ABSTRACT
Sir James Brooke’s concern with indigenous interests and affairs, and his broader political ambitions, were also evident during his six-month sojourn in Sulawesi, most of which was spent among the Bugis, before he returned to Sarawak and became its raja. In order to understand the historical background and context of Brooke’s adventure, it is useful to begin by first outlining events that took place in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, which saw the English East India Company return to the archipelago. Brooke’s impression of the Bugis as great traders, sailors, and adventurers was typical of many Europeans at the time and derived mainly from encounters with them outside their homeland of Sulawesi. Brooke was never afforded such an opportunity in his next destination, Sulawesi, where he tells us that he intended to learn more about local politics, the extent of Dutch influence, and survey the island’s coasts.
