- Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak
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Charles Brooke Rajah of Sarawak 
The Rajah of Sarawak, by Leslie Ward, 1899. Reign 3 August 1868 – 17 May 1917
(48 years, 287 days)Predecessor James of Sarawak Successor Vyner of Sarawak Issue Vyner of Sarawak and others Full name Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke Father Rev. Francis Johnson Mother Emma Johnson Born 3 July 1829
Burnham-on-SeaDied 17 May 1917 (aged 87)
Gloucestershire, EnglandBurial St Leonard's Church, Sheepstor on Dartmoor Charles, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG (Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke; 3 June 1829 – 17 May 1917), born Charles Anthony Johnson, ruled as the head of state of Sarawak from 3 August 1868 until his death. He succeeded his uncle, James Brooke,[1] as the second White Rajah of this small country on the coast of Borneo.
Biography
Charles was born in Berrow Vicarage, Burnham, Somerset, in England, to the Rev. Francis Charles and Emma Frances Johnson, the younger sister of Rajah Sir James Brooke. Francis and Emma had other children: Captain John Brooke Johnson (1823–1868) (later Brooke Brooke), Mary Anna Johnson (b. 1824), Harriet Helena Johnson (b. 1826), Charlotte Frances Johnson (b. 1828), Captain (William) Frederic Johnson (b. 1830), Emma Lucy Johnson (b. 1832), Margaret Henrietta Johnson (1834–1845), Georgianna Brooke Johnson (1836–1854), James Stuart Johnson (1839–1840), and Henry Stuart Johnson (b. 1841).
Charles was educated at Crewkerne Grammar School and entered the Royal Navy. He adopted his uncle James's name and entered his service in 1852 as Resident at the Lundu station. In 1865, James named Charles as his successor.
Charles married Margaret Alice Lili de Windt at Highworth, Wiltshire on 28 October 1869; she was raised to the title of Ranee of Sarawak with the style of Her Highness 28 October 1869. They had six children, three of whom survived infancy:
- Dayang Ghita Brooke (1870–1873)
- James Harry Brooke (1872–1873)
- Charles Clayton Brooke (1872–1873)
- Vyner of Sarawak (1874–1963)
- Bertram, Tuan Muda (1876–1965)
- Harry Keppel Brooke, Tuan Bongsu (1879–1926) [1]
- Evidence also exists (see Reece cited in references below) that Charles Brooke had another son, Esca Brooke, born of a liaison with a native Malay woman which was unrecognized in English law. Esca was later adopted by Rev. William Daykin and moved to Canada.
Rajah Charles as depicted on a one cent coin
Charles continued the work his uncle had started, suppressing piracy, slavery, and head-hunting, while encouraging trade and development and expanding his borders as the opportunity arose. In 1891 he established the Sarawak Museum, the first museum in Borneo. Brooke founded a boys' school in 1903, called the 'Government Lay School', where Malays could be taught in the Malay language. This was the forerunner of SMK Green Road.[2] By the time of his death, Britain had granted Sarawak protectorate status, it had a parliamentary government and a railway, and oil had been discovered.
All three White Rajahs are buried in St Leonard's Church in the village of Sheepstor on Dartmoor.
Literature
References
- ^ a b The Peerage
- ^ "Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 70". Royal Asiatic Society. v. 70 - 1997. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F2YaAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Government+Lay+School%22+1903&dq=%22Government+Lay+School%22+1903&lr=&cd=2. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- Ranee Margaret of Sarawak (2001). My Life in Sarawak. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-582663-9.
- R.H.W. Reece (1982). The Name of Brooke, the End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195804740 9780195804744.
Charles Brooke, Rajah of SarawakBrooke familyBorn: June 3 1829 Died: May 17 1917Regnal titles Preceded by
JamesRajah of Sarawak
1868-1917Succeeded by
VynerCategories:- 1829 births
- 1917 deaths
- Sarawak royalty
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- People from Burnham-on-Sea
- 19th-century monarchs in Asia
- Southeast Asian monarchs
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