The Kingdom of Sarawak was a state in Borneo established by Sir James Brooke in 1841 by receiving independent kingdom status from the Sultanate of Brunei as a reward for helping fight piracy and insurgency. Its statehood and identity as a sovereign country was first recognised by the United States in 1850 and then the United Kingdom in 1863. In 1888 Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, the successor of James Brooke, accepted a British protectorate, which it remained until 1946, when the third ruler Charles Vyner Brooke ceded his rights to the United Kingdom. Sarawak gained its independence from the British in 22 July 1963 and formed the Federation of Malaysia together with Singapore, North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya in 16 September 1963. |
