Military of historic Sarawak
Sketch Map of Sarawak in 1908
Active	1599–1946
Disbanded	1946
Country	Sultanate of Sarawak Province of Santubong Province of Lidah Tanah Province of Kuching Kingdom of Sarawak
Allegiance	Sultan Tengah House of Bolkiah Datu Patinggi Ali House of Digadong House of Brooke
Type	army
Role	Military force (until 1946)
Size	Varies
Mottos	Kingdom of Sarawak Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe, I hope)
Colours	Yellow
Equipment	Many primarilyParang
Engagements	Sultanate of Sarawak: Dutch invasion of Matan (likely) Sarawakian provinces: Local rebellions Tribal feuds Pacification of Lanun Sarawak Uprising of 1836 Kingdom of Sarawak: Anglo-Bruneian War World War II
Commanders
Main Commander	Sultan of Sarawak (until 1641) Datu Patinggi of Sarawak (until 1854) House of Digadong (until 1828) Brunei Pengirans (from 1827) White Rajah of Sarawak
Provincial Rulers	Local chiefs
Notable commanders	Sultan Tengah Datu Patinggi Ali James Brooke Datu Patinggi Abdul Gapur Pengiran Muda Hashim

The term "Military of historic Sarawak" is a wide term to refer toSarawak between 1599 and 1946.

Sultan Tengah constructed a fortified palace in Sungai Bedil, modern dayKuching in 1599,^[1] turning the area into the royal, judicial and administrate capital of the kingdom.

Tengah also made large formal political unions amongst theMatan andSambas kingdoms^[2][3] and was likely involved with the Dutch invasion of Matan in 1622 as he departed to Matan by 1630,^[2] leaving by 1641^[4] where he was assassinated by one of his escorts.^[5][6]

After the death of Sultan Tengah, the Sultan took over and placed local chiefs to control the province similar to theOttomanMamlukbeys of Egypt. Which would be power checked by an hereditary "Datu Patinggi".^[7]

Antimony ore was discovered in Siniawan and Jambusan in 1823.^[8] TheBruneian sultan had appointed Ali as the governor of Sarawak in the 1820s.^[8] The Chinese mined antimony ore in Siniawan,^[9] while the Malays who resided in the Tonga Tanah used Bidayuh laborers. However, as soon asSultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II Brunei realized that antimony ore and gold had been discovered in theBau area, the Sultan named Pengiran Indera Mahkota as the new Governor of Sarawak in 1827,^[10][11] replacing Datu Patinggi Ali, allowing Brunei to take control of the antimony mines and commerce. The administrative center of Sarawak was relocated by Pengiran Indera Mahkota in 1826 from Lidah Tanah to Santubong and subsequently toKuching.^[12][13] It is said that he moved the administrative center to Kuching using the fear of pirates as justification. However, a deliberate measure was taken to lessen Ali's influence and authority. The full control of mining activities and antimony trade in Bau was made feasible by Pengiran Indera Mahkota when they seized power from Ali to govern Sarawak.^[14]

Mullen, a supporter of Ali, said thatBidayuh and Malays were made to work long hours in the antimony mine. Before Pengiran Indera Mahkota arrived, he had been in charge of them for a considerable time. When he saw the misery of his followers—who were compelled to labor at Pengiran Indera Mahkota's antimony mine—he was reportedly angered. The insistence of Pengiran Indera Mahkota that his followers pay extremely high taxes infuriated Ali even more. Additionally, because Pengiran Indera Mahkota controlled all commercial activity, they could not trade as freely as before.^[14]

However following ten years of hardship as aslave worker, Datu Patinggi Ali rallied his supporters from Siniawan to oppose Pengiran Indera Mahkota. They began to resist in 1836. Datu Bandar, Datu Amar, and Datu Temenggong helped Ali. Patinggi Ali, one of Datu's disciples, first constructeddefense fortifications in Siniawan, Lidah Tanah, and other locations—an additional location upstream Bau. They aimed to remove the Bruneian governor and liberate Sarawak from the Sultanate of Brunei's rule. In addition to setting up battle plans, he offered them encouragement and counsel. They put up a fierce fight with Pengiran Indera Makkota. They were still unable to vanquish Pengiran Indera Mahkota despite several battles. Similarly, Ali was defeated by Pengiran Indera Mahkota as well.^[14]

This conflict persisted and worsened in 1838 and into 1839. Ali received assistance, as theSambas Sultan had pledged.^[15] Additionally, there was material indicating that theDutch had prepared to assist the people of the Bau area in defeating the Pengiran Indera Mahkota.^[8] Pengiran Muda Hashim understood how tough it would be to overcome Ali's troops.James Brooke, an English traveler in Kuching at the time, was approached for assistance.^[16] Brooke and a few otherRoyalist crew members sailed up theSarawak River to Siniawan in 1840.^[17] The ship was outfitted with contemporary weaponry. There were several conflicts and occasionally discussions with Ali. At last, Brooke was said to have defeated his army at the Lidah Tanahcitadel with 600 part-time troops who were Iban, Malay, and Chinese.^[14]

The scarcity of food supplies at the time forced Ali's supporters to flee, and many of them—particularly the Bidayuh people—starved to death. The fact that Datu Patinggi Abdul Gapur and Datu Tumanggong Mersal fled toSambas and Datu Patinggi Ali sought safety inSarikei after Brooke put an end to the uprising demonstrated the Sultanate of Sambas' sympathy for the rebels.^[15] By late 1840, Datu Patinggi Ali had promised to terminate the conflict, but only if Pengiran Indera Mahkota and his family left Kuching. They were spared along with him and his supporters. The conflict with Pengiran Indera Mahkota ended with the aforesaid arrangement. In the end, he and his supporters were able to drive Pengiran Indera Mahkota and his family from Sarawak.^[14] At Belidah in December 1840, he submitted, knowing that Brooke would go on to rule an independent Sarawak, with the idea that Brooke would take over the role ofRaja and put an end to his oppression by theBrunei Pengirans.^[18]

In August 1845, Rear-AdmiralThomas Cochrane arrived at Brunei with a squadron of from six to eight ships to release twoLascar seamen who were believed to be hidden there.^[19][20] Badruddin accused Yusof of being involved in theslave trade due to his close relations with a notable pirate leader –Sharif Usman– in Marudu Bay and theSultanate of Sulu.^[19] Denying the allegation, Yusof refused to attend a meeting with Cochrane, and escaped after being threatened with force by Cochrane before regaining his own force in Brunei's capital. Cochrane then sailed away to Marudu Bay in pursuit of Usman, while Yusof was defeated by Badruddin.^[19][20] Hashim managed to establish a rightful position inBrunei Town to become the next sultan after successfully defeating the pirates led by Yusof who fled toKimanis in northern Borneo, where he was executed.^[21][22] Yusof was the favourite noble to the Sultan and with Hashim's victory, this upset the chances of the son of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II becoming the next leader.^[22][23] Mahkota, after his capture in Sarawak in 1844 became the Sultan's adviser in Yusof's absence. He prevailed on the Sultan to order the execution of Hashim,^[20] whose presence had become unwelcome to the royal family, especially due to his close ties with Brooke that were favourable to English policy.^[24] Beside that, an adventurer named Haji Saman, who was connected to Yusof, played upon the Sultan's fear of Hashim taking his throne.^[25]By the order of the Sultan, Hashim and his brother Badruddin together with their family were assassinated in 1846.^[20][24][26] One of Badruddin's slaves, Japar, survived the attack and interceptedHMS Hazard, which brought him to Sarawak to inform Brooke. Enraged by the news, Brooke organised an expedition to avenge Hashim's death with the aid of Cochrane from the Royal Navy withPhlegethon.^[25] On 6 July 1846, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II complained through a letter about the discourtesy of HMSHazard and invited Cochrane to ascend the capital of Brunei with two boats.

HEICSPhlegethon, HMSSpiteful andHMS Royalist then moved up to the river on 8 July where they were fired on from every position with slight damage.^[25] Mahkota and the Sultan retreated upriver while most of the population fled upon their arrival at Brunei's capital, leaving the brother of the Sultan's son, Pengiran Muhammad, who was badly wounded and PengiranMumin, an opponent of the Sultan's son who despised the decision of his royal family to be involved in conflict with the British.^[20][25] The British destroyed the town forts and invited the population to return with no harm to be done to them while the Sultan remained hiding in the jungle. Another expedition was sent to the interior but failed to find the Sultan. Brooke remained in Brunei with CaptainRodney Mundy andHMS Iris along with thePhlegethon and HMSHazard while the main expedition continued their mission to suppress piracy in northern Borneo.^[25]

Upon finding that Haji Saman was living in Membakut and that he was involved in the plotting that caused Hashim's death, HEICSPhlegethon and HMSIris departed there destroyed Haji Saman's house and captured the town of Membakut although Saman managed to escape.^[25] Brooke returned again to Brunei and finally managed to induce the Sultan to return to the capital where the Sultan wrote a letter of apology toQueen Victoria for the killings of Hashim, his brother and their family.^[27] Through his confession, the Sultan recognised Brooke's authority over Sarawak and mining rights throughout the territory without requiring him to pay any tribute as well granting the island ofLabuan to the British.^[27] Brooke departed Brunei and left Mumin in charge together with Mundy to keep the Sultan in line until the British government made a final decision to acquire the island. Following the ratification agreement of the transfer of Labuan to the British, the Sultan also agreed to allow British forces to suppress all piracy along the coast of Borneo.^[27]

Following World War I, theEmpire of Japan began to expand their range in Asia and the Pacific.^[28] Vyner became aware of the growing threats and began to institute reforms.^[29] Under the treaty of protection, Britain was responsible for Sarawak's defence^[30] but it could do little, most of its forces having been deployed to the war in Europe againstGermany and theKingdom of Italy. The defence of Sarawak depended on a single Indian infantry battalion –the 2/15Punjab Regiment– together with the local forces of Sarawak and Brunei.^[30] As Sarawak had a significant number of oil refineries inMiri andLutong, the British feared that these supplies would fall to Japanese control, and thus instructed the infantry to carry out ascorched earth policy.^[30][31]On 16 December 1941, aJapanese navydetachment onSagiri arrived at Miri fromCam Ranh Bay inFrench Indochina.^[31][32] The Japanese then launched an air attack onKuching on 19 December, bombing parts of the town's airfield while machine-gunning people in the streets.^[33] The attack created panic and sent residents fleeing to rural areas.^[34] The Dutch submarineHNLMS K XVI managed to bring down the Japanese from Miri but, with the arrival of theShirakumo together with other ships, the Japanese secured the town on 24 December.^[35] From 7 January 1942, Japanese troops in Sarawak crossed the border of Dutch Borneo and proceeded to neighbouringNorth Borneo. The 2/15 Punjab Regiment were forced to withdraw to Dutch Borneo and later surrendered on 9 March aftermost of the Allies had surrendered inJava.^[33] A steamship of Sarawak –theSS Vyner Brooke– was sunk while evacuating nurses and wounded servicemen in the aftermath of thefall of Singapore. Most of its surviving crew weremassacred onBangka Island.^[36]

Lacking air protection, Sarawak, together with rest of the island, fell to the Japanese and Vyner took sanctuary in Australia.^[37] Many of the British and Australian soldiers captured after thefall of Malaya and Singapore were brought to Borneo and held asprisoners of war inBatu Lintang camp in Sarawak andSandakan camp in North Borneo. The Japanese military authorities placed the southern part of Borneo under the navy, while itsarmy were responsible for management of the north.^[38] As part of theAllied Campaign to retake their possessions in the East, Allied forces were sent to Borneo in theBorneo Campaign and liberated the island. TheAustralian Imperial Force (AIF) played a significant role in the mission. The Allies'Z Special Unit provided intelligence gathering which facilitated the AIF landings. Most of the major towns of Sarawak were bombed during this period.^[34] The war ended on 15 August 1945 following theJapanese surrender and the administration of Sarawak was undertaken by theBritish Military Administration from September. Vyner returned to administer Sarawak but decided to cede it to the British government as aCrown colony on 1 July 1946 due to a lack of resources to finance reconstruction.^[39][40][41]

Sultan Tengah was accompanied by more than 1,000 soldiers from the Sakai,Kedayan, andBunut tribes, all of whom are from the Brunei, to Sarawak. A coterie of Bruneian nobility also followed him there.^[42][2] Sultan Tengah constructed a fortified palace inSungai Bedil,Santubong in 1599.^[1] Which would be used by both the succeeding provinces and the Raj of Sarawak in the future.

Sultan Tengah also had forty boats fully armed, when he departed from Sukadana in 1638. After he came back toSambas, he was later wounded by a Sakai with a brokenharpoon as he paused to relieve himself at Kampung Batu Buaya on his way back to Sarawak.^[43] He died soon after and was buried atSematan, Sarawak in 1641.^[44] Ending his reign.

The Army of Sarawak were a part of the wideAboriginal troops of theBruneian Army. The Bruneian Empire only had authority along the coastal regions of Sarawak held by semi-independentMalay leaders. Meanwhile, the interior of Sarawak suffered from tribal wars fought byIban,Kayan, andKenyah peoples, who aggressively fought to expand their territories.^[45] While the Bidayuh were oppressed by the Iban and Malays.^[46]

During theBrunei Pengiran era which started from 1827. In modern-dayBau District, they rebelled against the Brunei Pengirans in theSarawak Uprising of 1836, which ended until 1840 withDatu Pattingi Ali voluntarily surrender toJames Brooke.

Most interior tribes used themandau,^[47][48] however Malays used more way more various swords like theparang latok orpiso pedang.^[49] And since the interior tribes relied on melee, they had a high emphasis on shields such as thekliau.^[50][51] Though Malays and the interior tribes both also use spears.^[52]

Initially, both the interior and the coast mostly used thesumpit though the Malays preferred more Malay traditional weapons like bows and arrows.^[53] But with the arrival ofgunpowder weapons, such asIstinggar andmuskets in general, the interior and coastal groups responded differently,Bruneian Malays,Sarawakian Malays and groups who were under the influence of the Malays were quick to adopt guns thanks to merchants.^[54][55] While interior Sarawak also had them but had uneven distribution, mostly relying on traditional weapons which James Brooke took note of.^[52] However the interior groups didn't have a negative view of cannons as it was widespread.^[56]

At least 24 forts were built throughout Sarawak during the White Rajah period, which were primarily used as administrative centres and centres for defence.^[57]

The government worked to restore peace where piracy and tribal feuds had grown rampant and its success depended ultimately on the co-operation of the native village headmen, while the Native Officers acted as a bridge.^[58] TheSarawak Rangers was established in 1862 as apara-military force of the raj.^[59] The Sarawak rangers evolved from the fortmen which were raised to defendKuching in 1846.

The Raj of Sarawak military fought in thePacification of Lanun andAnglo-Bruneian War prior to World War II.

The Sarawak Rangers were first commanded by William Henry Rodway, from 1862 until 1870 where Major F.A. Walter, a retired officer from 97th foot, succeeded him.^[60] Rodway assumed control again on Sarawak Rangers from 1872 to his retirement in 1881, and were highly skilled injungle warfare and general policing duties, being equipped with various western rifles such asMartini Henry, cannons and native weaponry.

They were based in a number of forts constructed at strategic locations in towns and at river mouths. Aside from protectingSarawak's borders, they were used to fight any rebels and were engaged in a number of campaigns during their history. In times of emergency or war, they could depend on the support of the local population and tribespeople.

the Sarawak Rangers were disbanded for a few years until 1932,^[61] only to be reformed as Sarawak Constabulary and mobilised for the Second World War with 900 members mainly comprisingDayaks andMalays^[62] in which they attempted to defend Sarawak fromJapanese invasion in 1942 at the start of thePacific War. After the abdication ofCharles Vyner Brooke in 1946 and the creation of theCrown Colony of Sarawak, the Sarawak Rangers became a colonial unit under direct British control and saw action in both theMalayan Emergency and theBorneo Confrontation.^[63][64]

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