Borneo
Borneo is the third-largest island in the planet and also the largest island in Asia, shared by the Malaysian states Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian five provinces of Kalimantan and the tiny nation of Brunei.
Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak constitute about 26% of the island. Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a little island just from the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located upon the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area.
The island is known by many names ; internationally It‘s generally known as Borneo, after Brunei, derived from European historical contact using the kingdom inside the 16th century throughout the Age of Exploration. The name Brunei possibly was initially derived from the Sanskrit word "váruṇa" (वरुण), meaning either "ocean" as well as mythological Varuna, the Hindu god on the ocean. Indonesian natives called it Kalimantan, that was derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, meaning "burning" weather island (that term explain its hot and humid tropical weather).
Prior to that the island was also known by other names. In 977 Chinese records began to use the term Po-ni to refer to Borneo. In 1225 it was eventually also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua (趙汝适 ). The Javanese manuscript Nagarakertagama, written by Majapahit court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentioned the island as Nusa Tanjungnagara, meaning the island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom.
Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea towards the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea towards the northeast, the Celebes Sea and also the Makassar Strait towards the east, and also the Java Sea and Karimata Strait towards the south. Towards the west of Borneo will be the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Towards the south and east are islands of Indonesia : Java and Sulawesi, respectively. Towards the northeast will be the Philippine Islands.
By having an area of 743, 330 square kilometres (287, 000 sq mi ) , it‘s the third-largest island in the planet, and is that the largest island of Asia (the biggest continent ) . Its highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, by having an elevation of 4, 095 m (13, 435 ft ) .
The biggest river system is that the Kapuas in West Kalimantan, having a length of 1, 143 km (710 mi ) . Other major rivers include the Mahakam in East Kalimantan (980 km long (610 mi ) ) , the Barito in South Kalimantan (880 km long (550 mi ) ) , and Rajang in Sarawak (562. 5 km long (349. 5 mi ) ) .
Borneo has significant cave systems. Clearwater Cave, for instance, has perhaps one of the world's longest underground rivers. Deer Cave hosts over three million bats, with guano accumulated to over 100 metres (330 ft ) deep.
Before sea levels rose at the conclusion of the final Ice Age, Borneo was section of the mainland of Asia, forming, with Java and Sumatra, the upland regions of the peninsula that extended east from present day Indochina. The South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand now submerge the previous low-lying areas from the peninsula. Deeper waters separating Borneo from neighbouring Sulawesi prevented a land connection to that island, creating the divide referred to as Wallace's Line between Asian and Australia-New Guinea biological regions.
Generally, Borneo soils are poor, with a couple of exceptions of fertile volcanic areas. Rice, the staple food, is supplemented with corn (maize ) , cassava (manioc ) , cucumber, and pumpkin. Rubber is grown on small native plantations. Pepper is grown on a big scale from the resident Chinese. Newer markets are to the seeds from the shorea tree as well as for chicle. Coastal area exports are sago, copra, cutch (a dye extracted from mangrove bark ) , and marine products. Tobacco is grown inside the uplands and traded towards the lowlands. Experimental plantings of coffee, cocoa, and hemp happen to be made.
The Borneo rainforest is 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo (about the same as Sumatra and Java combined). It is the centre of the evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals. The Borneo rainforest is one of the few remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the Borneo elephant, the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, the Bornean clouded leopard, the Hose's palm civet and the dayak fruit bat.
Borneo is first mentioned in Ptolemy’s Guide to Geography around 150 ce. Roman trade beads and Indo-Javanese artifacts happen to be discovered that give evidence of the flourishing civilization dating towards the 2nd or 3rd century ce
According to ancient Chinese (977 ), Indian and Javanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo had become trading ports by the very first millennium. In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor, tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of the thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora ), dragon's blood, rattan, edible bird's nests and various spices were described as among the foremost valuable items from Borneo. The Indians named Borneo Suvarnabhumi (the land of gold ) and likewise Karpuradvipa (Camphor Island ). The Javanese named Borneo Puradvipa, or Diamond Island. Archaeological findings inside the Sarawak river delta reveal the area would be a thriving trading centre between India and China coming from the 6th century until about 1300.
Perhaps one of the earliest evidence of Hindu influence in Southeast Asia were stone pillars which bear inscriptions inside the Pallava script, found in Kutai down the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan, dating to all around the second half the 4th century.
Later Kalimantan rulers were probably feudatories from the Majapahit empire of eastern Java (c. 1293-1520). Using the arrival of Islam early inside the 16th century, numerous Muslim kingdoms were founded, including the Banjarmasin, Sambas, Sukadana, and Landak, converted most of the indigenous peoples to Islam.
The Sultanate of Brunei granted large parts of land in Sarawak in 1842 towards the English adventurer James Brooke, as reward for their having helped quell an area rebellion. Brooke established the Kingdom of Sarawak and was named its rajah after paying a fee towards the Sultanate. He established a monarchy, and also the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great-nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years ; the leaders were referred to as White Rajahs.
In the first 19th century, British and Dutch governments signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to exchange trading ports under their controls and assert spheres of influence. This resulted in indirectly establishing British- and Dutch-controlled areas in Borneo, inside the north and south, respectively. The Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping inside the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo.
The British North Borneo Company controlled the territory of North Borneo (present-day Sabah) from 1882 to 1941.
During World War II the Japanese invasions of Borneo (1941-42 ) quickly eliminated the token British and Dutch forces upon the island, which wasn‘t retaken until 1945. In July 1946 both Sarawak and North Borneo were made British crown colonies. In Dutch Borneo a robust nationalist movement developed and resulted in fighting between Indonesian and Dutch forces like the latter attempted to reimpose Netherlands control. Indonesia declared its independence coming from the Netherlands in 1945. Its struggle for independence, however, continued until 1949, once the Dutch officially recognized Indonesian sovereignty, and in 1950 a brand new constitution proclaimed Dutch Borneo section of the Republic of Indonesia.
Borneo was the most site from the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia between 1962 and about 1969. The British Army was deployed against the Indonesians and communist revolts to achieve control of the entire area. Until the formation of Malaysian Federation, the Philippines claimed the eastern section of the Malaysian state of Sabah was inside their territory. They based this upon the history from the Sultanate of Sulu's leasing agreement using the British North Borneo Company.
In 1962 Brunei Revolt, Brunei People's Party wanted to reunify Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah into one federation referred to as North Borneo Federation or Kesatuan Negara Kalimantan Utara in Malay in which the Sultan of Brunei would function as the Head of State to the federations. This caused a civil war for few days in British Protectorate Stats of Brunei and Sarawak State.
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| Borneo is the third-largest island in the planet |
Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak constitute about 26% of the island. Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a little island just from the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located upon the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area.
Etymology
The island is known by many names ; internationally It‘s generally known as Borneo, after Brunei, derived from European historical contact using the kingdom inside the 16th century throughout the Age of Exploration. The name Brunei possibly was initially derived from the Sanskrit word "váruṇa" (वरुण), meaning either "ocean" as well as mythological Varuna, the Hindu god on the ocean. Indonesian natives called it Kalimantan, that was derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, meaning "burning" weather island (that term explain its hot and humid tropical weather).
Prior to that the island was also known by other names. In 977 Chinese records began to use the term Po-ni to refer to Borneo. In 1225 it was eventually also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua (趙汝适 ). The Javanese manuscript Nagarakertagama, written by Majapahit court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentioned the island as Nusa Tanjungnagara, meaning the island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom.
Geography
Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea towards the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea towards the northeast, the Celebes Sea and also the Makassar Strait towards the east, and also the Java Sea and Karimata Strait towards the south. Towards the west of Borneo will be the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Towards the south and east are islands of Indonesia : Java and Sulawesi, respectively. Towards the northeast will be the Philippine Islands.
By having an area of 743, 330 square kilometres (287, 000 sq mi ) , it‘s the third-largest island in the planet, and is that the largest island of Asia (the biggest continent ) . Its highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, by having an elevation of 4, 095 m (13, 435 ft ) .
The biggest river system is that the Kapuas in West Kalimantan, having a length of 1, 143 km (710 mi ) . Other major rivers include the Mahakam in East Kalimantan (980 km long (610 mi ) ) , the Barito in South Kalimantan (880 km long (550 mi ) ) , and Rajang in Sarawak (562. 5 km long (349. 5 mi ) ) .
Borneo has significant cave systems. Clearwater Cave, for instance, has perhaps one of the world's longest underground rivers. Deer Cave hosts over three million bats, with guano accumulated to over 100 metres (330 ft ) deep.
Before sea levels rose at the conclusion of the final Ice Age, Borneo was section of the mainland of Asia, forming, with Java and Sumatra, the upland regions of the peninsula that extended east from present day Indochina. The South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand now submerge the previous low-lying areas from the peninsula. Deeper waters separating Borneo from neighbouring Sulawesi prevented a land connection to that island, creating the divide referred to as Wallace's Line between Asian and Australia-New Guinea biological regions.
Generally, Borneo soils are poor, with a couple of exceptions of fertile volcanic areas. Rice, the staple food, is supplemented with corn (maize ) , cassava (manioc ) , cucumber, and pumpkin. Rubber is grown on small native plantations. Pepper is grown on a big scale from the resident Chinese. Newer markets are to the seeds from the shorea tree as well as for chicle. Coastal area exports are sago, copra, cutch (a dye extracted from mangrove bark ) , and marine products. Tobacco is grown inside the uplands and traded towards the lowlands. Experimental plantings of coffee, cocoa, and hemp happen to be made.
The Borneo rainforest is 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo (about the same as Sumatra and Java combined). It is the centre of the evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals. The Borneo rainforest is one of the few remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the Borneo elephant, the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, the Bornean clouded leopard, the Hose's palm civet and the dayak fruit bat.
History
Borneo is first mentioned in Ptolemy’s Guide to Geography around 150 ce. Roman trade beads and Indo-Javanese artifacts happen to be discovered that give evidence of the flourishing civilization dating towards the 2nd or 3rd century ce
According to ancient Chinese (977 ), Indian and Javanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo had become trading ports by the very first millennium. In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor, tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of the thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora ), dragon's blood, rattan, edible bird's nests and various spices were described as among the foremost valuable items from Borneo. The Indians named Borneo Suvarnabhumi (the land of gold ) and likewise Karpuradvipa (Camphor Island ). The Javanese named Borneo Puradvipa, or Diamond Island. Archaeological findings inside the Sarawak river delta reveal the area would be a thriving trading centre between India and China coming from the 6th century until about 1300.
Perhaps one of the earliest evidence of Hindu influence in Southeast Asia were stone pillars which bear inscriptions inside the Pallava script, found in Kutai down the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan, dating to all around the second half the 4th century.
Later Kalimantan rulers were probably feudatories from the Majapahit empire of eastern Java (c. 1293-1520). Using the arrival of Islam early inside the 16th century, numerous Muslim kingdoms were founded, including the Banjarmasin, Sambas, Sukadana, and Landak, converted most of the indigenous peoples to Islam.
The Sultanate of Brunei granted large parts of land in Sarawak in 1842 towards the English adventurer James Brooke, as reward for their having helped quell an area rebellion. Brooke established the Kingdom of Sarawak and was named its rajah after paying a fee towards the Sultanate. He established a monarchy, and also the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great-nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years ; the leaders were referred to as White Rajahs.
In the first 19th century, British and Dutch governments signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to exchange trading ports under their controls and assert spheres of influence. This resulted in indirectly establishing British- and Dutch-controlled areas in Borneo, inside the north and south, respectively. The Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping inside the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo.
The British North Borneo Company controlled the territory of North Borneo (present-day Sabah) from 1882 to 1941.
During World War II the Japanese invasions of Borneo (1941-42 ) quickly eliminated the token British and Dutch forces upon the island, which wasn‘t retaken until 1945. In July 1946 both Sarawak and North Borneo were made British crown colonies. In Dutch Borneo a robust nationalist movement developed and resulted in fighting between Indonesian and Dutch forces like the latter attempted to reimpose Netherlands control. Indonesia declared its independence coming from the Netherlands in 1945. Its struggle for independence, however, continued until 1949, once the Dutch officially recognized Indonesian sovereignty, and in 1950 a brand new constitution proclaimed Dutch Borneo section of the Republic of Indonesia.
Borneo was the most site from the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia between 1962 and about 1969. The British Army was deployed against the Indonesians and communist revolts to achieve control of the entire area. Until the formation of Malaysian Federation, the Philippines claimed the eastern section of the Malaysian state of Sabah was inside their territory. They based this upon the history from the Sultanate of Sulu's leasing agreement using the British North Borneo Company.
In 1962 Brunei Revolt, Brunei People's Party wanted to reunify Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah into one federation referred to as North Borneo Federation or Kesatuan Negara Kalimantan Utara in Malay in which the Sultan of Brunei would function as the Head of State to the federations. This caused a civil war for few days in British Protectorate Stats of Brunei and Sarawak State.
References:
- Wikipedia contributors. "Borneo." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Jun. 2016. Web. 21 Jun. 2016.
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