The Brookes and Sarawak's plural society
When James Brooke gained his foothold in Sarawak in 1841, he assumed authority over a polyglot population of Malays, Chinese, Iban and Bidayuh, with the two latter groups making up the clear majority. Territorial expansion during his reign, and that of his nephew Charles Brooke, increased the state's geographical size and added more indigenous groups. However, the policy of 'divide and rule', which created a division of labour or residence according to ethnic group, never wavered.
- Information in the full article includes
- The ethnic division of labour
- 'Divide and rule'
- Pax Brookeana
- The smallholder system
- Miscegenation
