Brooke, Sir James

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Brooke, Sir James (1803–68). Brooke, ‘the White Raja of Sarawak’, was born at Benares, educated in England, and recruited to the Madras army in 1819. Wounded in the first Burmese war (1824–6), he resigned his commission in 1830. Inheriting a fortune five years later, he became an explorer in south-east Asia. In 1841, while recuperating at Singapore, he heard that his friend, the raja of Sarawak, was facing a major rebellion but that no official relief expedition was planned. He rushed to the raja's aid and helped to crush the rebellion. As a reward, and after the death of the raja, he was offered the rajadom by its overlord, the sultan of Brunei. He accepted and established a dynasty. He cleared the region of pirates and established the Borneo Company to promote development. He was recognized by the USA as the ruler of an independent state in 1850; and by the British in 1864.

David Anthony Washbrook

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