700 
power in the island. As he was favor- 
able to English strangers, Mr. Brooke 
paid him the customary homage, and was 
favorably received and given full license 
to visit the Dyaks of Lundu. 
The Rajah was at this time engaged in 
war with several fierce Dyak tribes in 
the province of Sarawak, who had re- 
volted against the Sultan; but his efforts 
to quell this rebellion were ineffectual. 
The absolute worthlessness of the native 
troops under his command, and his own 
weakness of character, induced him to 
cling to Mr. Brooke, in whom he recog- 
nized a born leader of men, and he ap- 
pealed for his help in putting down the 
insurgents and implored him not to leave 
him a prey to his enemies. The Rajah 
even offered to transfer the government 
of the province to Brooke if he would 
remain and take command. This offer 
he felt bound at the time to decline, but 
it led to his obtaining a position of au- 
thority at Sarawak useful for the pur- 
poses of trade. 
With James Brooke’s help the rebel- 
lion, which the Malay forces were too 
feeble to subdue, was effectually stayed. 
‘The insurgents were defeated in a battle 
in which Brooke, with the crew of his 
yacht and some Malay followers, took 
part. For his services on this occasion 
Muda Hassim conferred on him the title 
of Rajah of Sarawak, and this was the 
first step towards that larger sovereignty 
which he afterwards acquired. Some 
time elapsed, however, before the Sultan 
of Brunei could be induced to confirm 
the title. Mr. Brooke at once took 
vigorous action, making many reforms 
and introducing a system of administra- 
tion far superior to any that the native 
authorities had ever dreamed of, and in 
September, 1841, the government of 
Sarawak and its dependencies was form- 
ally made over to him. In the following 
year the Sultan of Brunei confirmed 
what Rajah Muda Hassim had done, on 
the condition that the religion of the 
Mohammedans of the country should be 
respected. 
And now Rajah Brooke found himself 
in a position of authority which enabled 
AEE, NAS © INANE Gils OE RoE Ee VAN Ey NAN 
him to bring all his administrative powers 
into operation. He saw clearly that the 
development of commerce would be the 
most effective means of civilizing the na- 
tives, and to make this possible it was 
necessary to suppress the hideous piracy, 
which was not only a curse to the savage 
tribes, appealing as it did to their worst 
instincts, but a standing danger to both 
European and native traders in those 
seas. ; 
In the suppression of piracy James 
Brooke found a vigorous ally in Captain 
(afterwards Admiral) Keppel, who, in 
command of H. M. S. Dido, was sum- 
moned from the China station in 1843 
for this service. Various expeditions 
were organized and sent out against the 
marauders, the story of which has been 
told by himself. The pirates were at- 
tacked in their strongholds by Captain 
Keppel and other commanders of British 
ships. They fought desperately and the 
slaughter was immense. The pirate 
crews found the entrances to the rivers 
blocked up by English gunboats and their 
retreat cut off. These strenuous meas- 
ures soon cleared the seas. 
The practice of head-hunting was also 
dealt with by Sir James Brooke. He de- 
clared it to be a crime punishable with 
death, and by his vigorous treatment of 
head-hunting parties he gave the death- 
blow to this horrible national custom. 
After his strenuous life in Sarawak, 
Sir James Brooke had a great desire to 
visit England. Besides other reasons, 
the wish to see his relatives and friends, 
he felt he could effect more for the in- 
habitants of Borneo by a personal inter- 
view with government ministers in EKng- 
land than by correspondence. He left 
Sarawak, and reached England early in 
October, 1847. There honors awaited 
him. He was presented with the free- 
dom of the city of London; Oxford Uni- 
versity conferred upon him the degree 
of LL. D.; he was graciously received 
at Windsor by the Queen and the Prince 
Consort. The British government rec- 
ognized the work he had done, and ap- 
pointed him Governor of Labuan and 
commissioner and consul general in Bor- 
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