Paragraph: (History-Anthropology/oanc-HistoryMalaysia-8.txt)
Sent 1: The White Rajahs of Borneo: In the 19th century, Borneo remained relatively undeveloped.
Sent 2: Balanini pirates, fervent Muslims, disputed the coast of northeastern Borneo (modern Sabah) with the sultanate of Brunei.
Sent 3: Sarawak's coast and jungle interior were controlled by the Iban — Sea Dayak pirates and Land Dayak slash-and-burn farmers.
Sent 4: (The Dayaks practiced head-hunting, a ritual that was believed to bring spiritual energy to their communities.
Sent 5: ) The region was unproductive and without great resources, except for the Sarawak river valley, where the Chinese mined for gold and antimony.
Sent 6: Brunei chiefs traded the metals through Americans in Singapore.
Sent 7: In 1839, the governor of Singapore sent James Brooke (1803–1868) to promote trade links with the Sultan of Brunei.
Sent 8: He had been an audacious cavalry officer in the Anglo-Burmese wars and now exploited the situation for his own benefit.
Sent 9: In exchange for helping the regent end a revolt of uppity Malay chiefs, Brooke was made Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, with his capital in Kuching (founded by the Malays just 11 years earlier).
Sent 10: He tried to halt the Dayaks' piracy and head-hunting while defending their more "morally acceptable" customs.
Sent 11: His attempts to limit the opium trade met with resistance by the Chinese in Bau, who revolted.
Sent 12: His counter-attack with Dayak warriors drove the Chinese out of Bau and across the Sarawak border.
Sent 13: Thereafter, Chinese settlement was discouraged and did not achieve the commercial dominance it enjoyed on the peninsula.
Sent 14: In 1863, Brooke retired to Britain, handing Sarawak over to his nephew Charles.
Sent 15: More reserved and remote but a better administrator and financier than his uncle, Charles Brooke imposed on his men his own austere, efficient style of life.
Sent 16: He brought Dayak leaders onto his ruling council but favored the time-honored colonial practice of divide-and-rule by pitting one tribe against another to keep the peace.
Sent 17: Northeast Borneo (Sabah) was "rented" from the Sultan of Brunei by British businessman Alfred Dent.
Sent 18: Dent was operating a royal charter for the British North Borneo Company — a charter similar to that of the EIC.