigidly
marked. The climate is practically unchanging all the year round, the
atmosphere being uniformly moist, and though days of continuous downpour
are rare, comparatively few days pass without a shower. Most rain falls
between November and May, and at this season the torrents are tremendous
while they last, and squalls of wind are frequent and violent, almost
invariably preceding a downpour. Over such an extensive area there is,
of course, great variety in the climatic character of different
districts, especially when viewed in relation to health. Some places,
such as Bidi in Sarawak, for instance, are notoriously unhealthy; but
from the statistics of the Dutch government, and the records of Sarawak
and British North Borneo, it would appear that the European in Borneo
has in general not appreciably more to fear than his fellow in Java, or
in the Federated Malay States of the Malayan Peninsula. Among the native
races the prevailing diseases, apart from those of a malarial origin,
are chiefly such as arise from bad and insufficient food, from
intemperance, and from want of cleanliness. The habit of allowing their
meat to putrefy before regarding it as fit for food, and of encouraging
children of tender age to drink to intoxication, accounts for absence of
old folk and the heavy mortality which are to be observed among the
Muruts of British North Borneo and some of the other more debased tribes
of the interior of the island. Scrofula and various forms of lupus are
common among the natives throughout the country and especially in the
interior; elephantiasis is frequently met with on the coast. Smallpox,
dysentery and fevers, frequently of a bilious character, are endemic and
occasionally epidemic. Cholera breaks out from time to time and works
great havoc, as was the case in 1903 when one of the raja of Sarawak's
punitive expeditions was stricken while ascending the Limbang river by
boat, and lost many hundreds of its numbers before the coast could be
regained. Ophthalmia is common and sometimes will attack whole tribes.
About one sixth of the native population of the interior, and a smaller
proportion of those living on the coast, suffer from a kind of ringworm
called _kurap_, which also prevails almost universally among the Sakai
and Semang, the aboriginal hill tribes of the Malayan Peninsula. The
disease is believed to be aggravated by chronic anaemia. Consumption is
not uncommon.
_Fauna_.--The fauna of Borneo comprises a large variety of species, many
of which are numerically of great importance. Among the quadrupeds the
most remarkable is the orang-utan (Malay, _orang utan_, i.e. jungle
man), as the huge ape, called _mias_ or _mayas_ by the natives, is named
by Europeans. Numerous species of monkey are found in Borneo, including
the wahwah, a kind of gibbon, a creature far more human in appearance
and habits than the orang-utan, and several _Semnopitheci_, such as the
long-nosed ape and the golden-black or _chrysomelas_. The large-eyed
_Stenops tardigradus_ also deserves mention. The larger beasts of prey
are not met with, and little check is therefore put on the natural
fecundity of the graminivorous species. A small panther and the clouded
tiger (so called)--_Felis macroscelis_--are the largest animals of the
cat kind that occur in Borneo. The Bengal tiger is not found. The Malay
or honey-bear is very common. The rhinoceros and the elephant both occur
in the northern part of the island, though both are somewhat rare, and
in this connexion it should be noted that the distribution of quadrupeds
as between Borneo, Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula is somewhat
peculiar and seemingly somewhat capricious. Many quadrupeds, such as the
honey-bear and the rhinoceros, are common to all, but while the tiger is
common both in the Malayan Peninsula and in Sumatra, it does not occur
in Borneo; the elephant, so common in the peninsula, and found in
Borneo, is unknown in Sumatra; and the orang-utan, so plentiful in parts
of Borneo and parts of Sumatra, has never been discovered in the Malay
Peninsula. It has been suggested, but with very scant measure of
probability, that the existence of elephants in Borneo, whose
confinement to a single district is remarkable and unexplained, is due
to importation; and the fact is on record that when Magellan's ships
visited Brunei in 1522 tame elephants were in use at the court of the
sultan of Brunei. Wild oxen of the Sunda race, not to be in any way
confounded with the Malayan _seladang_ or gaur, are rare, but the whole
country swarms with wild swine, and the _babirusa_, a pig with curious
horn-like tusks, is not uncommon. Alligators are found in most of the
rivers, and the gavial is less frequently met with. Three or four
species of deer are common, including the mouse-deer, or _plandok_, an
animal of remarkable grace and beauty, about the size of a hare but
considerably less heavy. Squirrels, flying-squirrels, porcupines,
civet-cats, rats, bats, flying-foxes and lizards are found in great
variety; snakes of various kinds, from the boa-constrictor downward, are
abundant, while the forests swarm with tree-leeches, and the marshes
with horse-leeches and frogs. A remarkable flying-frog was discovered by
Professor A.R. Wallace. Birds are somewhat rare in some quarters. The
most important are eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, owls, horn-bills,
cranes, pheasants (notably the argus, fire-back and peacock-pheasants),
partridges, ravens, crows, parrots, pigeons, woodpeckers, doves, snipe,
quail and swallows. Of most of these birds several varieties are met
with. The _Cypselus esculentus_, or edible-nest swift, is very common,
and the nests, which are built mostly in limestone caves, are esteemed
the best in the archipelago. Mosquitoes and sand-flies are the chief
insect pests, and in some districts are very troublesome. Several kinds
of parasitic jungle ticks cause much annoyance to men and to beasts.
There are also two kinds of ants, the semut api ("fire ant") and the
_semut lada_ ("pepper ant"), whose bites are peculiarly painful.
Hornets, bees and wasps of many varieties abound. The honey and the wax
of the wild bee are collected by the natives. Butterflies and moths are
remarkable for their number, size, variety and beauty. Beetles are no
less numerously represented, as is to be expected in a country so richly
wooded as Borneo. The swamps and rivers, as well as the surrounding
seas, swarm with fish. The _siawan_ is a species of fish found in the
rivers and valued for its spawn, which is salted. The natives are expert
and ingenious fishermen. Turtles, trepang and pearl-shell are of some
commercial importance.
The dog, the cat, the pig, the domestic fowl (which is not very
obviously related to the bantam of the woods), the buffalo, a smaller
breed than that met with in the Malayan Peninsula, and in some districts
bullocks of the Brahmin breed and small horses, are the principal
domestic animals. The character of the country and the nomadic habits of
many of the natives of the interior, who rarely occupy their villages
for more than a few years in succession, have not proved favourable to
pastoral modes of life. The buffaloes are used not only in agriculture,
but also as beasts of burden, as draught-animals and for the saddle.
Horses, introduced by Europeans and owned only by the wealthier classes,
are found in Banjermasin and in Sarawak. In British North Borneo, and
especially in the district of Tempasuk on the north-west coast, Borneo
ponies, bred originally, it is supposed, from the stock which is
indigenous to the Sulu archipelago, are common.
_Flora_.--The flora of Borneo is very rich, the greater portion of the
surface of the island being clothed in luxuriant vegetation. The king of
the forest is the _tapan_, which, rising to a great height without fork
or branch, culminates in a splendid dome of foliage. The official seats
of some of the chiefs are constructed from the wood of this tree.
Iron-wood, remarkable for the durability of its timber, is abundant; it
is used by the natives for the pillars of their homes and forms an
article of export, chiefly to Hong-Kong. It is rivalled in hardness by
the _kayu tembesu_. In all, about sixty kinds of timber of marketable
quality are furnished in more or less profusion, but the difficulty of
extraction, even in the regions situated in close proximity to the large
waterways, renders it improbable that the timber trade of Borneo will
attain to any very great dimensions until other and easier sources of
supply have become exhausted. Palm-trees are abundant in great variety,
including the _nipah_, which is much used for thatching, the cabbage,
fan, sugar, coco and sago palms. The last two furnish large supplies of
food to the natives, some copra is exported, and sago factories, mostly
in the hands of Chinese, prepare sago for the Dutch and British markets.
Gutta-percha (_getah percha_ in the vernacular), camphor, cinnamon,
cloves, nutmegs, gambir and betel, or areca-nuts, are all produced in
the island; most of the tropical fruits flourish, including the
much-admired but, to the uninitiated, most evil-smelling durian, a large
fruit with an exceedingly strong outer covering composed of stout
pyramidal spikes, which grows upon the branches of a tall tree and
occasionally in falling inflicts considerable injuries upon passers-by.
Yams, several kinds of sweet potatoes, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers,
pineapples, bananas and mangosteens are cultivated, as also are a large
number of other fruits. Rice is grown in irrigated lands near the rivers
and in the swamps, and also in rude clearings in the interior;
sugar-cane of superior quality in Sambas and Montrado; cotton, sometimes
exported in small quantities, on the banks of the Negara, a tributary of
the Barito; tobacco, used very largely now in the production of cigars,
in various parts of northern Borneo; and tobacco for native consumption,
which is of small commercial importance, is cultivated in most parts of
the island. Indigo, coffee and pepper have been cultivated since 1855 in
the western division of Dutch Borneo. Among the more beautiful of the
flowering plants are rhododendrons, orchids and pitcher-plants--the
latter reaching extraordinary development, especially in the northern
districts about Kinabalu. Epiphytous plants are very common, many that
are usually independent assuming here the parasitic character; the
_Vanda lowii_, for example, grows on the lower branches of trees, and
its strange pendent flower-stalks often hang down so as almost to reach
the ground. Ferns are abundant, but not so varied as in Java.
_Population._--The population of Borneo is not known with any approach
to accuracy, but according to the political divisions of the island it
is estimated as follows:--
Dutch Borneo 1,130,000
British North Borneo 200,000
Sarawak 500,000
Brunei 20,000
No effective census of the population has ever been taken, and vast
areas in Dutch Borneo and in British North Borneo remain unexplored, and
free from any practical authority or control. In Sarawak, owing to the
high administrative genius of the first raja and his successor, the
natives have been brought far more completely under control, but the
raja has never found occasion to utilize the machinery of his government
for the accurate enumeration of his subjects.
Dutch Borneo is divided for administrative purposes into two divisions,
the western and the south and eastern respectively. Of the two, the
former is under the more complete and effective control. The estimated
population in the western division is 413,000 and in the south and
eastern 717,000. Europeans number barely 1000; Arabs about 3000, and
Chinese, mainly in the western division, over 40,000. In both divisions
there is an average density of little more than 1 to every 2 sq. m. The
sparseness of the population throughout the Dutch territory is due to a
variety of causes--to the physical character of the country, which for
the most part restricts the area of population to the near neighbourhood
of the rivers; to the low standard of civilization to which the majority
of the natives have attained and the consequent disregard of sanitation
and hygiene; to wars, piracy and head-hunting, the last of which has not
even yet been effectually checked among some of the tribes of the
interior; and to the aggression and oppressions in earlier times of
Malayan, Arab and Bugis settlers. Among the natives, more especially of
the interior, an innate restlessness which leads to a life of spasmodic
nomadism, poverty, insufficient nourishment, an incredible improvidence
which induces them to convert into intoxicating liquor a large portion
of their annual crops, feasts of a semi-religious character which are
invariably accompanied by prolonged drunken orgies, and certain
superstitions which necessitate the frequent procuration of abortion,
have contributed to check the growth of population. In Sambas, Montrado
and some parts of Pontianak, the greater density of the population is
due to the greater fertility of the soil, the opening of mines, the
navigation and trade plied on the larger rivers, and the concentration
of the population at the junctions of rivers, the mouths of rivers and
the seats of government. Of the chief place in the western division,
Pontianak has about 9000 inhabitants; Sambas about 8000; Montrado,
Mampawa and Landak between 2000 and 4000 each; and in the south and
eastern division there are Banjermasin with nearly 50,000 inhabitants;
Marabahan, Amuntai, Negara, Samarinda and Tengarung with populations of
from 5000 to 10,000 inhabitants each. In Amuntai and Martapura early
Hindu colonization, of which the traces and the influence still are
manifest, the fertile soil, trade and industry aided by navigable
rivers, have co-operated towards the growth of population to a degree
which presents a marked contrast to the conditions in the interior parts
of the Upper Barito and of the more westerly rivers. Only a very small
proportion of the Europeans in Dutch Borneo live by agriculture and
industry, the great majority of them being officials. The Arabs and
Chinese are engaged in trading, mining, fishing and agriculture. Of the
natives fully 90% live by agriculture, which, however, is for the most
part of a somewhat primitive description. The industries of the natives
are confined to such crafts as spinning and weaving and dyeing, the
manufacture of iron weapons and implements, boat- and shipbuilding, &c.
More particularly in the south-eastern division, and especially in the
districts of Negara, Banjermasin, Amuntai and Martapura, shipbuilding,
iron forging, gold- and silversmith's work, and the polishing of
diamonds, are industries of high development in the larger centres of
population.
_Races._--The peoples of Borneo belong to a considerable variety of
races, of different origin and degrees of civilization. The most
important numerically are the Dyaks, the Dusuns and Muruts of the
interior, the Malays, among whom must be counted such Malayan tribes as
the Bajaus, Ilanuns, &c., the Bugis, who were originally immigrants from
Celebes, and the Chinese. The Dutch, and to a minor extent the Arabs,
are of importance on account of their political influence in Dutch
Borneo, while the British communities have a similar importance in
Sarawak and in British North Borneo. Accounts of the Malays, Dyaks and
Bugis are given under their several headings, and some information
concerning the Dusuns and Muruts will be found in the section below,
which deals with British North Borneo. The connexion of the Chinese with
Borneo calls for notice here. They seem to have been the first civilized
people who had dealings with Borneo, if the colonization of a portion of
the south-eastern corner of the island by Hindus be excepted. The
Chinese annals speak of tribute paid to the empire by Pha-la on the
north-east coast of the island as early as the 7th century, and later
documents mention a Chinese colonization in the 15th century. The
traditions of the Malays and Dyaks seem to confirm the statements, and
many of the leading families of Brunei in north-west Borneo claim to
have Chinese blood in their veins, while the annals of Sulu record an
extensive Chinese immigration about 1575. However this may be, it is
certain that the flourishing condition of Borneo in the 16th and 17th
centuries was largely due to the energy of Chinese settlers and to trade
with China. In the 18th century there was a considerable Chinese
population settled in Brunei, engaged for the most part in planting and
exporting pepper, but the consistent oppression of the native rajas
destroyed their industry and led eventually to the practical extirpation
of the Chinese. The Malay chiefs of other districts encouraged
immigration from China with a view to developing the mineral resources
of their territories, and before long Chinese settlers were to be found
in considerable numbers in Sambas, Montrado, Pontianak and elsewhere.
They were at first forbidden to engage in commerce or agriculture, to
carry firearms, to possess or manufacture gunpowder. About 1779 the
Dutch acquired immediate authority over all strangers, and thus assumed
responsibility for the control of the Chinese, who presently proved
themselves somewhat troublesome. Their numbers constantly increased and
were reinforced by new immigrants, and pushing inland in search of fresh
mineral-bearing areas, they contracted frequent intermarriages with the
Dyaks and other non-Mahommedan natives. They brought with them from
China their aptitude for the organization of secret societies which,
almost from the first, assumed the guise of political associations.
These secret societies furnished them with a machinery whereby
collective action was rendered easy, and under astute leaders they
offered a formidable opposition to the Dutch government. Later, when
driven into the interior and eventually out of Dutch territory, they
cost the first raja of Sarawak some severe contests before they were at
last reduced to obedience. Serious disturbances among the Chinese are
now in Borneo matters of ancient history, and to-day the Chinaman forms
perhaps the most valuable element in the civilization and development of
the island, just as does his fellow in the mining states of the Malayan
Peninsula. They are industrious, frugal and intelligent; the richer
among them are excellent men of business and are peculiarly equitable in
their dealings; the majority of all classes can read and write their own
script, and the second generation acquires an education of an European
type with great facility. The bulk of the shopkeeping, trading and
mining industries, so long as the mining is of an alluvial character, is
in Chinese hands. The greater part of the Chinese on the west coast are
originally drawn from the boundaries of Kwang-tung and Kwang-si. They
are called Kehs by the Malays, and are of the same tribes as those which
furnish the bulk of the workers to the tin mines of the Malay Peninsula.
They are a rough and hardy people, and are apt at times to be
turbulent. The shopkeeping class comes mostly from Fuh-kien and the
coast districts of Amoy. They are known to the Borneans as Ollohs.
_History._--As far as is known, Borneo never formed a political unity,
and even its geographical unity as an island is a fact unappreciated by
the vast majority of its native inhabitants. The name of Kalamantan has
been given by some Europeans (on what original authority it is not
possible now to ascertain) as the native name for the island of Borneo
considered as a whole; but it is safe to aver that among the natives of
the island itself Borneo has never borne any general designation. To
this day, among the natives of the Malayan Archipelago, men speak of
going to Pontianak, to Sambas or to Brunei, as the case may be, but make
use of no term which recognizes that these localities are part of a
single whole. The only archaeological remains are a few Hindu temples,
and it is probable that the early settlement of the south-eastern
portion of the island by Hindus dates from some time during the first
six centuries of our era. There exist, however, no data, not even any
trustworthy tradition, from which to reconstruct the early history of
Borneo. Borneo began to be known to Europeans after the fall of Malacca
in 1511, when Alphonso d'Albuquerque despatched Antonio d'Abreu with
three ships in search of the Molucca or Spice Islands with instructions
to establish friendly relations with all the native states that he might
encounter on his way. D'Abreu, sailing in a south-easterly direction
from the Straits of Malacca, skirted the southern coast of Borneo and
laid up his ships at Amboyna, a small island near the south-western
extremity of Ceram. He returned to Malacca in 1514, leaving one of his
captains, Francisco Serrano, at Ternate, where Magellan's followers
found him in 1521. After Magellan's death, his comrades sailed from the
Moluccas across the Celebes into the Sulu Sea, and were the first white
men who are known to have visited Brunei on the north-west coast of
Borneo, where they arrived in 1522. Pigafetta gives an interesting
account of the place and of the reception of the adventurers by the
sultan. The Molucca Islands being, at that time, the principal objective
of European traders, and the route followed by Magellan's ships being
frequently used, Borneo was often touched at during the remainder of the
16th century, and trade relations with Brunei were successfully
established by the Portuguese. In 1573 the Spaniards tried somewhat
unsuccessfully to obtain a share of this commerce, but it was not until
1580, when a dethroned sultan appealed to them for assistance and by
their agency was restored to his own, that they attained their object.
Thereafter the Spaniards maintained a fitful intercourse with Brunei,
varied by not infrequent hostilities, and in 1645 a punitive expedition
on a larger scale than heretofore was sent to chastise Brunei for
persistent acts of piracy. No attempt at annexation followed upon this
action, commerce rather than territory being at this period the prime
object of both the Spaniards and the Portuguese, whose influence upon
the natives was accordingly proportionately small. The only effort at
proselytizing of which we have record came to an untimely end in the
death of the Theatine monk, Antonio Ventimiglia, who had been its
originator. Meanwhile the Dutch and British East India Companies had
been formed, had destroyed the monopoly so long enjoyed by the
Portuguese, and to a less extent the Spaniards, in the trade of the
Malayan Archipelago, and had gained a footing in Borneo. The
establishment of Dutch trading-posts on the west coast of Borneo dates
from 1604, nine years after the first Dutch fleet, under Houtman, sailed
from the Texel to dispute with the Portuguese the possession of the
Eastern trade, and in 1608 Samuel Blommaert was appointed Dutch
resident, or head factor, in Landak and Sukedana. The first appearance
of the British in Borneo dates from 1609, and by 1698 they had an
important settlement at Banjermasin, whence they were subsequently
expelled by the influence of the Dutch, who about 1733 obtained from the
sultan a trading monopoly. The Dutch, in fact, speedily became the
predominant European race throughout the Malay Archipelago, defeating
the British by superior energy and enterprise, and the trading-posts all
along the western and southern coasts of Borneo were presently their
exclusive possessions, the sultan of Bantam, who was the overlord of
these districts, ceding his rights to the Dutch. The British meanwhile
had turned their attention to the north of the island, over which the
sultan of Sulu exercised the rights of suzerain, and from him, in 1759,
Alexander Dalrymple obtained possession of the island of Balambangan,
and the whole of the north-eastern promontory. A military post was
established, but it was destroyed in 1775 by the natives under the
_dato'_, or vassal chiefs, who resented the cession of their territory.
This mishap rendered a treaty, which had been concluded in 1774 with the
sultan of Brunei, practically a dead letter, and by the end of the
century British influence in Borneo was to all intents and purposes at
an end. The Dutch also mismanaged their affairs in Borneo and suffered
from a series of misfortunes which led Marshal Daendels in 1809 to order
the abandonment of all their posts. The natives of the coasts of Borneo,
assisted and stimulated by immigrants from the neighbouring islands to
the north, devoted themselves more and more to organized piracy, and
putting to sea in great fleets manned by two and three thousand men on
cruises that lasted for two and even three years, they terrorized the
neighbouring seas and rendered the trade of civilized nations almost
impossible for a prolonged period. During the occupation of Java by the
British an embassy was despatched to Sir Stamford Raffles by the sultan
of Banjermasin asking for assistance, and in 1811 Alexander Hare was
despatched thither as commissioner and resident. He not only obtained
for his government an advantageous treaty, but secured for himself a
grant of a district which he proceeded to colonize and cultivate. About
the same time a British expedition was also sent against Sambas and a
post established at Pontianak. On the restoration of Java to the Dutch
in 1816, all these arrangements were cancelled, and the Dutch government
was left in undisputed possession of the field. An energetic policy was
soon after adopted, and about half the kingdom of Banjermasin was
surrendered to the Dutch by its sultan in 1823, further concessions
being made two years later. Meanwhile, George Muller, while exploring
the east coast, obtained from the sultan of Kutei an acknowledgment of
Dutch authority, a concession speedily repented by its donor, since the
enterprising traveller was shortly afterwards killed. The outbreak of
war in Java caused Borneo to be more or less neglected by the Dutch for
a considerable period, and no effective check was imposed upon the
natives with a view to stopping piracy, which was annually becoming more
and more unendurable. On the rise of Singapore direct trade had been
established with Sarawak and Brunei, and it became a matter of moment to
British merchants that this traffic should be safe. In 1838 Sir James
Brooke, an Englishman, whose attention had been turned to the state of
affairs in the Eastern Archipelago, set out for Borneo, determined, if
possible, to remedy the evil. By 1841 he had obtained from the sultan of
Brunei the grant of supreme authority over Sarawak, in which state, on
the sultan's behalf, he had waged a successful war, and before many
years had elapsed he had, with the aid of the British government,
succeeded in suppressing piracy (see BROOKE, SIR JAMES; and SARAWAK). In
1847 the sultan of Brunei agreed to make no cession of territory to any
nation or individual without the consent of Great Britain. Since then
more and more territory has been ceded by the sultans of Brunei to the
raja of Sarawak and to British North Borneo, and to-day the merest
remnant of his once extensive state is left within the jurisdiction of
the sultan. The treaty in 1847 put an end once for all to the hopes
which the Dutch had cherished of including the whole island in their
dominions, but it served also to stimulate their efforts to consolidate
their power within the sphere already subjected to their influence.
Gunong Tebur, Tanjong, and Bulungan had made nominal submission to them
in 1834, and in 1844 the sultan of Kutei acknowledged their
protectorate, a treaty of a similar character being concluded about the
same time with Pasir. The boundaries of British and Dutch Borneo were
finally defined by a treaty concluded on the 20th of June 1891. In spite
of this, however, large areas in the interior, both in Dutch Borneo and
in the territory owned by the British North Borneo Company, are still
only nominally under European control, and have experienced few direct
effects of European administration.