ABSTRACT
The history of Sarawak since it came under the rule of “Rajah Brooke” has always had an attraction for persons interested in new lands overseas, albeit much of the information about this romantic land has been unreliable and at times libellous. The Crown Colony of Sarawak is roughly 50,000 square miles in extent. For some years before his uncle’s death Charles Brooke had worked in Sarawak, originally coming there as a midshipman in the Royal Navy. It is true to say that whereas James Brooke had prepared the way for the task of administering and organising the country, Charles Brooke was the man who did the actual work. James Brooke had been seriously wounded in the Burma campaign of 1825. The suggestion that Sarawak should be ceded to the Crown was made over a hundred years ago – and other schemes, such as incorporating the State with British Borneo and Labuan, and so on, had been discussed for many years.
