7th Impression 1995 of OUP paperback printed in 1986. Book Condition: Very Good, with some visible shelf wear and very minimal age related tanning to Page Edges. The story of the Brooke dynasty, James, Charles, and Vyner, Rajahs of Sarawak for over a hundred years. When James Brooke, a rich explorer of the Byronic order, arrived like a knight errant aboard his ship Royalist in Sarawak, in 1840, he had no idea he was about to found a dynasty which would rule that area of northern Borneo for the next one hundred years. Brooke, seeking adventure, immediately became embroiled in a civil war and in far more dangerous palace intrigues. Fighting corruption with one hand, pirates with the other, he suddenly found himself made Rajah of Sarawak. The book follows this fabulous career with fond admiration, showing how Brooke brought a degree of peace and unity to the land. It continues with the career of his stern nephew, Rajah Charles, and of Charles' son, Rajah Vyner, who brought the dynasty to a close by handing over his little kingdom to the British in 1946. A colorful, well-documented view of a unique and fantastic political regime. "Sarawak belongs to the Malays' Sea Dyaks, Land Dyaks, Kayans, Kenyahs, Milanos, Muruts, Kadayans, Bisayahs, and other tribes, and not to us. It is for them we labour, not for ourselves" - James Brooke.
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