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BORNEO

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 262 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BORNEO , a See also:

great See also:island of the See also:Malay See also:Archipelago, extending from 7° N. to 40 20' S., and from lo8° 53' to 119° 22' E. It is 83o m. See also:long from N.E. to S.W., by 600 m. in maximum breadth. Its See also:area according to the calculations of the Topographical See also:Bureau of See also:Batavia (1894) comprises 293,496 sq. m. These figures are admittedly approximate, and See also:Meyer, who is generally accurate, gives the area of Borneo at 289,86o sq. m. It is roughly, however, five times as large as See also:England and See also:Wales. Politically Borneo is divided into four portions: (1) See also:British See also:North Borneo, the territory exploited and administered by the Chartered British North Borneo See also:Company, to which a See also:separate See also:section of this See also:article is devoted; (2) See also:Brunei (q.v.), a Malayan sultanate under British See also:protection; (3) See also:Sarawak (q.v.), the large territory ruled by See also:raja See also:Brooke, and under British protection in so far as its See also:foreign relations are concerned; and (4) Dutch Borneo, which comprises the See also:remainder and by far the largest and most valuable portion of the island. See also:Physical Features.—The See also:general See also:character of the See also:country is mountainous, though none of the ranges attains to any great See also:elevation, and Kinabalu, the highest See also:peak in the island, which is situated near its north-western extremity, is only 13,698 ft. above See also:sea-level. There is no proper See also:nucleus of mountains whence chains ramify in different directions. The central and See also:west central parts of the island, however, are occupied by three See also:mountain chains and a See also:plateau. These chains are: (1) the folded See also:chain of the upper Kapuas, which divides the western See also:division of Dutch Borneo from Sarawak, extends west to See also:east, and attains near the See also:sources of the Kapuas See also:river a height of 5000 to 6000 ft.; (2) the Schwaner chain, See also:south of the Kapuas, whose summitsrange from 3000 to 7500 ft., the latter being the height of Bukit Raja, a plateau which divides the See also:waters of the Kapuas from the See also:rivers of See also:southern Borneo; and (3) the See also:Muller chain, between the eastern parts of the See also:Madi plateau (presently to be mentioned) and the Kapuas chain, a volcanic region presenting heights, such as Bukit Terata (4700 ft.), which were once active but are now long See also:extinct volcanos. The Madi plateau lies between the Kapuas and the Schwaner chains. Its height is from 3000 to 4000 ft., and it is clothed with tropical high See also:fens.

These mountain systems are homologous in structure with those, not of See also:

Celebes or of See also:Halmahera, but of Malacca, See also:Banka and See also:Billiton. From the eastern end of the Kapuas mountains there are further to be observed: (I) A chain See also:running north-north-east, which forms the boundary between Sarawak and Dutch Borneo, the highest peak of which, Gunong Tebang, approaches Io,000 ft. This chain'can hardly be said to extend continuously to the extreme north of the island, but it carries on the See also:line of elevation towards the mountains of Sarawak to the west, and those of British North Borneo to the north, of which latter Kinabalu is the most remarkable. The mountains of North Borneo are more particularly referred to in the portion of this article which deals with that territory. (2) A chain which runs eastward from the central mountains and terminates in the great promontory of the east See also:coast, known variously as Cape Kanior or Kaniungan. (3) A well-marked chain running in a south-easterly direction among the congeries of hills that extend south-eastward from the central mountains, and attaining, near the southern See also:part of the east coast, heights up to and exceeding 6000 ft. Coasts.—Resting on a submarine plateau of no great See also:depth, the coasts of Borneo are for the most part rimmed See also:round by See also:low alluvial lands, of a marshy, sandy and sometimes swampy character. In places the sands are fringed by long lines of See also:Casuarina trees; in others, and more especially in the See also:neighbour-See also:hood of some of the river mouths, there are deep See also:banks of See also:black mud covered with mangroves; in others the coast presents to the sea bold headlands, cliffs, mostly of a reddish See also:hue, sparsely clad with greenery, or See also:rolling hills covered by a growth of See also:rank grass. The depth of the sea around the See also:shore rarely exceeds a maximum depth of 1 to 3 fathoms, and the coast as a whole offers few accessible ports. The towns and seaports are to be found as a See also:rule at or near the mouths of those rivers which are not barricaded too efficiently by bars formed of mud or See also:sand. All round the long coast-line of Dutch Borneo there are only seven ports of See also:call, which are habitually made use of by the See also:ships of the Dutch Packet Company. They are Pontianak, See also:Banjermasin, Kota Bharu, Pasir, Samarinda, Beru and Bulungan.

The islands off the coast are not numerous. Excluding some of alluvial formation at the mouths of many of the rivers, and others along the shore which owe their existence to volcanic upheaval, the See also:

principal islands are Banguey and Balambangan at the See also:northern extremity, See also:Labuan (q.v.), a British See also:colony off the west coast of the territory of North Borneo, and the Karimata Islands off the south-west coast. On Great Karimata is situated the See also:village of Palembang with a See also:population of about 500 souls employed in fishing, See also:mining for See also:iron, and trading in See also:forest produce. Rivers.—The rivers See also:play a very important part in the See also:economy of Borneo, both as highways and as lines along which run the See also:main See also:arteries of population. Hydrographically the island may be divided into five principal versants. Of these the shortest embraces the north-western slope, north of the Kapuas range, and discharges its waters into the See also:China Sea. The most important of its rivers are the Sarawak, the Batang-Lupar, the Sarebas, the Rejang (navigable for more than See also:loo m.), the Baram, theLimbang or Brunei river, and the Padas. The rivers of British North Borneo to the north of the Padas are of no importance and of scant See also:practical utility, owing to the fact that the mountain range here approaches very closely to the coast with which it runs parallel. In the south-western versant the largest river is the Kapuas, which, rising near the centre of the island, falls into the sea between Mampawa and Sukadana after a long and winding course. This river, of See also:volume varying with the See also:tide and the amount of rainfall, is normally navigable by small steamers and native prahus, of a See also:draught of 4 to 5 ft., for 300 to 400 m., that is to say, from Pontianak up to Sintang, and thence as far as Benut. The See also:middle part of this river, wider and more shallow than the See also:lower reaches, gives rise to a region of inundation and lakes which extend as far as the northern mountain chain. Among its considerable tributaries may be mentioned the southern Melawi with its affluent the Penuh.

It reaches the sea through several channels in a wide marshy See also:

delta. The Sambas, north of the Kapuas, is navigable in its lower course for vessels See also:drawing 25 ft. Rivers lying to the south of the Kapuas, but of less importance in the way of See also:size, See also:commerce and See also:navigation, are the Simpang, Pawan and Kandawangan, in the neighbourhood of whose mouths, or upon the adjacent coast, the principal native villages are situated in each See also:case. The Barito, which is the principal river of the southern versant, takes its rise in the Kuti Lama See also:Lake, and IV. 6falls into the See also:Java Sea in 114° 30' E. Its upper reaches are greatly impeded by rocks, rapids and waterfalls, but the lower part of its course is wide, and traverses a See also:rich, alluvial See also:district, much of which is marshy. See also:Cross branches unite it with two rivers of considerable size towards the west, the Kapuas Murung or Little Dyak, and the Kahayan or Great Dyak. The Katingan or Mendawei, the Sampit, Pembuang or Surian and the Kota Waringin are rivers that fall into the sea farther to the west. The rivers of the southern versant are waters of capacious drainage, the See also:basin of the Kahayan having, for instance, an area of 16,000 sq. m., and the Barito one of 38,000 sq. m. These rivers are navigable for two-thirds of their course by steamers of a See also:fair size, but in many cases the bars at their mouths See also:present considerable difficulties to ships drawing anything over 8 or 9 ft. Most of the larger affiuents of the Barito are also navigable throughout the II greater part of their courses. The south-eastern like the north-western corner of the island is watered by a considerable number of See also:short mountain streams.

The one great river of the eastern versant is the Kutei or Mahakan, which, rising in the central mountains, flows east with a sinuous course and falls by numerous mouths into the Straits of See also:

Macassar. At a great distance from its mouth it has still a depth of three fathoms, and in all its physical features it is comparable to the Kapuas and Barito. The Kayan or Bulungan river is the only other in the eastern versant that calls for mention. Most of the rivers of the northern versant are comparatively small, as the island narrows into a See also:kind of promontory. Of these the Kinabatangan in the territory of British North Borneo is the most important. Lakes are neither numerous nor very large. In most cases they are more fittingly described as swamps. In the See also:flood area of the upper Kapuas, of which mention has already been made, there occurs Lake Luar, and there are several lake expanses of a similar character in the basins of the Barito and Kutei rivers. The only really See also:fine natural See also:harbour in the island of which any use has been made is that of Sandakan, the principal See also:settlement of the North Borneo Company on the north coast. See also:Geology.—The geology of Borneo is very imperfectly known The mountain range which lies between Sarawak and the Dutch possessions, and may be looked upon as the backbone of the island, consists chiefly of crystalline See also:schists, together with slates, sandstones and limestones. All these beds are much disturbed and folded. The sedimentary deposits were formerly believed to be Palaeozoic, but See also:Jurassic fossils have since been found in them, and it is probable that several different formations are represented.

Somewhat similar rocks appear to See also:

form the See also:axis of the range in south-east Borneo, and possibly of the Tampatung Mountains. But the Muller range, the Madi plateau, and the Schwaner Mountains of west Borneo, consist chiefly of almost undisturbed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of See also:Tertiary See also:age. The low-lying country between the mountain ranges is covered for the most part by Tertiary and See also:Quaternary deposits, but Cretaceous beds occur at several localities. Some of the older rocks of the mountain regions have been referred to the Devonian, but the See also:evidence cannot be considered conclusive. Vertebraria and Phyllotheca, See also:plants characteristic of the See also:Indian See also:Gondwana See also:series, have been recorded in Sarawak; and marine forms, similar to those of the lower part of the Australian Carboniferous See also:system, are stated to occur, in the See also:limestone of north Borneo. Pseudomonotis salinaria, a Triassic form, has been noted from the schists of the west of Borneo. In the Kapoewas district radiolarian cherts supposed to be of Jurassic age are met with. Undoubted Jurassic fossils, belonging to several horizons, have been described from west Borneo and Sarawak. The Cretaceous beds, which have long been known in west Borneo, are comparatively little disturbed. They consist for the most part of marls with Orbitolina concava, and are referred to the Cenomanian. Cretaceous beds of somewhat later date are found in the Marpapura district in south-east Borneo. The Tertiary system includes conglomerates, sandstones, limestones and marls, which appear to be of See also:Eocene, Oligocene and See also:Miocene age.

They contain numerous seams of See also:

coal. The Tertiary beds generally See also:lie nearly See also:horizontal and form the lower hills, but in the Madi plateau and the Schwaner range they rise to a height of several thousand feet. Volcanic rocks of Tertiary and See also:late Cretaceous age are extensively See also:developed, especially in the Muller Mountains. The whole of this consists of tuffs and lavas, andesites prevailing in the west and rhyolites and dacites in the east. Minerals.—The See also:mineral See also:wealth of Borneo is great and varied. It includes diamonds, the See also:majority of which, however, are of a somewhat yellow See also:colour, See also:gold, quicksilver, See also:cinnabar, See also:copper, iron, See also:tin, See also:antimony, mineral See also:oils, See also:sulphur, See also:rock-See also:salt, See also:marble and coal. The exploitation of the mines suffers in many cases from the difficulties and expense of transport, the high duties payable in Dutch Borneo to the native princes, the competition among the See also:rival companies, and often the limited quantities of the' minerals found in the mines. The districts of Sambas and Landak in the west, the Kahayan river, the mountain valleys of the extreme south-east and parts of Sarawak furnish the largest quantities of gold, which is obtained for the most part from alluvial washings. The Borneo Company is engaged in working gold-mines in the upper part of the Sarawak valley, and the prospects of the enterprise, which is conducted on a fairly extensive See also:scale, are known to be encouraging. Diamonds are also found widely distributed and mainly in the same regions as the gold. The Kapuas valley has so far yielded the largest quantity, and Pontianak is, for diamonds, the principal See also:port of export. Considerable progress has been made in the development of the oil-See also:fields in Dutch Borneo, and the Nederlandsch Indische Industrie en See also:Handel Maatschappij, the Dutch business of the See also:Shell Transport and Trading Company, increased its output from 123,592 tons in 1901 to 285,720 tons in 1904, and showed further satisfactory increase thereafter.

This company owns extensive oil-fields at Batik Papan and Sanga-Sanga. The quality of the oil varies in a remarkable way according to the depth. The upper stratum is struck at a depth of 600 to 700 ft., and yields a natural liquid See also:

fuel of heavy specific gravity. The next source is met with at about 1200 ft., yielding an oil which is much lighter in See also:weight and, as such, more suitable for treatment in the refinery. The former oil is almost invariably of an asphalte basis, whereas the latter sometimes is found to contain a considerable percentage of See also:paraffin See also:wax. The See also:average daily See also:production is very high, owing to a large number of the See also:wells flowing under the natural pressure of the See also:gas. There is every See also:reason to believe that the oil-fields of Dutch Borneo have a great future. Coal mines have, in many instances, been opened and abandoned, failure being due to the difficulty of production. Coal of See also:good quality has been found in Pengaron and elsewhere in the Banjermasin district, but most Borneo coal is considerably below this average of excellence. It has also been found in fair quantities at various places in the Kutci valley and in Sarawak. The coal-mines of Labuan have been worked spasmodically, but success has never attended the venture. Sadohg yields something under 130 tons a See also:day, and the Brooketown mine, the See also:property of the raja of Sarawak, yields some 50 tons a day of rather indifferent coal.

The See also:

discovery that Borneo produced antimony was made in 1825 by See also:John See also:Crawfurd, the orientalist, who learned in that See also:year that a quantity had been brought to See also:Singapore by a native trader as See also:ballast. The See also:supply is practically unlimited and widely distributed. The principal mine is at Bidi in Sarawak. See also:Climate and See also:Health.—As is to be anticipated, having regard to its insular position and to the fact that the See also:equator passes through the very middle of the island, the climate is at once hot and very See also:damp. In the hills and in the interior regions are found which may almost be described as temperate, but on the coasts the See also:atmosphere is dense, humid and oppressive. Throughout the average temperature is from 78° to 8o° F., but the thermometer rarely falls below 70°O, except in the hills, and occasionally on exceptional days mounts as high as 96° in the shade. The See also:rainy See also:westerly winds (S.W. and N.W.) prevail at all the meteorological stations, not the comparatively dry south-See also:cast See also:wind. Even at Banjermasin, near the south coast, the north-west wind brings annually a rainfall of 6o in., as against 33 in. of See also:rain carried by the south-east wind. The difference between the seasons is not rigidly marked. The climate is practically unchanging all the year round, the atmosphere being uniformly moist, and though days of continuous downpour are rare, comparatively few days pass without a shower. Most rain falls between See also:November and May, and at this See also:season the torrents are tremendous while they last, and squalls of wind are frequent and violent, almost invariably preceding a downpour. Over such an extensive area there,is, of course, great variety in the See also:climatic character of different districts, especially when viewed in relation to health.

Some places, such as Bidi in Sarawak, for instance, are notoriously unhealthy; but from the See also:

statistics of the Dutch See also:government, and the records of Sarawak and British North Borneo, it would appear that the See also:European in Borneo has in general not appreciably more to fear than his See also:fellow in Java, or in the Federated Malay States of the Malayan See also:Peninsula. Among the native races the prevailing diseases, apart from those of a malarial origin, are chiefly such as arise from See also:bad and in-sufficient See also:food, from intemperance, and from want of cleanliness. The See also:habit of allowing their See also:meat to putrefy before regarding it as See also:fit for food, and of encouraging See also:children of See also:tender age to drink to See also:intoxication, accounts for See also:absence of old folk and the heavy mortality which are to be observed among the Muruts of British North Borneo and some of the other more debased tribes of the interior of the island. See also:Scrofula and various forms of See also:lupus are See also:common among the natives throughout the country and especially in the interior; See also:elephantiasis is frequently met with on the coast. Smallpox, See also:dysentery and fevers, frequently of a bilious character, are endemic and occasionally epidemic. See also:Cholera breaks out from See also:time to time and See also:works great havoc, as was the case in 1903 when one of the raja of Sarawak's punitive expeditions was stricken while ascending the Limbang river by See also:boat, and lost many hundreds of its See also:numbers before the coast could be regained. Ophthalmia is common and sometimes will attack whole tribes. About one See also:sixth of the native population of the interior, and a smaller proportion of those living on the coast, suffer from a kind of See also:ringworm called kurap, which also prevails almost universally among the See also:Sakai and See also:Semang, the aboriginal See also:hill tribes of the Malayan Peninsula. The disease is believed to be aggravated by chronic See also:anaemia. See also:Consumption is not uncommon. See also:Fauna.—The fauna of Borneo comprises a large variety of See also:species, many of which are numerically of great importance. Among the quadrupeds the most remarkable is the orang-utan (Malay, orang titan, i.e. See also:jungle See also:man), as the huge See also:ape, called mias or mdyas by the natives, is named by Europeans.

Numerous species of See also:

monkey are found in Borneo, including the wahwah, a kind of See also:gibbon, a creature far more human in See also:appearance and habits than the orang-utan, and several Semnopitheci, such as the long-nosed ape and the See also:golden-black or chrysomelas. The large-eyed Stenops tardigradus also deserves mention. The larger beasts of See also:prey are not met with, and little check is therefore put on the natural fecundity of the graminivorous species. A small See also:panther and the clouded See also:tiger (so called)—Felis macroscelisare the largest animals of the See also:cat kind that occur in Borneo. The See also:Bengal tiger is not found. The Malay or See also:honey-See also:bear is very common. The See also:rhinoceros and the See also:elephant both occur in the northern part of the island, though both are somewhat rare, and in this connexion it should be noted that the See also:distribution of quadrupeds as between Borneo, See also:Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula is somewhat See also:peculiar and seemingly somewhat capricious. Many quadrupeds, such as the honey-bear and the rhinoceros, are common to all, but while the tiger is common both in the Malayan Peninsula and in Sumatra, it does not occur in Borneo; the elephant, so common in the peninsula, and found in Borneo, is unknown in Sumatra; and the orang-utan, so plentiful in parts of Borneo and parts of Sumatra, has never been discovered in the Malay Peninsula. It has been suggested, but with very scant measure of See also:probability, that the existence of elephants in Borneo, whose confinement to a single district is remarkable and unexplained, is due to importation; and the fact is on See also:record that when See also:Magellan's ships visited Brunei in 1522 tame elephants were in use at the See also:court of the See also:sultan of Brunei. See also:Wild oxen of the Sunda See also:race, not to be in any way See also:con-founded with the Malayan seladang or See also:gaur, are rare, but the whole country swarms with wild See also:swine, and the See also:babirusa, a See also:pig with curious See also:horn-like tusks, is not uncommon. Alligators are found in most of the rivers, and the gavial is less frequently met with. Three or four species of See also:deer are common, including the See also:mouse-deer, or plandok, an See also:animal of remarkable See also:grace and beauty, about the size of a See also:hare but considerably less heavy.

Phoenix-squares

Squirrels, flying-squirrels, porcupines, See also:

civet-See also:cats, rats, bats, flying-foxes and lizards are found in great variety; See also:snakes of various kinds, from the See also:boa-constrictor downward, are abundant, while the forests swarm with See also:tree-leeches, and the marshes with See also:horse-leeches and frogs. A remarkable flying-See also:frog was discovered by See also:Professor A. R. See also:Wallace. Birds are somewhat rare in some quarters. The most important are eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, owls, horn-bills, See also:cranes, pheasants (notably the See also:argus, See also:fire-back and See also:peacock-pheasants), partridges, ravens, crows, parrots, pigeons, woodpeckers, doves, See also:snipe, See also:quail and swallows. Of most of these birds several varieties are met with. The Cypselus esculentus, or edible-See also:nest See also:swift, is very common, and the nests, which are built mostly in limestone caves, are esteemed the best in the archipelago. Mosquitoes and sand-flies are the See also:chief See also:insect pests, and in some districts are very troublesome. Several kinds of parasitic jungle See also:ticks cause much annoyance to men and to beasts. There are also two kinds of ants, the semut dpi (" fire259 See also:ant ") and the semut Mda (" See also:pepper ant "), whose bites are peculiarly painful. Hornets, bees and wasps of many varieties abound.

The honey and the wax of the wild See also:

bee are collected by the natives. Butterflies and moths are remarkable for their number, size, variety and beauty. Beetles are no less numerously represented, as is to be expected in a country so richly wooded as Borneo. The swamps and rivers, as well as the surrounding seas, swarm with See also:fish. The siawan is a species of fish found in the rivers and valued for its spawn, which is salted. The natives are See also:expert and ingenious fishermen. Turtles, trepang and See also:pearl-shell are of some commercial importance. The See also:dog, the cat, the pig, the domestic See also:fowl (which is not very obviously related to the See also:bantam of the See also:woods), the See also:buffalo, a smaller breed than that met with in the Malayan Peninsula, and in some districts bullocks of the Brahmin breed and small horses, are the principal domestic animals. The character of the country and the nomadic habits of many of the natives of the interior, who rarely occupy their villages for more than a few years in See also:succession, have not proved favourable to See also:pastoral modes of See also:life. The buffaloes are used not only in See also:agriculture, but also as beasts of See also:burden, as draught-animals and for the See also:saddle. Horses, introduced by Europeans and owned only by the wealthier classes, are found in Banjermasin and in Sarawak. In British North Borneo, and especially in the district of Ternpasuk on the north-west coast, Borneo ponies, bred originally, it is supposed, from the stock which is indigenous to the Sulu archipelago, are common.

See also:

Flora.—The flora of Borneo is very rich, the greater portion of the See also:surface of the island being clothed in luxuriant vegetation. The See also:king of the forest is the tapan, which, rising to a great height without See also:fork or See also:branch, culminates in a splendid See also:dome of foliage. The See also:official seats of some of the chiefs are constructed from the See also:wood of this tree. Iron-wood, remarkable for the durability of its See also:timber, is abundant; it is used by the natives for the pillars of their homes and forms an article of export, chiefly to Hong-See also:Kong. It is rivalled in hardness by the kdyu tembesu. In all, about sixty kinds of timber of marketable quality are furnished in more or less profusion, but the difficulty of extraction, even in the regions situated in See also:close proximity to the large waterways, renders it improbable that the timber See also:trade of Borneo will attain to any very great dimensions until other and easier sources of supply have become exhausted. See also:Palm-trees are abundant in great variety, including the nipah, which is much used for thatching, the See also:cabbage, See also:fan, See also:sugar, coco and See also:sago palms. The last two furnish large supplies of food to the natives, some See also:copra is ex-ported, and sago factories, mostly in the hands of See also:Chinese, prepare sago for the Dutch and British markets. See also:Gutta-percha (ge'tah percha in the See also:vernacular), camphor, See also:cinnamon, See also:cloves, nutmegs, gambir and betel, or areca-nuts, are all produced in the island; most of the tropical fruits flourish, including the much-admired but, to the uninitiated, most evil-smelling See also:durian, a large See also:fruit with an exceedingly strong See also:outer covering composed of stout pyramidal spikes, which grows upon the branches of a tall tree and occasionally in falling inflicts considerable injuries upon passers-by. Yams, several kinds of sweet potatoes, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, pineapples, bananas and mangosteens are cultivated, as also are a large number of other fruits. See also:Rice is grown in irrigated lands near the rivers and in the swamps, and also in See also:rude clearings in the interior; sugar-See also:cane of See also:superior quality in Sambas and Montrado; See also:cotton, sometimes exported in small quantities, on the banks of the Negara, a tributary of the Barito; See also:tobacco, used very largely now in the production of cigars, in various parts of northern Borneo; and tobacco for native consumption, which is of small commercial importance, is cultivated in most parts of the island. See also:Indigo, See also:coffee and pepper have been cultivated since 1855 in the western division of Dutch Borneo.

Among the more beautiful of the flowering plants are rhododendrons, See also:

orchids and See also:pitcher-plants—the latter reaching. extraordinary development, especially in the northern districts about Kinabalu. Epiphytous plants are very common, many that are usually See also:independent assuming here the parasitic character; the Vanda lowii, for example, grows on the lower branches of trees, and its See also:strange pendent See also:flower-stalks often hang down so as almost to reach the ground. Ferns are abundant, but not so varied as in Java. Population.—The population of Borneo is not known with any approach to accuracy, but according to the See also:political divisions of the island it is estimated as follows: Dutch Borneo 1,130,000 British North Borneo 200,000 Sarawak 5oo,000 Brunei . 20,000 No effective See also:census of the population has ever been taken, and vast areas in Dutch Borneo and in British North Borneo remain unexplored, and See also:free from any practical authority or See also:control. In Sarawak, owing to the high administrative See also:genius of the first raja and his successor, the natives have been brought far more completely under control, but the raja has never found occasion to utilize the machinery of his government for the accurate enumeration of his subjects. Dutch Borneo is divided for administrative purposes into two divisions, the western and the south and eastern respectively. Of the two, the former is under the more See also:complete and effective control. The estimated population in the western division is 413,000 and in the south and eastern 717,000. Europeans number barely 1000; See also:Arabs about 3000, and Chinese, mainly in the western division,•over 40,000. In both divisions there is an average See also:density of little more than 1 to every 2 sq. m. The sparseness of the population throughout the Dutch territory is due to a variety of causes—to the physical character of the country, which for the most part restricts the area of population to the near neighbourhood of the rivers; to the low See also:standard of See also:civilization to which the majority of the natives have attained and the consequent disregard of sanitation and See also:hygiene; to See also:wars, piracy and See also:head-See also:hunting, the last of which has not even yet been effectually checked among some of the tribes of the interior; and to the aggression and oppressions in earlier times of Malayan, Arab and See also:Bugis settlers.

Among the natives, more especially of the interior, an innate restlessness which leads to a life of spasmodic nomadism, poverty, insufficient nourishment, an incredible improvidence which induces them to convert into intoxicating liquor a large portion of their See also:

annual crops, feasts of a semi-religious character which are invariably accompanied by prolonged drunken orgies, and certain superstitions which necessitate the frequent See also:procuration of See also:abortion, have contributed to check the growth of population. In Sambas, Montrado and some parts of Pontianak, the greater density of the population is due to the greater fertility of the See also:soil, the opening of mines, the navigation and trade plied on the larger rivers, and the concentration of the population at the junctions of rivers, the mouths of rivers and the seats of government. Of the chief See also:place in the western division, Pontianak has about 9000 inhabitants; Sambas about 8000; Montrado, Mampawa and Landak between 2000 and 4000 each; and in the south and eastern division there are Banjermasin with nearly 50,000 inhabitants; Marabahan, Amuntai, Negara, Samarinda and Tengarung with populations of from 5000 to 10,000 inhabitants each. In Amuntai and Martapura See also:early See also:Hindu colonization, of which the traces and the See also:influence still are See also:manifest, the fertile soil, trade and See also:industry aided by navigable rivers, have co-operated towards the growth of population to a degree which presents a marked contrast to the conditions in the interior parts of the Upper Barito and of the more westerly rivers. Only a very small proportion of the Europeans in Dutch Borneo live by agriculture and industry, the great majority of them being officials. The Arabs and Chinese are engaged in trading, mining, fishing and agriculture. Of the natives fully 90 % live by agriculture, which, however, is for the most part of a somewhat See also:primitive description. The See also:industries of the natives are confined to such crafts as See also:spinning and See also:weaving and See also:dyeing, the manufacture of iron weapons and implements, boat- and See also:shipbuilding, &c. More particularly in the south-eastern division, and especially in the districts of Negara, Banjermasin, Amuntai and Martapura, shipbuilding, iron-See also:forging, gold- and silversmith's See also:work, and the polishing ofdiamonds, are industries of high development in the larger centres of population. Races.—The peoples of Borneo belong to a considerable variety of races, of different origin and degrees of civilization. The most important numerically are the See also:Dyaks, the Dusuns and Muruts of the interior, the See also:Malays, among whom must be counted such Malayan tribes as the Bajaus, Ilanuns, &c., the Bugis, who were originally immigrants from Celebes, and the Chinese. The Dutch, and to a See also:minor extent the Arabs, are of importance on See also:account of their political influence in Dutch Borneo, while the British communities have a similar importance in Sarawak and in British North Borneo.

Accounts of the Malays, Dyaks and Bugis are given under their several headings, and some See also:

information concerning the Dusuns and Muruts will be found in the section below, which deals with British North Borneo. The connexion of the Chinese with Borneo calls for See also:notice here. They seem to have been the first civilized See also:people who had dealings with Borneo, if the colonization of a portion of the south-eastern corner of the island by See also:Hindus be excepted. The Chinese See also:annals speak of See also:tribute paid to the See also:empire by Pha-la on the north-east coast of the island as early as the 7th See also:century, and later documents mention a Chinese colonization in the 15th century. The traditions of the Malays and Dyaks seem to con-See also:firm the statements, and many of the leading families of Brunei in north-west Borneo claim to have Chinese See also:blood in their See also:veins, while the annals of Sulu record an extensive Chinese See also:immigration about 1575. However this may be, it is certain that the flourishing See also:condition of Borneo in the 16th and 17th centuries was largely due to the See also:energy of Chinese settlers and to trade with China. In the 18th century there was a consider-able Chinese population settled in Brunei, engaged for the most part in planting and exporting pepper, but the consistent oppression of the native rajas destroyed their industry and led eventually to the practical extirpation of the Chinese. The Malay chiefs of other districts encouraged immigration from China with a view to developing the mineral resources of their territories, and before long Chinese settlers were to be found in considerable numbers in Sambas, Montrado, Pontianak and else-where. They were at first forbidden to engage in commerce or agriculture, to carry firearms, to possess or manufacture See also:gun-See also:powder. About 1779 the Dutch acquired immediate authority over all strangers, and thus assumed responsibility for the control of the Chinese, who presently proved themselves some-what troublesome. Their numbers constantly increased and were reinforced by new immigrants, and pushing inland in See also:search of fresh mineral-bearing areas, they contracted frequent inter-marriages with the Dyaks and other non-See also:Mahommedan natives. They brought with them from China their aptitude for the organization of See also:secret See also:societies which, almost from the first, assumed the See also:guise of political associations.

These secret societies furnished them with a machinery whereby collective See also:

action was rendered easy, and under astute leaders they offered a formidable opposition to the Dutch government. Later, when driven into the interior and eventually out of Dutch territory, they cost the first raja of Sarawak some severe contests before they were at last reduced to obedience. Serious disturbances among the Chinese are now in Borneo matters of See also:ancient See also:history, and to-day the Chinaman forms perhaps the most valuable See also:element in the civilization and development of the island, just as does his fellow in the mining states of the Malayan Peninsula. They are industrious, frugal and intelligent;' the richer among them are excellent men of business and are peculiarly equitable in their dealings; the majority of all classes can read and write their own script, and the second See also:generation acquires an See also:education of an European type with great facility. The bulk of the See also:shop-keeping, trading and mining industries, so long as the mining is of an alluvial character, is in Chinese hands. The greater part of the Chinese on the west coast are originally See also:drawn from the boundaries of Kwang-tung and Kwang-si. They are called Kehs by the Malays, and are of the same tribes as those which furnish the bulk of the workers to the tin mines of the Malay Peninsula. They are a rough and See also:hardy people, and are See also:apt at times to be turbulent. The shopkeeping class comes mostly from Fuh-kien and the coast districts of See also:Amoy. They are known to the Borneans as O11ohs. History.—As far as is known, Borneo never formed a political unity, and even its See also:geographical unity as an island is a fact unappreciated by the vast majority of its native inhabitants. The name of Kalamantan has been given by some Europeans (on what See also:original authority it is not possible now to ascertain) as the native name for the island of Borneo considered as a whole; but it is safe to aver that among the natives of the island itself Borneo has never See also:borne any general designation.

To this day, among the natives of the Malayan Archipelago, men speak of going to Pontianak, to Sambas or to Brunei, as the case may be, but make use of no See also:

term which recognizes that these localities are part of a single whole. The only archaeological remains are a few Hindu temples, and it is probable that the early settlement of the south-eastern portion of the island by Hindus See also:dates from some time during the first six centuries of our era. There exist, however, no data, not even any trustworthy tradition, from which to reconstruct the early history of Borneo. Borneo began to be known to Europeans after the fall of Malacca in 1511, when See also:Alphonso d'See also:Albuquerque despatched See also:Antonio d'Abreu with three ships in search of the Molucca or Spice Islands with instructions to establish friendly relations with all the native states that he might encounter on his way. D'Abreu, sailing in a south-easterly direction from the Straits of Malacca, skirted the southern coast of Borneo and laid up his ships at See also:Amboyna, a small island near the south-western extremity of See also:Ceram. He returned to Malacca in 1514, leaving one of his captains, Francisco Serrano, at See also:Ternate, where Magellan's followers found him in 1521. After Magellan's See also:death, his comrades sailed from the See also:Moluccas across the Celebes into the Sulu Sea, and were the first See also:white men who are known to have visited Brunei on the north-west coast of Borneo, where they arrived in 1522. Pigafetta gives an interesting account of the place and of the reception of the adventurers by the sultan. The Molucca Islands being, at that time, the principal See also:objective of European traders, and the route followed by Magellan's ships being frequently used, Borneo was often touched at during the remainder of the 16th century, and trade relations with Brunei were successfully established by the Portuguese. In 1573 the Spaniards tried somewhat unsuccessfully to obtain a See also:share of this commerce, but it was not until 1580, when a dethroned sultan appealed to them for asistance and by their agency was restored to his own, that they attained their See also:object. Thereafter the Spaniards maintained a fitful intercourse with Brunei, varied by not infrequent hostilities, and in 1645 a punitive expedition on a larger scale than hereto-fore was sent to chastise Brunei for persistent acts of piracy. No See also:attempt at See also:annexation followed upon this action, commerce rather than territory being at this See also:period the See also:prime object of both the Spaniards and the Portuguese, whose influence upon the natives was accordingly proportionately small.

The only effort at proselytizing of which we have record came to an untimely end in the death of the Theatine See also:

monk, Antonio See also:Ventimiglia, who had been its originator. Meanwhile the Dutch and British East See also:India Companies had been formed, had destroyed the See also:monopoly so long enjoyed'by the Portuguese, and to a less extent the Spaniards, in the trade of the Malayan Archipelago, and had gained a footing in Borneo. The See also:establishment of Dutch trading-posts on the west coast of Borneo dates from 1604, nine years after the first Dutch See also:fleet, under Houtman, sailed from the Texel to dispute with the Portuguese the See also:possession of the Eastern trade, and in 16o8 See also:Samuel Blommaert was appointed Dutch See also:resident, or head See also:factor, in Landak and Sukedana. The first appearance of the British in Borneo dates from 16og, and by 1698 they had an important settlement at Banjermasin, whence they were subsequently expelled by the influence of the Dutch, who about 1733 obtained from the sultan a trading monopoly. The Dutch, in fact, speedily became the pre-dominant European race throughout the Malay Archipelago, defeating the British by superior energy and enterprise, and the trading-posts all along the western and southern coasts of Borneo were presently their exclusive possessions, the sultan of Bantam, who was the overlord of these districts, ceding his rights to the Dutch. The British meanwhile had turned their See also:attention to the north of the island, over which the sultan of Sulu exercised the rights of suzerain, and from him, in 1759, See also:Alexander Dalrymple obtained possession of the island of Balambangan, and the whole of the north-eastern promontory. A military See also:post was established, but it was destroyed in 1775 by the natives under the ddto', or See also:vassal chiefs, who resented the cession of their territory. This mishap rendered a treaty, which had been concluded in 1774 with the sultan of Brunei, practically a dead See also:letter, and by the end of the century British influence in Borneo was to all intents and purposes at an end. The Dutch also mismanaged their affairs in Borneo and suffered from a series of misfortunes which led See also:Marshal Daendels in 1809 to See also:order the See also:abandonment of all their posts. The natives of the coasts of Borneo, assisted and stimulated by immigrants from the neighbouring islands to the north, devoted themselves more and more to organized piracy, and putting to sea in great fleets manned by two and three thousand men on cruises that lasted for two and even three years, they terrorized the neighbouring seas and rendered the trade of civilized nations almost impossible for a prolonged period. During the occupation of Java by the British an See also:embassy was despatched to See also:Sir See also:Stamford See also:Raffles by the sultan of Banjermasin asking for assistance, and in 1811 Alexander Hare was despatched thither as See also:commissioner and resident. He not only obtained for his government an advantageous treaty, but secured for himself a See also:grant of a district which he proceeded to colonize and cultivate.

About the same time a British expedition was also sent against Sambas and a post established at Pontianak. On the restoration of Java to the Dutch in 1816, all these arrangements were cancelled, and the Dutch government was See also:

left in undisputed possession of the See also:field. An energetic policy was soon after adopted, and about See also:half the See also:kingdom of Banjermasin was surrendered to the Dutch by its sultan in 1823, further concessions being made two years later. Meanwhile, See also:George Muller, while exploring the east coast, obtained from the sultan of Kutei an See also:acknowledgment of Dutch authority, a concession speedily repented by its donor, since the enterprising traveller was shortly afterwards killed. The out-break of See also:war in Java caused Borneo to be more or less neglected by the Dutch for a considerable period, and no effective check was imposed upon the natives with a view to stopping piracy, which was annually becoming more and more unendurable. On the rise of Singapore See also:direct trade had been established with Sarawak and Brunei, and it became a See also:matter of moment to British merchants that this See also:traffic should be safe. In 1838 Sir See also:James Brooke, an Englishman, whose attention had been turned to the See also:state of affairs in the Eastern Archipelago, set out for Borneo, determined, if possible, to remedy the evil. By 1841 he had obtained from the sultan of Brunei the grant of supreme authority over Sarawak, in which state, on the sultan's behalf, he had waged a successful war, and before many years had elapsed he had, with the aid of the British government, succeeded in suppressing piracy (see BRooKE, SIR JAMES; and SARAWAK). In 1847 the sultan of Brunei agreed to make no cession of territory to any nation or individual without the consent of Great See also:Britain. Since then more and more territory has been ceded by the sultans of Brunei to the raja of Sarawak and to British North Borneo, and to-day the merest remnant of his once extensive state is left within the See also:jurisdiction of the sultan. The treaty in 1847 put an end once for all to the hopes which the Dutch had cherished of including the whole island in their dominions, but it served also to stimulate their efforts to consolidate their See also:power within the See also:sphere already subjected to their influence. Gunong Tebur, Tanjong, and Bulungan had made nominal submission to them in 1834, and in 1844 the sultan of Kutei acknowledged their See also:protectorate, a treaty of a similar character being concluded about the same time with Pasir.

The boundaries of British and Dutch Borneo . were finally defined by a treaty concluded on the loth of See also:

June 1881. In spite of this, however, large areas in the interior, both in Dutch Borneo and in the territory owned by the British North Borneo Company, are still only nominally under European control, and have experienced few direct effects of European See also:administration.

End of Article: BORNEO

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