Royal Brunei Navy
Malay: Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei
The Naval Standard of Bruneian Empire in 1601
Active1408 – 1887
Disbanded1888
Country Brunei
Allegiance Bruneian Sultan
TypeNavy
Part of Royal Brunei Army
Garrison/HQKota Batu
Engagements
  • Bruneian Conquest

The Royal Brunei Navy (Malay: Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei) also known as the Royal Bruneian Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Bruneian Sultanate. It was established after the Bruneians declared Independence from the Majapahit Empire.

Its unknown much about the Royal Brunei Navy before the Castilian War but what we do know before the Castilian War, is in 1521, Antonio Pigafetta reported Brunei's military had a fleet of over 100 boats which was involved in an attack with a faction in the south.[1]

History

Foundation (1408–1485)

The Bruneian Sultanate did not have its own army until 1408 during Sulaiman reign. The earliest form of the Bruneian navy is pretty much unknown as of now.

Golden Age (1485–1524)

During the Golden Age of Brunei, The Bruneian Royal Navy saw a lot of fighting in Borneo and parts of the modern Philippines[2] and changes in the navy. During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1524), 40 Javanese blacksmiths were paid to teach metal casting in Brunei, possibly introducing cannon casting. Since Bolkiah was the first Bruneian sultan to have used cannon, it might have been the Javanese who introduced cannon technology to Brunei.[3]: 10–11 

In 1521, Antonio Pigafetta reported Brunei's military had a fleet of over 100 boats which was involved in an attack with a faction in the south.[1]

Decline (1530–1888)

Brunei's Navy at 1530 (before the Castilian war) was still seen as strong. Brunei's decline was not showcased until Spain declared war on Brunei on 15 April 1578. A Spanish armada comprising forty galleons appeared off the coast of Brunei in 1578, following the Sultan's rejection of a treaty with the Spaniards in 1573. They attacked the 50 Brunei warships encircling him as soon as he saw the Sultan would not accede to his demands. After the War, the Bruneians had to reconstruct their Army and Navy.

In 1673 (After the Civil War), Brunei ceded Eastern Sabah to the Sulu Sultanate after helping Muhyiddin forces. (an event which traced the roots of the North Borneo dispute between Malaysia and the Philippines in the present-day).[4][5] But this also meant that they would lose authority over the Bajau People.[6]

The sultanate was in a very bad state by the 1880s. Both Sarawak, under Rajah Brooke, and the British North Borneo business had lost more territory.[7] In 1888, The Sultanate of Brunei's Navy was disbanded.

References

  1. 1 2 Gin, Ooi Keat; King, Victor T. (2022-07-29). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
  2. ↑ Metcalf, Peter (2010). The Life of the Longhouse: An Archaeology of Ethnicity. Cambridge University Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-521-11098-3.
  3. ↑ Jalil, Ahmad Safwan (2012). Southeast Asian Cannon Making in Negara Brunei Darussalam (MA thesis). Flinders University.
  4. ↑ Leigh R. Wright (1966). "Historical Notes on the North Borneo Dispute". The Journal of Asian Studies. 25 (3): 471–484. doi:10.2307/2052002. JSTOR 2052002.
  5. ↑ Geoffrey Marston (1967). "International Law and the Sabah Dispute: A Postscript" (PDF). Australian International Law Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  6. ↑ Andaya, Barbara Watson (1982). A History of Malaysia. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-0-312-38120-2.
  7. ↑ Yunos, Rozan. "Brunei in 1888". The Brunei Times. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
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