Letter from Sir James Brooke to Edward Rigby, 1840 - 1868
Scope and Contents
An undated five-line letter apologising for failing to keep a breakfast engagement.
Dates
- Creation: 1840 - 1868
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
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Biographical / Historical
Sir James Brooke (1803-1868), Rajah of Sarawak, was born in Benares and educated in Norwich. Around 1819 he ran away from school and became a cadet of infantry in Bengal. He served in the Burma War, but returned home invalided, and resigned his service in 1830. Brooke travelled to Borneo and Sarawak in 1838. He returned to Sarawak in 1840, and after helping to suppress the rebellion there was made Rajah in 1841. Brooke's operations against pirates in the Bornean seas led to charges of cruelty and illegal conduct, but he was cleared by a commission of inquiry sitting at Singapore. Brooke revisited England in 1847, and on his return to the East was appointed British Commissioner and Consul-General of Borneo and Governor of Labuan. He left Sarawak in 1863 and returned to England, where he died at Burrator, Derbyshire.
Extent
1 page(s) (1 page) : paper
1 envelope(s) (1 envelope)
Language of Materials
English
Former / Other Reference
MSS 35
Other Finding Aids
Donald H. Simpson, ed., 'The manuscript catalogue of the library of the Royal Commonwealth Society' (London, 1975), p. 74.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The provenance of the collection is unknown.
General
This collection level description was created by RAS using information from Donald Simpson's R.C.S. catalogue. The biographical history was compiled with reference to the entry on Sir James Brooke in Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee, eds, 'Dictionary of national biography', vol. II (London, 1908), pp. 1336-1338.
Date information
DateText: The date is approximate..
Originator(s)
Brooke, Sir, James, 1803-1868, Knight, Rajah of Sarawak
Finding aid date
2004-01-08 15:57:07+00:00
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository
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