James Brooke in the News

Here's an article in yesterday's New Straits Times on the Italian perspective of James Brooke.

As it may be difficult to read from the photo, here's the full text ...

Brooke was seen as a tyrant

KUCHING: To the Italians, Sarawak is beautiful, mysterious and romantic with colonial tyrants hunting down pirates.

And to them, "Sandokan The Pirate" is the hero, while the tyrannical colonial master is Sarawak's first white Rajah, James Brooke.

These were the impressions they grew up with of Sarawak based on Italian action adventure writer Emilio Salgari's famous Sandokan series, Le Tigri De Mompracem or The Tiger of Malaysia.

In that book, Salgari depicted Sandokan, a Bornean prince turned pirate, waging war against Brooke.
 

"To us Italians, we know that these books are fiction. But little did we know that James Brooke did exist and was the first white Rajah in Sarawak," said Italian writer Valerio Zecchini in an interview.

Zecchini, who first came to Sarawak seven years ago, had the same mindset until he saw the place for himself.

"Only after being here did I realise that our perception of Brooke was wrong.

"He was never a colonial tyrant, but a brilliant adventurer who made Sarawak his own private kingdom by working with the locals.

"Sarawak was never like any western colony where the locals were treated differently by the masters, like in India.

"The story of Sarawak is very much unique as it was never colonised like we thought."

Italian historians are studying the link between Sarawak and Italy during the Brooke era.

One of the first links between the two governments was documented by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari, who met the first Brooke during his stint at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.

It led to him spending several months in Sarawak and he saw the way Brooke ruled the kingdom.

"Based on studies by historians, Salgari never set foot in Sarawak but, he may have met Charles Brooke's wife, (Margaret Alice Lili de Windt) during her stay in Genova," said Zecchini.

In 1847, a Commission of Inquiry was set up in London over an alleged massacre of 800 Ibans during James Brooke's fight against piracy and headhunting.

"During that time, London offered a reward for every pirate's head.

"So with the sudden rise in claims for rewards at the time, the government then became suspicious of him.

"It was the main news in Europe then, and this may have been the reason behind Salgari's depiction of Brooke in his book."

With more interest in Italy on Brooke's life, an Italian film crew will do a documentary in the state in October on the real story behind Brooke's rule then and the development of the state after that era.

Additional Notes

Here is a cover of the book mentioned.


The New Sraits Times website is as www.nst.com.my .