Borneo

Etymology

The Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by Majapahit court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentions the island as Nusa Tanjungnagara, which means the "island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom".

Kalimantan

When the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes made contact with the indigenous people of Borneo, they referred to their island as Pulu K'lemantang, and this second word became Kalimantan, the name for modern-day Borneo in the Indonesian language. The term kelamantan is used in Sarawak to refer to a group of people who consume sago in the northern part of the island.

John Crawfurd noted in his 1865 Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands that "(...) Borneo has sometimes been called by the Malays Kalamantan.", which he traces back to the name of a type of mango (Mangifera), though he added that the name, meaning Isle of Mangoes, was little-known and not popular. A mango variety locally called klemantan is still widely found in rural Ketapang and surrounding areas of West Kalimantan.

Another source states that it derives from the Sanskrit word kalamanthana, meaning "burning weather", possibly to describe the island's hot and humid tropical weather. In the Indianized Malay era the name Kalamanthana was derived from the Sanskrit terms kala (time or season) and manthana (churning, kindling, or creating fire by friction), which possibly describes the hot weather.

Borneo

Internationally, the island is known as Borneo, a name derived from European contact with the Brunei kingdom in the 16th century, during the Age of Exploration. On a map from around 1601, Brunei city is referred to as Borneo, and the whole island is also labelled Borneo. The name may derive from the Sanskrit word váruṇa (वरुण), meaning either "water" or Varuna, the Hindu god of rain and oceans.

The term has been used as early as the late 9th century by Fan Chuo in his book on Nanzhao in the 860s. The term Bóní (勃泥) was used to describe trading colonies in the south. In 977, Chinese records use the term Bo-ni to refer to Borneo. In 1225, it was also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua. In modern Chinese, the island is called 婆羅洲 (simplified Chinese: 婆罗洲; pinyin: Póluó Zhōu), the first two characters being phonetic and the third referring to a large landmass.

Geography

Geology

Borneo was formed through Mesozoic accretion of microcontinental fragments, ophiolite terranes and island arc crust onto a Paleozoic continental core. At the beginning of the Cenozoic, Borneo formed a promontory of Sundaland which partly separated from Asian mainland by the proto-South China Sea. The oceanic part of the proto-South China Sea was subducted during the Paleogene period and a large accretionary complex formed along the northwestern of the island of Borneo.

In the early Miocene uplift of the accretionary complex occurred as a result of underthrusting of thinned continental crust in northwest. The uplift may have also resulted from shortening due to the counter-clockwise rotation of Borneo between 20 and 10 mega-annum (Ma) as a consequence of Australia–Southeast Asia collision. Large volumes of sediment were shed into basins, which scattered offshore to the west, north and east of Borneo as well into a Neogene basin which is currently exposed in large areas of eastern and southern Sabah.

In southeast Sabah, the Miocene to recent island arc terranes of the Sulu Archipelago extend onshore into Borneo with the older volcanic arc was the result of southeast dipping subduction while the younger volcanics are likely resulted from northwest dipping subduction the Celebes Sea.

Before sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age, Borneo was part of the mainland of Asia, forming, with Java and Sumatra, the upland regions of a peninsula that extended east from present day Indochina. The South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand now submerge the former low-lying areas of the peninsula. Deeper waters separating Borneo from neighbouring Sulawesi prevented a land connection to that island, creating the divide known as Wallace's Line between Asian and Australia-New Guinea biological regions. The island today is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south. To the west of Borneo are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south and east are islands of Indonesia: Java and Sulawesi, respectively. To the northeast are the Philippine Islands. With an area of 743,330 square kilometres (287,000 sq mi), it is the third-largest island in the world, and is the largest island of Asia (the largest continent). Its highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 m (13,435 ft).

Ecology

The Borneo rainforest is estimated to be around 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. The current dominant tree group, the dipterocarps, has dominated the Borneo lowland rain forests for millions of years. It is the centre of the evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals, and the 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 Bornean rock frog, the hose's palm civet and the dayak fruit bat.

Peat swamp forests occupy the entire coastline of Borneo. The soil of the peat swamp is comparatively infertile, while it is known to be the home of various bird species such as the hook-billed bulbul, helmeted hornbill and rhinoceros hornbill. 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). The Borneo river shark is known only from the Kinabatangan River. In 2010, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) stated that 123 species have been discovered in Borneo since the "Heart of Borneo" agreement was signed in 2007.

The WWF has classified the island into seven distinct ecoregions. Most are lowland regions:

Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 square kilometres (165,100 sq mi).

Borneo peat swamp forests

Kerangas or Sundaland heath forests

Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests are found in the island's western and southern lowlands

Sunda Shelf mangroves

The Borneo montane rain forests lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation.

Topography

List of highest peaks in Borneo by elevation:

Mount Kinabalu 13,435 ft (4,095 m)

Mount Trusmadi 8,668 ft (2,642 m)

Raya Hill 7,474 ft (2,278 m)

Muruk Miau 6,837 ft (2,084 m)

Mount Wakid 6,778 ft (2,066 m)

Monkobo Hill 5,866 ft (1,788 m)

Mount Lotung 5,843 ft (1,781 m)

Mount Magdalena 4,288 ft (1,307 m)

Talibu Hill 4,144 ft (1,263 m)

River systems

List of rivers in Borneo by length:

Kapuas River 1,143 km (710 mi)

Barito River 1,090 km (680 mi)

Mahakam River 980 km (610 mi)

Kahayan River 658 km (409 mi)

Mendawai River 616 km (383 mi)

Kayan River 576 km (358 mi)

Rajang River 565 km (351 mi)

Kinabatangan River 560 km (350 mi)

Baram River 400 km (250 mi)

Sembakung River 352 km (219 mi)

Sesayap River 279 km (173 mi)

Pawan River 197 km (122 mi)

History

Early history

In the Samang Buat Cave, in Lahad Datu, Sabah, archaeological evidence suggests that human settlement dates back to around 46,000 years ago, confirming Lahad Datu as one of the most important prehistoric centres in Southeast Asia. Intriguingly, tools found in Mansuli Valley, also in Lahad Datu, have been dated as early as 235,000 years ago.

In Tingkayu Valley, Kunak, Sabah, archaeological excavations revealed traces of a Palaeolithic community dating from approximately 28,000–30,000 years ago. The site, once a prehistoric lake basin, yielded Hoabinhian stone tools that indicate human activity in the area.

In Niah Cave, Sarawak, human presence has been dated to around 40,000 years ago. Recent studies in the Trader Cave section of the complex discovered microlithic tools and human remains, dated between 55,000 and 65,000 years ago, making it one of the most important early modern human sites in Southeast Asia.

In November 2018, scientists reported the discovery of the oldest known figurative art painting, over 40,000 (perhaps as old as 52,000) years old, of an unknown animal, in the cave of Lubang Jeriji Saléh on the island of Borneo. It has been proposed, based on house construction styles, linguistic and genetic evidence, that Madagascar may have been first populated from southern Borneo.

According to ancient Chinese (977), Indian and Japanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo had become trading ports by the first millennium AD. In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor, tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of a thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora), dragon's blood, rattan, edible bird's nests and various spices were described as among the most valuable items from Borneo. The Indians named Borneo Suvarnabhumi (Land of Gold), and also Karpuradvipa (Camphor Island). The Javanese named Borneo Puradvipa (Diamond Island). Archaeological findings in the Sarawak river delta reveal that the area was a thriving centre of trade between India and China from the 6th century until about 1300.

Stone pillars bearing inscriptions in the Pallava script, found in Kutai along the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan and dating to around the second half of the 4th century, constitute some of the oldest evidence of Hindu influence in Southeast Asia. By the 14th century, Borneo became a vassal state of Majapahit (in present-day Indonesia), later changing its allegiance to the Ming dynasty of China. Pre-Islamic Sulu, then known as Lupah Sūg, stretched from Palawan and the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines, to Sabah, Eastern, and Northern Kalimantan in Borneo. The Sulu Empire rose as a rebellion and reaction against the Majapahit, which had briefly occupied its territory. Islam arrived in the 10th century, brought by Muslim traders who later converted many indigenous peoples in the coastal areas.

British and Dutch control

After the fall of Malacca in 1511, Portuguese merchants traded regularly with Borneo, and especially with Brunei from 1530. Having visited Brunei's capital, the Portuguese described the place as surrounded by a stone wall. While Borneo was seen as rich, the Portuguese did not make any attempts to conquer it. The Spanish had sailed from Spanish America and conquered the Brunei's provinces in the Philippines and incorporated it into the Mexico-Centered Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish visit to Brunei led to the Castilian War in 1578. The British began to trade with Sambas of southern Borneo in 1609, while the Dutch only began their trade in 1644: to Banjar and Martapura, also in the southern Borneo. The Dutch tried to settle the island of Balambangan, north of Borneo, in the second half of the 18th century, but withdrew by 1797. In 1812, the sultan in southern Borneo ceded his forts to the British East India Company. The British, led by Stamford Raffles, then tried to establish an intervention in Sambas but failed. Although they managed to defeat the sultanate the next year and declared a blockade on all ports in Borneo except Brunei, Banjarmasin and Pontianak, the project was cancelled by the British governor-general Lord Minto in India as it was too expensive. At the beginning of British and Dutch exploration on the island, they described the island of Borneo as full of head hunters, with the indigenous in the interior practising cannibalism, and the waters around the island infested with pirates, especially between the north eastern Borneo and the southern Philippines. The Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping in the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo, along with the attacks by Illanuns of the Moro pirates from the southern Philippines, such as in the Battle off Mukah.

The Dutch began to intervene in the southern part of the island upon resuming contact in 1815, posting residents to Banjarmasin, Pontianak and Sambas and assistant-residents to Landak and Mampawa. The Sultanate of Brunei in 1842 granted large parts of land in Sarawak to the British adventurer James Brooke, as a reward for his help in quelling a local rebellion. Brooke established the Raj of Sarawak and was recognised as its rajah after paying a fee to the sultanate. He established a monarchy, and the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great-nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years; the leaders were known as the White Rajahs. Brooke also acquired the island of Labuan for Great Britain in 1846 through the Treaty of Labuan with the sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin II on 18 December 1846. The region of northern Borneo came under the administration of North Borneo Chartered Company following the acquisition of territory from the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu by a German businessman and adventurer named Baron von Overbeck, before it was passed to the British Dent brothers (comprising Alfred Dent and Edward Dent). Further expansion by the British continued into the Borneo interior. This led the 26th sultan of Brunei, Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin to appeal the British to halt such efforts, and as a result a Treaty of Protection was signed in 1888, rendering Brunei a British protectorate.

World War II

During World War II, Japanese forces gained control and occupied most areas of Borneo from 1941 to 1945. In the first stage of the war, the British saw the Japanese advance to Borneo as motivated by political and territorial ambitions rather than economic factors. The occupation drove many people in the coastal towns to the interior, searching for food and escaping the Japanese. The Chinese residents in Borneo, especially with the Sino-Japanese War in Mainland China mostly resisted the Japanese occupation. Following the formation of resistance movements in northern Borneo such as the Jesselton Revolt, many innocent indigenous and Chinese people were executed by the Japanese for their alleged involvement.

In Kalimantan, the Japanese also killed many Malay intellectuals, executing all the Malay sultans of West Kalimantan in the Pontianak incidents, together with Chinese people who were already against the Japanese for suspecting them to be threats. Sultan Muhammad Ibrahim Shafi ud-din II of Sambas was executed in 1944. The sultanate was thereafter suspended and replaced by a Japanese council. The Japanese also set-up Pusat Tenaga Rakjat (PUTERA) in the Indonesian archipelago in 1943, although it was abolished the following year when it became too nationalistic. Some of the Indonesian nationalist like Sukarno and Hatta who had returned from Dutch exile began to co-operate with the Japanese. Shortly after his release, Sukarno became president of the Central Advisory Council, an advisory council for south Borneo, Celebes, and Lesser Sunda, set up in February 1945.

After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese sent several thousand of British and Australian prisoners of war to camps in Borneo such as Batu Lintang camp. From the Sandakan camp site, only six of some 2,500 prisoners survived after they were forced to march in an event known as the Sandakan Death March. In addition, of the total of 17,488 Javanese labourers brought in by the Japanese during the occupation, only 1,500 survived mainly due to starvation, harsh working conditions and maltreatment. The Dayak and other indigenous people played a role in guerrilla warfare against the occupying forces, particularly in the Kapit Division. They temporarily revived headhunting of Japanese toward the end of the war, with Allied Z Special Unit provided assistance to them. Australia contributed significantly to the liberation of Borneo. The Australian Imperial Force was sent to Borneo to fight off the Japanese. Together with other Allies, the island was completely liberated in 1945.

Recent history

In May 1945, officials in Tokyo suggested that whether northern Borneo should be included in the proposed new country of Indonesia should be separately determined based on the desires of its indigenous people and following the disposition of Malaya. Sukarno and Mohammad Yamin meanwhile continuously advocated for a Greater Indonesian republic. Towards the end of the war, Japan decided to give an early independence to a new proposed country of Indonesia on 17 July 1945, with an Independence Committee meeting scheduled for 19 August 1945. However, following the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces, the meeting was shelved. Sukarno and Hatta continued the plan by unilaterally declaring independence, although the Dutch tried to retake their colonial possession in Borneo.

The southern part of the island achieved its independence through the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945. The southern part saw guerrilla conflicts followed by Dutch blockades to cut supplies for nationalist within the region. While nationalist guerrillas supporting the inclusion of southern Borneo in the new Indonesian republic were active in Ketapang, and to lesser extent in Sambas where they rallied with the red-white flag which became the flag of Indonesia, most of the Chinese residents in southern Borneo expected to be liberated by Chinese Nationalist troops from mainland China and to integrate their districts as an overseas province of China. Meanwhile, Sarawak and Sabah in northern Borneo became separate British crown colonies in 1946.

In 1961, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of the independent Federation of Malaya desired to unite Malaya, the British colonies of Sarawak, North Borneo, Singapore and the protectorate of Brunei under the proposed Federation of Malaysia. The idea was heavily opposed by the governments in both Indonesia and the Philippines as well from communist sympathisers and nationalists in Borneo. Sukarno, as the president of the new republic, perceiving the British trying to maintain their presence in northern Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, decided to launch a military infiltration, later known as the confrontation, from 1962 to 1969. As a response to the growing opposition, the British deployed their armed forces to guard their colonies against Indonesian and communist revolts. Australia and New Zealand also participated in these measures.

The Philippines opposed the newly proposed federation, claiming the eastern part of North Borneo (today the Malaysian state of Sabah) as part of its territory as a former possession of the Sultanate of Sulu. The Philippine government mostly based their claim on the Sultanate of Sulu's cession agreement with the British North Borneo Company, as by now the sultanate had come under the jurisdiction of the Philippine republican administration, which therefore should inherit the Sulu former territories. The Philippine government also claimed that the heirs of the sultanate had ceded all their territorial rights to the republic.

Demographics

The demonym for Borneo is Bornean.

Borneo had 23,053,723 inhabitants (in 2020 Censuses), a population density of 30.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (80 inhabitants per square mile). Most of the population lives in coastal cities, although the hinterland has small towns and villages along the rivers.

Borneo is home to a number of different Indigenous peoples and distinct languages and cultures. Dayak is inconsistently used as a collective term for non-Muslim Austronesian Indigenous peoples from Borneo, encompassing the Iban and Bidayuh in East Malaysia, and the Kayan, Kenyah and Ngaju of Kalimantan. Historically, many Dayaks lived in communal longhouses, lacked class structure and practiced shifting cultivation for subsistence.

Territories by population, size, and time zone

a May includes the offshore islands and its populations

b Due to its size, Brunei is further subdivided into 4 districts (mukim), which is similar to the size of smaller administrative units in Indonesia (kecamatan) and Malaysia (daerah)

Urbanisation by region

c Data based on the projection in the former territories in East Kalimantan Province (prior to the separation of North Kalimantan in 2012)

Major ethnicities by region

d Based on alphabetical order

Administration

The island of Borneo is divided administratively by three countries.

The independent sultanate of Brunei (main part and eastern exclave of Temburong)

The Indonesian provinces of East, South, West, North and Central Kalimantan, as well as Capital Specific Region of Nusantara, in Kalimantan

The East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Federal Territory of Labuan (on offshore islands nearby)

Economy

Borneo's economy depends mainly on agriculture, logging and mining, oil and gas, and ecotourism. Brunei's economy is highly dependent on the oil and gas production sector, and the country has become one of the largest oil producers in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak are both top exporters of timber. Sabah is also known as the agricultural producer of rubber, cacao, and vegetables, and for its fisheries, while Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan export liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum. The Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan are mostly dependent on mining sectors despite also being involved in logging and oil and gas explorations.

Human Development Index by territory

HDI is a statistic of combined indicators that takes into account life expectancy, health, education and per-capita income.