Omar Ali Saifuddin II

Omar Ali Saifuddin II (Jawi: عمر علي سيف الدين٢; Malay: Omar Ali Saifuddin II ibni Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam I; 3 February 1799 – 18 November 1852[2]) was the 23rd Sultan of Brunei, then known as the Bruneian Empire. During his reign, Western powers such as Great Britain and the United States visited the country. His reign saw the British adventurer James Brooke becoming the White Rajah of Sarawak.

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Muhammad Jamalul Alam I is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Omar Ali Saifuddin II. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Omar Ali Saifuddin II
23rd Sultan of Brunei
Reign1828–1852
Coronation1830
PredecessorMuhammad Alam
SuccessorAbdul Momin
BornOmar Ali Saifuddin
(1799-02-03)3 February 1799
Brunei Town, Brunei
Died18 November 1852(1852-11-18) (aged 53)[1]
Brunei Town, Brunei
Burial
Kubah Makam Di Raja, Brunei Town, Brunei
SpouseTuan Zaidah
Pengiran Sandalam
IssueSultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin
Prince Muhammad Salleh I
Prince Muhammad Alam
Prince Abdul Momin
Prince Hashim
Queen Zubaidah
Princess Siti Mariam
Princess Saleha
Princess Siti Munggu
Princess Khadijah
Princess Pasah
Names
Omar Ali Saifuddin ibni Muhammad Jamalul Alam
Regnal name
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam I
FatherMuhammad Jamalul Alam I
MotherNor Alam
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life

When his father, Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam I, died in 1804, he was still a minor followed by a physical deformity of an extra thumb on his right hand.[3] Therefore, his grandfather, Paduka Seri Bega'wan Muhammad Tajuddin ascended the throne for the second time. Due to the advanced age of Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin, his younger brother, Pengiran Di-Gadong Pengiran Muda Muhammad Kanzul Alam acted as regent. When Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin died in 1807, the regent became the 21st Sultan of Brunei and was known as Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam. Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam then appointed his own son, Pengiran Anak Muhammad Alam as heir to the throne of Brunei.[4]

In 1825, when Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin had come of age, he asserted his claim to the throne. Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin was supported by most nobles as he was the rightful heir according to Brunei’s royal traditions. The Kris Si Naga was in the possession of his mother, thus strengthened his claim. To end the succession crisis, Sultan Muhammad Alam stepped down from the throne and was sentenced to death. In 1828, Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin ascended the throne as the 23rd Sultan of Brunei, taking the title Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II.[5]

Reign (1828-1852)

After his succession to the throne, he appointed his uncle Pengiran Muda Hashim as the Bendahara (Prime Minister) as a sign of compassion to heal their family relations after the Second Civil War. Hashim was also the late Sultan Muhammad Alam and Pengiran Noralam's brother.[6]

Control over Sarawak

During Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II’s reign, he tried to establish absolute control over Sarawak (present day Kuching). Before this, only the Pengirans who acted on behalf of the Sultan, were in charge in Kuching collecting taxes and revenues from the local people. Especially after the discovery of antimony ore in Sarawak, the Sultan became more ambitious in gaining control of the economy of Sarawak.[7] The Governor of Sarawak at that time, Pengiran Indera Mahkota Mohammad Salleh, also used forced labour to run the antimony mines. A disturbance occurred in Sarawak where an uprising against Brunei rule led by Datu Patinggi Ali, who was one of the ruling chiefs in Sarawak.[8] Due to the worsened situation in Sarawak, Pengiran Muda Hashim was ordered to restore order in the area.[9]

James Brooke

At the time of chaotic situation in Sarawak, a British explorer, James Brooke, came to Sarawak on his schooner Royalist looking for trade opportunities in 1839. Brooke came to Sarawak from Singapore as he had heard about Sarawak's economic potentials. Also, at this time, Brooke met Pengiran Muda Hashim, who was the uncle of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II, and the two became close friends. Pengiran Muda Hashim asked for Brooke's assistance to help him to suppress the disturbances in Sarawak, in return, Pengiran Muda Hashim ensured the appointment of Brooke as the new Governor of Sarawak, after the current Governor Raja Pengiran Indera Mahkota had been deposed.[10]

Muda Hashim later appointed James as the temporary governor in 1841 and in 1842, he sailed to Brunei to be given the title of Tuan Besar (Great Lord) and again appointed as the representative in charge of affairs in Old Sarawak by the Sultan.[10] After the disturbances in Sarawak successfully quelled, James Brooke met Pengiran Muda Hashim in Kuching to ensure his promises were kept. Pengiran Muda Hashim agreed to honour his promise. In 1842, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II confirmed the appointment of James Brooke as the Governor of Sarawak in a treaty. The treaty officially recognised James Brooke as the Raja of Sarawak and the Sultan had to cede Sarawak to James Brooke. The ceding of Kuching to Brooke marked the beginning of further cessation of territories to James Brooke and later, the British North Borneo Company.

Treaty of Labuan

In October 1843, Sultan offered the island of Labuan to Britain.[11] Notably on 6 April 1845, the relations between Brunei and the United States first began when the warship USS Constitution visited and anchored off Brunei Bay.[12] In July 1846, James Brooke and Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane together began a naval attack on Brunei Town and depose the Sultan. The Sultan pledged loyalty towards Queen Victoria after he was reinstated.[11]

That same year on 18 December, the Sultan reluctantly had to cede Labuan to the British under the Treaty of Labuan after threats of attack made by the Royal Navy.[13][14] In 1847, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Britain which provide them with full control over Brunei's trade,[15] and on 23 June 1850, he signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Commerce and Navigation with the United States.[13]

Later life and death

In the 1850's, Saifuddin's health began rapidly deteriorating. The Sultan chose to distance himself from ruling the state but he never abdicated the Throne. At the moment, his son-in-law Abdul Momin was appointed a regent.[16] Omar Ali Saifuddin II died in 1852 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Sultan Abdul Momin as the 24th Sultan of Brunei. He was buried at Kubah Makam Di Raja or the Bukit Penggal Royal Mausoleum, Bandar Seri Begawan.[17]

Ancestry

References
  1. "Singapore Free Press". 17 December 1852. p. 2.
  2. "Singapore Free Press". 17 December 1852. p. 2.
  3. Vienne, Marie-Sybille de (9 March 2015). Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century. NUS Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-9971-69-818-8.
  4. Gin, Ooi Keat (14 December 2015). Brunei - History, Islam, Society and Contemporary Issues. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-65997-6.
  5. Society, Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic (1885). Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 80.
  6. Tengah, Brahim; Mail, Asbol (16 October 2019). Politics of the Brunei Sultanate (1804-1906): Enduring the Storm to the Blessed Shores. Bandar Seri Begawan: Brunei Historical Society (PESEBAR). p. 27. ISBN 978-99917-961-7-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. "Sarawak Government Official Portal". www.ictu.tmp.sarawak.gov.my. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  8. "A portrait of Datu Patinggi Ali | Brooke Heritage Trust". www.brooketrust.org. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  9. Welman, Frans (9 March 2017). Borneo Trilogy Sarawak: Volume 2. Booksmango. p. 132. ISBN 978-616-245-089-1.
  10. Singh, D. S. Ranjit (26 November 2019). The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands: Historical Antecedents and the International Court of Justice Judgment. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. p. 30. ISBN 978-981-4843-64-5.
  11. Bowman, John (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. Columbia University Press. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-231-11004-4.
  12. "Timeline of the U.S.-Brunei Relationship". U.S. Embassy in Brunei Darussalam. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  13. "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Brunei". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  14. Gin, Ooi Keat; King, Victor T. (29 July 2022). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
  15. Kershaw, Roger (4 January 2002). Monarchy in South East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-66707-9.
  16. Sidhu, Jatswan S. (22 December 2009). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
  17. Brunei (1948). Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of Brunei. Printed at the Brunei Press. p. 90.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.