The history of Sarawak, now a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo, can be traced as far as 40,000 years ago to the Paleolithic period where the earliest evidence of human settlement is found in the Niah caves. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archeological site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, first arrived in Sarawak. Sarawak was later governed by the Brooke family between 1841 and 1946. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British. Following this, it became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, and this led to the three-year Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. From 1960 to 1990, Sarawak experienced a communist insurgency.
Prehistory
The first foragers visited the West Mouth of the Niah Caves (located southwest of Miri) 65,000 years ago instead of 40,000 years ago as previously believed, when Borneo was connected to the mainland of Southeast Asia. The landscape around the Niah Caves was drier and more exposed than it is now. Prehistorically, the Niah Caves were surrounded by a combination of closed forests with bush, parkland, swamps, and rivers. The foragers were able to survive in the rainforest through hunting, fishing, and gathering molluscs and edible plants. This new timeline of 65,000 years was established when five pieces of microlithic tools that were aged 65,000 years old and a human skull that was aged 55,000 years were discovered at part of the Niah Caves complex, Trader cave, during excavation work.The new timeline of 65,000 years was concluded when five pieces of microlithic tools that were aged 65,000 years old and a human skull that was aged 55,000 years old were discovered at part of the Niah Saves complex, Trader cave, during excavation work. An earlier evidence is the discovery of a modern human skull, nicknamed "Deep Skull", in a deep trench uncovered by Barbara and Tom Harrisson (a British ethnologist) in 1958; this is also the oldest modern human skull in Southeast Asia. The Deep Skull probably belongs to a 16- to 17-year-old adolescent girl. When compared with the Iban skull and other fossils, the Deep Skull most closely resembles the indigenous people of Borneo today, with their delicate features and small body size, and it has few similarities with the skulls of the indigenous Australians. Mesolithic and Neolithic burial sites have also been found. The area around the Niah Caves has been designated the Niah National Park.
Another earlier excavation by Tom Harrisson in 1949 unearthed a series of Chinese ceramics at Santubong (near Kuching) that date to the Tang and the Song dynasties in the 8th to 19th century AD. It is possible that Santubong was an important seaport in Sarawak during the period, but its importance declined during the Yuan dynasty, and the port was deserted during the Ming dynasty. Other archaeological sites in Sarawak can be found inside the Kapit, Song, Serian, and Bau districts.
Early kingdoms Early kingdoms within the Sarawak were Santubong (near Kuching), Sadong (near Samarahan), Saribas, Kalaka (both in Betong Division), Malano (in Mukah), and Banting and Lingga (both located in Sri Aman).
Before these early kingdoms in Sarawak came about, the Hindu Funan Civilization, which housed a multiethnic conglomeration of Austronesian and Austroasiatic peoples together with Indian (South Asian) administrators, subsisted in Mainland Southeast Asia on what is now Cambodia, was described by Chinese and Arabic sources, to have the same religion and customs as the kingdoms in Sarawak. Upon Cambodian (Khmer) conquest of Funan, its people fled to Sarawak where its royal family the Sailendra dynasty set up new kingdoms using refugees from Funan.
Archeological excavations in Santubong showed that the site was an important trading port from the 7th century to the 14th century. Among the artifacts that were found were Chinese ceramics, iron slag (weighing around 40,000 tonnes), and artifacts of the Hindu religion. According to the historical work Hikayat Datuk Merpati published in 1939, Datuk Merpati and his relatives hailed from the Jawa island. They helped other two people named Datuk Kuli and Datuk Kuali who were stranded at Tanjung Datu in Sarawak. Both Datuk Kuli and Kuali invited Datuk Merpati to move to the Sarawak River and started the Santubong kingdom. The son of Datuk Merpati, Merpati Jepang continued his rule in the Santubong area. By 1350, Majapahit started to expand its power base to Borneo. Trading at Santubong port was halted, as evidenced by the absence of Chinese Ming dynasty pottery in the area. The name of Santubong was later changed to Sawaku (Sarawak) as recorded in the Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama.
The people of Santubong would have migrated inland into Gedong/Sadong areas within the Saramahan Division. Silsilah Raja-raja Brunei mentioned the state of Samarahan which is sometimes known as Sadong. The place name Samadong recorded in the Java manuscript Nagarakretagama possibly refer to the state of Sadong. In the 1850s, James Brooke and Spenser St. John found a female doll and a stone bull in this area which were used in Hinduism worship. Archeological excavations at Sadong River revealed Chinese ceramic wares dating back to the 14th to 15th centuries. A total of 79,654 ceramic pieces, beads, coins, and gold were found at Gedong, located 7 miles inland of Santubong. A further 15 miles inland of Gedong is Bukit Sandong where 30,000 ceramic pieces were found which date back to those pottery pieces found at Gedong and Santubong. The presence of Thai traditional ceramic ware Sangkhalok ceramic ware at Bukit Sandong dates back the area to 16th to 17th centuries. The presence of large quantities of ceramic wares shows that trading could have happened further inland from Santubong. Lucas Chin, the former director of Sarawak State Museum stated that if Gedong happens to be a political entity, it would have existed from the 7th to 13th century.
Located near Kalaka river valley was the state of Kalaka, located at 10 miles to the east of Santubong. Another state named Kabong was located at the mouth of Kalaka and Saribas rivers. Nagarakretagama recorded Kalaka as Kalka, colony of Majapahit. In Silsilah Raja-raja Brunei, Kalaka was said to have been awarded by the Johor sultanate to Bruneian empire. In Syair Tarsilah Cetera Dato' Gudam dan Temenggong Qadir Negeri Saribas, the state was said to be ruled by two sisters. Excavations in this area revealed 9,469 Chinese ceramic wares, including Sangkhalok ceramic wares and blue and white pottery, dating back to 16th to 17th centuries.
The Saribas kingdom, located near the Kelaka kingdom, was at the confluence of Saribas and Rimbas rivers. Silsilah raja-raja Brunei mentioned the name of Saribas. In Syair Tarsilah Cetera Abang Gudam dan Temenggong Qadir Negeri Saribas, a Bruneian dignitary named Pengiran Temenggong Abdul Qadir ran away from the Brunei capital because his daughter named Dang Chi; was taken by the Sultan of Brunei. Abdul Qadir later set up a capital at Tandang Sari on the bank of the Saribas River. He later met Dato' Gundam from Sumatera and persuaded Gundam to bring back his daughter. Dato' Gundam succeeded and Abdul Qadir's daughter was married to Dato' Gundam. Dato' Gundam later took over the administration of Saribas Kingdom. The administration was later inherited through Datu Patinggi, Datu Bandar, Aulaksamana, Datuk Imam and Datu Hakim administrative posts. However, Negarakertagama did not mention the name Saribas. This could be due to the kingdom was only established in the early or mid 17th century.
The Melano kingdom existed from about 1300 to 1400 AD and centred at the Mukah river. Rajah Tugau is a memorable King in Sarawak as he is mentioned in both Bruneian and Filipino (Madja-as) sources. His kingdom consisted of groups of similar Melanau and Kajang language speakers and covered coastal Sarawak until Belait. They also share almost identical culture and heritage. Nagarakertagama, written in 1365 during Hayam Wuruk, mentions Malano and Barune(ng) among the 14 tributaries of Majapahit. After the fall of Majapahit, Barune(ng) expanded its territory along the northern coast of Borneo island.Brunei Rediscovered: A Survey of Early Times By Robert Nicholl p. 35 citing Ferrand. Relations, page 564-65. Tibbets, Arabic Texts, pg 47. According to the manuscript of Brunei's rulers, following the fall of Majapahit, Barunai led by Awang Semaun being reinforced by the Iban, conquered Tutong under its chief Mawanga and the whole of the Melano kingdom until Igan under its chief Basiung despite reinforcement from Sambas. Barunai continued the conquest of the entire south and then north of Borneo Island, after which conquered the whole Sulu and Philippines.
By 1530, the Santubong area was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava, one of the five great seaports on the island of Borneo. European maps in the 16th and 17th centuries named the Santubong area as Cereua (1537), Cereuwa (1550), Melano as Belanos, Sadong as Sedang, Kalaka as Calca and Bintulu as River de Berulu. In the 17th century, Samuel Blommaert, a Dutch merchant mentioned that "Sadong were one of the best place for trade comparable to Lauwe (Lawai)". A Dutch report in 1609 mentioned a rebellion against the Bruneian sultanate by the tribes living in Calca, Saribas, and Melano to politically align themselves with the Johor sultanate. John Hunt, an English officer mentioned Kalaka as an important trading port in the region in 1812.
The Catalan Atlas published in 1375 shows the map of the Malano kingdom. This was confirmed by a Portuguese map which shows the existence of a polity called Malano. At Florence, Italy, an old map dated 1595 shows the Sarawak coastal areas as districts of Oya, Balingian dan Mukah which was marked as Malano. In the Nan-hai-chih of China mentioned Achen atau Igan. According to Historian Robert Nicholl, Rajah Tugau of the Melanao was the Rajah Makatunao mentioned in the Philippine History book of Maragtas to which the 10 Datus of the Kedatuan of Madja-as in Panay Island, at the Visayas region, waged a war against, it is through the Melano that Visayans have further links with the Srivijayans in Vijayapura (The Srivijayan vassal-state in Borneo) before the conquest of Majapahit.
Bruneian Empire and the Sultanate of Sarawak
During its golden age, Brunei under the leadership of Nahkhod Raga Sultan Bolkiah (1473-1521 AD) managed to conquer the Santubong Kingdom in 1512.