Melanau Rebellion of 1795

Rejang War
Date1795
Location
Rejang and Mukah
Result Bruneian victory
Belligerents
Bruneian Empire Melanau
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad Tajuddin
Pengiran Temenggong Abdul Raub
Strength
Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown

The Melanau Rebellion of 1795 was a rebellion in the modern districts of Rejang and Mukah by the Melanau people.[1][2]

Background

After the accession of Muhammad Tajuddin in 1778, he put an emphasis on trade, trading with the Spanish Philippines, Dutch East India Company and Portuguese Macau,[3] which started with the Portuguese in 1794.[4]

At the time, Rejang and Mukah were one of the regional economic epicenters of the lucrative sago trade, as Rejang and Mukah produced and processed it,[2][5] Pengiran Digadong Muhammad Kanzul Alam most probably sought to exploit of the districts to have monopoly on the sago trade, putting heavy taxes upon the Melanau, which had been done a century before.[2][6]

War

When the rebellion started, the Sultan sent Pengiran Temenggong Abdul Raub to the region to quell the rebellion, using an army of levy soldiers, they attacked the Melanau.[1][2] The Melanau, most definitely retreated to their tall houses (rumah tinggi), these houses were made for repelling the Dayak tribes like the Iban, they used lances and blades to hardly pass through, the Melanau also poured boiling water onto the floor when attacked from below, the floor having small gaps to make it effective,[7] with the forces exchanging fire, eventually forcing the Melanau to surrender due to starvation.[8]

Aftermath

With the surrender, the Bruneians reestablished trading routes and re-imposed the heavy taxes.[2][6] It is unknown what happened to the Melanau leaders involved, but they were likely executed for treason.

References

  1. 1 2 Mail, Haji Awg Asbol bin Haji (2022-06-09), "Islamic Law in Brunei Darussalam (1425–2014)", Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei, London: Routledge, pp. 155–169, doi:10.4324/9781003020431-12, ISBN 978-1-003-02043-1, retrieved 2026-02-20
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mail, Asbol (2020–2021). "The Role of The Military, The Bruneian Political Power and The Malay Realm (14th – 19th Century): From a Historical Perspective". Psychology and Education (2021).
  3. ↑ Jamil Al-Sufri 2019, p. 105–106.
  4. ↑ Haji Awang Asbol 2011, p. 79.
  5. ↑ Diana, Rose (6 April 2011). "That binding man from Mukah". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 Walker, John Henry (2016). "From Po-li to Rajah Brooke: Culture, Power and the Contest for Sarawak". Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan. 2 (2). doi:10.33736/jbk.461.2016.
  7. ↑ Badaruddin, Azizz (2017), "The Traditional Architecture of the Melanau Tall Longhouse, Mukah, Sarawak", Universiti Sains Malaysia.
  8. ↑ Keppel, Henry (1846). The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido
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