History of Brunei

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Part of a series on the
History of Brunei
Pre-Sultanate
Old Brunei 1368 to 1888
House of Bolkiah (15th century – present)
Sultanate of Sulu 1405 to 1578 Rajahnate of Maynila 1500s to 1571 Tondo 1500s to 1571 Bruneian-Tundun War 1500 Castilian War 1578 Civil War 1660–1673 Sarawak 15th century to 1841 Labuan 15th century to 1846 Sabah (north Borneo) 15th century to 1865 British protected state 1888–1984 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 Borneo campaign 1945 British Military Administration 1945–1946 Revolt 1962
Timeline Sultans
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The history of Brunei concerns the settlements and societies located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, which has been under the influence of Indianised kingdoms and empires for much of its history. Local scholars assume that the Islamisation of Brunei started in the fifteenth century with the formation of the Bruneian Empire, a thalassocracy that covered the northern part of Borneo and the southern Philippines.^[1] At the end of the 17th century, Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by Brunei Civil War, piracy, and European colonial expansion. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei lost Manila and evacuated its capital for a brief period until the Spanish withdrew. The empire lost much of its territory with the arrival of the Western powers, such as the Spanish in the Philippines and the British in Labuan, Sarawak, and North Borneo. The decline of the Bruneian Empire accelerated in the nineteenth century when Brunei gave much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin later appealed to the British to stop further annexation in 1888. In the same year, the British signed a "Treaty of Protection" and made Brunei a British protectorate until 1984 when it gained independence and prospered due to the discovery of oil.^[2][3]