This chapter presents a comprehensive outline of the main themes in Brunei history from early times until independence in 1984 placed within a regional and global context. The chapter aims to provide readers with a background setting of Brunei’s historical development that will further serve to complement understanding of subsequent chapters. The themes covered include prehistory; Brunei and the Asian sea trade boom of the tenth to thirteenth centuries; conversion to Islam; Brunei in the ‘Age of Commerce’; conflict with the Spanish in the sixteenth century; Brunei’s progressive decline in a changing world from the seventeenth century; the relationship with James and Charles Brooke in Sarawak; Brunei on the brink of extinction; the establishment of a British Residential system and the origins of modern Brunei; the Japanese occupation; the role of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien; the 1959 Anglo-Brunei Agreement and the subsequent Brunei Constitution; the 1962 rebellion; the Malaysia Federation; and reluctant independence.

The chapter discusses the development of the writing of Brunei history over the last six decades. The review of the historiographic production generally highlights the range of debates, approaches, major themes and issues that scholars have focused upon and how this relates to the important role history plays in modern Brunei. In the 1960s and 1970s, the writing of Brunei history significantly reflected Brunei's relationship with Britain, with the notable exception of Donald Brown (1970)'s 'peerless monograph' that solely focuses on local dimensions and the internal dynamics of the sultanate. In the 1980s, a growing body of studies by local scholars spurred the emergence of national history. Many of the studies were produced by archaeologists, historians and intellectuals affiliated with the Brunei History Centre, the Brunei Museum and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). The utilisation of traditional manuscripts and oral sources equally contributed to the expansion of an autonomous historiography, as such sources increasingly gained currency and acceptance as a vital form of indigenous history. In surveying the writings on modern Brunei, we identified the ascendancy of Brunei political history that subsequently established a major and firm niche within the broader context of Brunei historiography. Moreover, in the 1980s, there was a new historiographical trend on non-political themes, focusing in particular on previously unexplored socio-economic developments of the country. All these historiographic developments, while offering valuable historical insights into the country's past, led to some re-examination of earlier works, particularly those that utilised Chinese sources in the reconstruction of early Brunei. The 1962 rebellion was also revisited, as the controversial nature of this topic had significantly limited its inclusion in national history writing from the 1960s to 1980s. The multiplicity of historical themes and approaches gradually emerging from the 1990s and 2000s have been further enhanced by multidisciplinary approaches resulting not only in important publications but also works derived from sophisticated analytical and interpretive knowledge.

As a British protectorate for almost one hundred years, it is only since full independence in 1984 that the formation and development of modern Brunei diplomacy and foreign relations have been seen. Within the context of small state diplomacy, the chapter examines how the sultanate has managed its relations with the wider world over the last thirty-six years and current issues, such as the implications of regional geopolitical changes, the South China Sea and the relationship between Brunei’s economic diversification drive and foreign policy. Since independence membership of regional and international bodies, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have been fundamental to Brunei’s success as a small state. At the same time, strategic bilateral ties for both economic advantage and security strategy have been central to Brunei international relations. Since 2011, stronger bilateral ties linked to economic diversification have been developed with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which has become the largest financial investor in the sultanate. Attention, too, is given to the rise of the PRC and the related implications this has for Brunei in particular and the ASEAN region as a whole.

Indonesia. Savu: History and oral tradition on an island of Indonesia By Geneviève Duggan and Hans Hägerdal Singapore: NUS Press. 2018. Pp. xxvi + 586. Figures, Maps, Photographs, Plates, Appendixes, Glossary, Bibliography, Index. - Volume 53 Issue 3

In several papers published in the 1970s, Donald Brown explored the relationship between rank, ethnic homogeneity and indigenous historiography in Brunei. His main argument is that the hereditarily closed ranking system of Brunei's dominant ethnic group produced, or at least perpetuated, ethnic diversity and the development of an invented historiography in relation to ethnic origins to support the position of the dominant group. Similar relationships between rank, or status, and origins are found throughout much of the Austronesian-speaking world. In most of these societies origins are of fundamental social and political importance, often expressed through complex traditions that through recourse to origins function to establish social difference between individuals, social or ethnic groups in order to justify claims of precedence: a priority, seniority or superiority that can relate to rights over resources, political offices or the political or ritual ascendancy of one group over another. Drawing on data from the wider Austronesian world, particularly ideas of 'origin and precedence', this chapter presents a comparative analysis of various Brunei origin traditions, supplemented by historical, archaeological and linguistic data. While not uncritical of Brown's earlier studies, the chapter aims to both build and expand upon his work in understanding the relationship between social structures and history in Brunei.

This chapter aims to both reflect upon my own fieldwork among the Bugis of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and my engagement with the scholarship of the ethnologist Christian Pelras, who wrote extensively on South Sulawesi culture and history. Explicit about his task of translating one culture to another, Pelras took an ‘ethnographic’ approach to his research, collecting huge amounts of information that he used in order to describe. His wide focus and attempts to translate one culture to another appear to reflect the European-based attempts to understand the ‘other’, perhaps like a museum of ethnology. By contrast, scholars of my generation are less concerned with describing, more critical of sources, look to solve particular research problems in a context that may not necessarily be our own, and use skills, approaches and techniques developed elsewhere. In particular, I discuss my engagement with Pelras’s work on orality and writing and his attempts to reconstruct the South Sulawesi past. While the chapter is critical of some of Pelras’s work on the Bugis, particularly his attempts at writing history, it pays tribute to other aspects.

The Darul Islam rebellion against the central Indonesian government in the immediate post- independence period was largely dependent on charismatic leaders who came to prominence during the struggle against the Dutch. The charismatic leader of this rebellion in South Sulawesi was Qahhar Mudzakkar (also spelt "Kahar Muzakkar"), whose conflict with the central government and army began in 1950 when he was overlooked as commander of a special Sulawesi brigade and many of the Sulawesi guerrillas who had fought against the Dutch were discarded as the Indonesian Army restructured. Qahhar led the men into the jungle and began a rebellion that would last for 15 years. In 1953, he proclaimed an Islamic state, thus joining the Darul Islam movement. Important factors in the rebellion's genesis and momentum were bitterness at the perceived injustice and rejection of Qahhar and the Sulawesi guerrillas by the central government and army and increasing Javanese hegemony in the region. Other causal factors debated include Islam, various political ideas, and several South Sulawesi cultural concepts. What seems clear is that Qahhar had developed ideas that were seemingly incompatible with "traditional" notions of South Sulawesi culture. He preached a form of "Islamic socialism," aimed to implement strict shari'ah law, eradicate aristocratic titles, pre-Islamic rituals, and Sufi orders. Forty-eight years after his death, Qahhar Mudzakkar continues to divide opinion and inspire new generations. The paper focuses on three main aspects of Qahhar Mudzakkar and his legacy. The first examines traditional leadership in South Sulawesi, including the cultural characteristics expected of leaders and draws comparisons with the 17th century. The second examines memories and perceptions of Qahhar and the rebellion related to me by people who lived through the period. The third looks at how Qahhar is perceived and the role he plays in modern day South Sulawesi, particularly in local politics as many see Preparatory Committee for the Application of Islamic Laws (KPPSI) as a continuation of Qahhar's struggle. The head of KPPSI is Abdul Aziz Qahhar Mudzakkar, a son of Qahhar Mudzakkar.

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.

The early historical South Sulawesi site Allangkanangnge ri Latanete is reputed to be the location of the palace of the legendary Bugis kingdom of Cina. This vanished kingdom arose in the 13th century AD and disappeared in the 16th century. The Allangkanangnge ri Latanete site is dated to between the 13th and 17th centuries based on Carbon-14 determinations and imported stoneware and porcelain sherds recovered through survey and excavation. The material cultural remains excavated at the site are dominated by earthenware sherds: their frequencies indicate light occupation during the 13th century, a main period of habitation between the 14th and 16th centuries, and a decline during the 17th century. Excavated earthenware vessel forms reflect a range of functions including food preparation and storage. There is evidence of ironworking from iron slag debris, earthenware sherds identified as crucibles rims and local oral history. The excavated area near the summit of the hill is characterised by old Islamic graves, said to be those of the rulers of Cina. However, there is no evidence here for burials older than the 16th century; in earlier centuries, the area on the summit, which is protected by a low stone wall, may have been the location of a wooden palace. Some dozens of stone arrangements scattered over the eastern slope may possibly be associated with marking the burials of cremated remains in jars. The site displays a partially coastal orientation, both in terms of physical proximity and subsistence debris during the 13th and 14th centuries followed by a greater focus on wet-rice production during the 14th to 17th centuries.

Imported high-fired ceramics (tradewares) are critical for dating early South Sulawesi historical sites between the 13th/14th and 16th/17th centuries AD. The Allangkanangnge ri Latanete site is of great importance in the South Sulawesi context because of its large tradeware assemblage of more than 2000 sherds and its radiometric chronology that confirms the 13th/14th-16th/17th-century dating assigned by ceramic specialists to the tradeware classes. The site is also of major importance in its local identification with the palace centre of Cina, an early Bugis kingdom. The combined chronological evidence from tradewares and chronometric determinations demonstrates a 14th-century antiquity for the deepest examples of the abundant rice phytoliths recovered from the site. Allangkanangnge ri Latanete exemplifies the major role of rice in the economy of the early Bugis agrarian kingdoms as their subsistence basis and as a source of surplus produce to trade for ceramics and other exotic imports.

The central focus of this article is the hikajat Sawitto (hS), a 12-page typed text in the Latin script and Malay language constructed in the 1930s from mainly oral Bugis sources. The hS provides an important insight into how the past was transmitted in South Sulawesi and the relationship between orality and writing. Discussion of the hS is framed within this broader context and begins with an overview of Bugis and Makasar(2) historical prose works, focusing mainly on the few longer written compositions dating from the 17th, to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and the factors that influenced their creation. Central to the article is the argument that these written works are not representative of Bugis and Makasar historical sources and that orality played the primary role in transmitting the past. The article further demonstrates how the hS was constructed from independent sources and what these sources can reveal about the history of Sawitto. An annotated translation of the hS is presented within the article and the original appended.