A swashbuckling sailor who turned priest and tried to free the slaves on Borneo Don Carlos Cuarteron Coming from a prosperous family, Don Carlos Cuarteron went to sea at the age of 13 in 1829 boarding a ship for the Philippines, Spain’s most prosperous colony at the time. While on the long journey from Spain […]
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Spain and North Borneo Spain’s desire to colonise the Philippines became clear when it named the islands after Prince Philip in 1543. The inauguration of the Manila Galleon route in 1564 between Manila and the Americas consolidated Spanish power. Spain then dispatched its authorities to colonise other areas of the Philippines. One of these areas
Riddles of the Dusuns While engaged in husking rice, the Dusun of North Borneo will enliven their work by proposing riddles to each other: 1. It creeps and its path is invisible. (a boat) 2. Digging all day and it digs nothing out. (a paddle) 3. Planted in the morning and cut down in the
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All Creatures #81 Betta on Banka A study on three species of Siamese Fighting Fish on the island of Banka in Indonesia indicates they grow longer faster than they gain weight. They also are also genetically very closely related. This information will provide a basis for further studies on the fish. Helmizuryani, H., R. P.
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Chinese Migration to Sabah before World War II The Chinese can date their presence in Sabah to the Han Dynasty(206 BCE to 220 CE). At the time, they were limited to trade missions and travel to the South Seas. There is no evidence of any early Chinese settlements. However, some speculate that the names for
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Pirates of Southwest Kalimatan The sea people were foreign migrants who established their communities along the coast. Their ethnic background was varied and considerably mixed. Among these was an important group called the Orang Laut, who settled in Kampong Palembang in Karimata Besar. Karimata Besar is an island in the Karimata chain located between Belitung
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The History of Pontianak and Sukadana from ~1770-1820 We go to the east coast of Borneo Island and take a look at some of the history there. Riau was connected to the India-Sino-Southeast Asian trade network, also called the Maritime Silk Road. Through various ports, this network connected India, China and Southeast Asia. They traded
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King of Borneo Many references in Southeast Asian history refer to the “King of Borneo”, but who was he? Prior to the arrival of James Brooke, one of the White Sultans of Sarawak in 1840, there was no group of people called “Malays”. The people were arranged by others according to their place of origin.
All Creatures Great and Small #80 Nasopharynx Cancer Nasopharyngeal cancer, a malignancy associated with the Bidayuh of Sarawak, is strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus. The virus is associated with initiating and progression of the tumor. Epstein-Barr virus also stops the immune system from attacking the tumour. International Medical Journal, 2025, Vol 32, Issue 4,
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This article was very difficult for me to translate from geological English to regular English. It seems like I was looking up every other word. Anyway, here is my attempt to explain the geology of the slice of hills just to the south of Kuching. Karst The swampy coastal plain of southwest Sarawak rises into
