entering the national conscience as a heroic episode, with the Spaniards being driven out by Bendahara Sakam, supposedly a brother of the ruling Sultan, and a thousand native warriors. This version, nevertheless, is disputed by most historians and considered a folk-hero recollection, probably created decades or centuries after.
Notwithstanding the retreat, Brunei lost a number of territories to Spain, including the island of Luzon.
A civil war was fought from 1660 to 1673.
British Intervention
The decline of the Bruneian Empire culminated in the 19th century, when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. The Treaty of Protection which was negotiated by Sir Hugh Low was signed into effect on 17 September 1888. This enables Britain control over Brunei’s external affairs. This treaty was signed after Sultan Hashim, the Sultan at that time, appealed to the British to stop partitioning and annexing Brunei, as what James Brooke was doing since 1846. One of the terms in the agreement included that the Sultan “could not cede or lease any territory to foreign powers without British consent.” When James Brooke later annexed the Pandaruan district, however the British did not take any action against him as they regarded James Brooke as not being a foreigner.
The British also attacked Brunei on July 1846 due to disagreement of on who was the rightful Sultan. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984. British Residents were introduced in Brunei under the Supplementary Protectorate Agreement in 1906. The Residents were to advise the Sultan on all matters of administration. However, the Resident assumed more executive control than the Sultan. The Residential system ended in 1959.
Discovery of Oil
Petroleum was discovered in 1929 after several fruitless attempts. Two men, F.F. Marriot and T.G. Cochrane
