"Without mutual understanding, you can't build deep friendships." — Brunei proverb
Brunei was once a historical power in Southeast Asia, and the southern Philippines and the entire island of Kalimantan were almost all territories of Brunei at that time, with a land area equivalent to dozens of times that of today. But today, Brunei's land area is only 5,765 square kilometers, which is inconspicuous on the world map. Not only that, but it was also cut off by Malaysia's Limbang Island. What happened in history has led to brunei losing nearly 97% of its land area.
First, the former great East Asian powers
Brunei has a long history and culture compared to several neighboring countries. According to historical statistics, as early as more than 10,000 years ago, Brunei has detected traces of human activities, and also detected stone, bronze, and iron culture. During the Sui Dynasty in China, Chinese culture was famous all over the world, attracting the then Brunei state, and the king of Brunei immediately sent emissaries to visit China. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Brunei also sent emissaries to China to visit, and for hundreds of years continued to pay tribute to China, and Chinese culture was deeply influenced by them, so the two countries continued to communicate.
In the 14th and 16th centuries AD, the Sultanate of Brunei began its most glorious moment, when its territory was at its largest, with northwestern Borneo and parts of Mindanao being his domain, when Brunei's influence extended to the Kapuas River Delta. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Brunei began to decline, and the continuous aggression and harassment of nearby countries broke the situation until the appearance of Huang Senping, a Fujian native. Huang Senping led his subordinates to join forces with the Bohai state of Brunei to establish a new Brunei state to resist the invasion of foreign enemies.
Second, the invasion of the Western powers
After the beginning of the great navigation period, Brunei's abundant resources and convenient transportation became a place where Western countries competed for it. Ten ASEAN countries, with the exception of Thailand, have become colonies of Western countries. Brunei also saw a sharp decline in land during this period, from a former great power to what it is today.
From the middle of the 16th century, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries successively invaded Brunei. In 1578, the mighty Western hegemon Spain sent a strong force to borneo, which dealt another blow to Brunei, which was constantly invading.
In 1888, when britain defeated Spain, Brunei became a British colony, and in the same year, the British government coerced Brunei into signing a British Brunei Treaty. The signing of this treaty left Brunei's domestic and foreign affairs under british control.
Under the constant aggression of the Western powers, Brunei's territory became fragmented, and Brunei lost control of Sabah and Sarawak (which are now most of Malaysia's territory).
Sabah had long ago been ceded to the British government and incorporated into Malaysia in 1963, while Sarawak was incorporated into Malaysia in 1961 after being entrusted by the British government for its uprising against the rebellious Sultan. Having lost both of these places, Brunei has become the second smallest of the ten countries in Southeast Asia.
Third, the difficult road to independent nation-building
After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Britain made a comeback, but the difference was that the world was setting off a boom in the independence movement, the Brunei people were no longer at the mercy of the British, the national independence movement was hyped in Brunei, and they began to fight with the British for independence. Under the pressure of the national independence movement, britain was forced to change the law, and Brunei regained some autonomy at this time, but the most important national defense and foreign powers remained in British hands.
In 1962, Brunei held its first parliamentary elections, and Malaysia planned to join Brunei along with Sabah and Sarawak. This plan was strongly opposed by the people of Brunei, who launched a huge independence movement against them, which, although it failed, also led the British government to halt the merger. As the people of Brunei continued to fight, the British eventually relinquished control of Brunei. In 1984, Brunei declared itself a fully independent country.
After years of unremitting efforts, Brunei has finally achieved national independence. After Brunei's independence, relying on the huge profits of its country's oil industry, it implemented a very generous welfare policy for its citizens.
Not only is the education and health care system free, but it also provides the cost of studying abroad for citizens. Although Brunei lost a large area of territory due to the war, it ushered in another level of rise, although it was very slow to return to the past, but it also enabled the people to live a happy life.
Brunei's most prosperous period
Introducing the history of Brunei, now let's understand the period when Van Lai was the richest, and here we have to mention huang Senping, a Fujian man in the above article. Huang Senping was an official of the Ming Dynasty at that time, and he was given the name "Huang Senping" by the emperor for his merits in expelling the Wokou, and he was being ordered to send an envoy to "Borneo Island".
Huang Senping and his soldiers finally arrived after all kinds of difficulties and dangers, crossing the ocean, but unfortunately there was a shipwreck during the landing at the mouth of the eastern part of Borneo Island, and many people broke their arms. This river is the "Batang Bank River", which is also known as the "River of broken hands of Chinese".
Because of Huang Senping's mastery of the advanced exercise and farming techniques at that time, they soon became a powerful force on the island. At that time, Brunei was being invaded by foreign enemies, so the king of Brunei chose to make an alliance with Huang Senping against foreign enemies. The two regimes united to form the new Kingdom of Brunei. Huang Senping himself was born as a military general, and soon helped Brunei defeat the enemy army, and the king of Brunei married his daughter to Huang Senping in order to express his gratitude, and finally Huang Senping inherited the throne by mistake.
After Huang Senping took the throne, he began to implement a series of reforms, encouraging the people to plant and cultivate land and vigorously develop the national economy. He was also loved by the people, and Brunei was also at a time when the country's economic strength reached its most prosperous period in history. In 1408, Huang Senping also personally led the troops to meet Ming Chengzu as the king of Brunei, and finally died of illness in Nanjing. Ming Chengzu ordered him to be buried outside the Ande Gate in Nanjing, which is still preserved today.
In fact, there is another period in history, Huang Senping's daughter married the second sultan of Brunei, and after the sultan's death, the throne was inherited by Huang Senping's daughter, who also became the first queen of Brunei. Since then, Brunei has emerged in this period of the queen era, and the later Brunei royal family is also a descendant of Huang Senping's daughter. Therefore, Brunei still respects Huang Senping, and his "Tomb of Huang Zongbing" is still worshipped by the Brunei royal family.
epilogue:
Nowadays, Brunei's economic development and the level of construction of people's welfare facilities are still very good, the per capita national income is more than 20,000 US dollars, and almost all Brunei people can afford to live in villas and drive good cars. Not only that, but Brunei citizens can also enjoy free education in public schools, free public housing or high home-built subsidies, and almost free medical treatment. After six hundred years of development, the Brunei royal family still regards Huang Senping as its ancestor, which can be regarded as sentient and righteous.
References: History of the Song Dynasty, Treaty of Brunei, History of Ming