Editing History of Brunei (section)

=== Relations with Europeans ===
Brunei's relations varied with the different European powers in the region.

==== Portuguese ====
The Portuguese, for the most part, were more interested in economic and trading relations with the regional powers and did little to interfere with Brunei's development.  This does not mean that relations were always cordial, such as in 1536 when the Portuguese attacked the Muslims in the [[Moluccas]], and the ambassador to the Brunei court had to leave because of the sultan's hostility.  The Portuguese also noted that the sultanate was heavily involved in the region's politics and wars, and that Brunei merchants could be found in [[Ligor]] and [[Thailand|Siam]].

==== Conflict with the Spanish Empire ====
[[File:万国来朝图 Brunei (汶莱國) delegates in Peking in 1761.jpg|thumb|Brunei (汶莱國) delegates in Beijing, China, in 1761. ''[[萬國來朝圖]]'']]
Relations with Spain were far more hostile.  From 1565 on, Spanish and Brunei forces engaged in a number of naval skirmishes, and in 1571, the Spanish who had been sending expeditions from Mexico succeeded in capturing Manila from the Brunei aristocracy that had been established there.  Brunei raised several large fleets intending to recapture the city, but the campaigns, for various reasons, never launched.{{efn|1=The Chinese pirate [[Limahon]] attacked Manila in December 1574, but Brunei was unable to take advantage of the Spaniards' distraction.}} In 1578, the Spanish took Sulu and in April [[Castille War|attacked and captured Brunei]] itself, after demanding that the sultan cease [[Islamic Missionary Activity#Missionary activity in Southeast Asia|proselytising]] in the Philippines and, in turn, allow [[Christian missionaries]] to be active in his kingdom. The Spaniards withdrew after suffering heavy losses due to a [[cholera]] or [[dysentery]] outbreak.<ref>{{Harvnb|Frankham|2008|p=278}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Atiyah|2002|p=71}}</ref> They were so weakened by the illness that they decided to abandon Brunei to return to Manila on 26 June 1578, after just 72 days.<ref>{{Harvnb|Saunders|2002|pp=54–60}}</ref> The short-term damage to the sultanate was minimal, as [[Sultanate of Sulu|Sulu]] regained its independence soon after. However, Brunei failed to regain a foothold in [[Luzon]], with the island firmly in Spanish hands. The Bruneians in their war against Spain, were supported by [[Lascar]]s and the [[Ottoman Caliphate]]. The Spanish were aware of this and complained to their king relating how Turks and even Granadans (From the [[Emirate of Granada]]) assisted Borneans in their war against Spain. Muslim migration from the Ottoman Caliphate, Egypt, Mecca and Arabia was so constant [[Melchor Davalos]] complained to the Spanish King of their presence in Borneo and the Philippines.

{{Blockquote
|text=Persians and Arabs and Egyptians and Turks brought [Muhammad's] veneration and evil sect here, and even Moors from Tunis and Granada came here, sometimes in the armadas of Campson [Kait Bey], former Sultan of Cairo and King of Egypt... Thus it seems to me that these Moros of the Philippine Islands [are] mainly those who, as had been said, come from Egypt and Arabia and Mecca, and are their relatives, disciples and members, and every year they say that Turks come to Sumatra and Borneo, and to Ternate, where there are now some of those defeated in the famous battle which Señor Don Juan de Austria won.
|author=Melchor Davalos
}}

To counteract Ottoman assistance to the Bruneians, Spain levied soldiers from their vassal states in Peru and Mexico, to supplement the Spanish troops sent to the Philippines.<ref name= "Peru">[http://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm "SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS, AND CHRONICLE OF THE RELIGIOUS OF OUR FATHER, ST. AUGUSTINE"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508103044/https://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm |date=8 May 2021 }} (Zamboanga City History)
"He (Governor Don Sebastían Hurtado de Corcuera) brought a great reënforcements of soldiers, many of them from Perú, as he made his voyage to Acapulco from that kingdom."</ref> However, the Bruneian-Spanish conflict eventually, died down.

The long-term effects of regional changes could not be avoided.  After Sultan Hassan, Brunei entered a period of decline, due to internal battles over royal succession as well as the rising influences of European colonial powers in the region, that, among other things, disrupted traditional trading patterns, destroying the economic base of Brunei and many other Southeast Asian sultanates.

==== Relationship with the British and Sarawak ====
{{Main|Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship 1847}}
During Sultan [[Omar Ali Saifuddin II]]'s reign, disturbances occurred in [[Sarawak]]. In 1839, the British adventurer [[James Brooke]] arrived in Borneo and helped the Sultan put down this rebellion.

As a reward, he became governor and later "White Rajah" of Sarawak and gradually expanded the territory under his control. Brooke never gained control of Brunei, though he did attempt to. He asked the British to check whether or not it would be acceptable for him to claim Brunei as his own; however, they said although Brunei was poorly governed, it had a definite sense of national identity and therefore could not be absorbed by Brooke.

In 1843, an open conflict between Brooke and the Sultan ended in the latter's defeat. The Sultan recognised Sarawak's independence. In 1846, [[Brunei Town]] was attacked and captured by the British, and Sultan Saifuddin II was forced to sign a treaty to end the British occupation of Brunei Town. In the same year, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II ceded [[Labuan Territory|Labuan]] to the British under the Treaty of Labuan.

In 1847, he signed the [[Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship 1847|Treaty of Friendship and Commerce]] with the British, officially signing away Labuan and from the British point of view, establishing a foothold in the North of Borneo to counterbalance the Dutch presence.<ref name="tarl">{{Cite book |last=Tarling |first=Nicholas |title=Britain, Brookes and Brunei |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1971 |location=Kuala Lumpur; London |pages=68–69}}</ref> In 1850, he signed a similar treaty with the United States, which, after a series of events{{which|date=January 2025}}, resulted in the first consul of the US, [[Charles Lee Moses]], burning down{{why|date=January 2025}} his consulate.{{clarify|date=January 2025}} Over the years, the Sultans of Brunei ceded further stretches of territory to Sarawak; in 1877, stretches to the east of the capital were leased (later ceded) to the British [[North Borneo Chartered Company]] ([[North Borneo]]). Eventually, due to these seizures of territory, which was accepted by the sultan for annual lease payments, the British occupied the vast majority of the coast of Brunei. The Sultan only stopped handing over territory when [[Kingdom of Sarawak|Sarawak]] asked for [[Limbang]], which the Sultan refused. Against the Sultan's wishes, Sarawak obtained control over the territory.