The Society’s Reprint 18, ‘Papers Relating to Brunei’ reproduces a series of papers on the subject, the earliest being Hugh Low’s ‘Selesilah'(Book of Genealogical Descent of the Rajas of Brunei) and W.H. Treacher’s Genealogy of the Royal Family of Brunei published in the JSBRAS in 1880 and 1885 respectively. These particular numbers of the Journal are now all but unobtainable, yet the papers in them contain extremely valuable historical information not available elsewhere.

The early history of this ancient sultanate was inextricably linked to the maritime trade route on which it was located along the southern fringes of the South China Sea. In its halcyon days, Brunei enjoyed China’s patronage and became Borneo’s most powerful kingdom whose pervasive influence encompassed significant parts of the island. Sadly, Brunei’s history have suffered from an inexplicable lack of interest among scholars as a result of which authoritative accounts on its early history remain relatively rare.

This modest volume represents the MBRAS’ own effort to address this unfortunate imbalance and supplement existing scholarship on the early history of Brunei, particularly the origins of the ancient kingdom and its emergence as a formidable economic and political force in pre-modern Southeast Asia. Other papers in the volume include those by Hughes-Hallett, Amin Sweeney, Black, P.M. Shariffuddin, Abdul Latif Hj Ibrahim and Tun Suffian. The reprint includes a foreword by eminent historian Professor Cheah Boon Kheng.

Contents:

Foreword
Selesilah (Book of the Descent of the Rajas of Brunei by Hugh Low. JSBRAS 5(June 1880)
The Genealogy of the Royal Family of Brunei by W.H. Treacher. JSBRAS 15(June 1885)
A Brunei Code by R.O. Winstedt. JMBRAS 1(1923)
A Sketch of the History of Brunei by H.R. Hughes-Hallett. JMBRAS 18(2) August 1940
Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei by P.L. Amin Sweeney. JMBRAS 41(2) December 1968
Observations on the Brunei Political System, 1883-1885 by Dr. Peter Leys, edited by R.M. Pringle. JMBRAS 41(2) December 1968
The Ending of Brunei Rule in Sabah 1878-1902 by I.D. Black. JMBRAS 41(2) December 1968
‘Batu Tarsilah’ Genealogical Tablet of the Sultan of Brunei by P.M. Shariffuddin and Abd. Latif Hj. Ibrahim. JMBRAS 47(1) July 1974
Batu Tarsilah, A Short Comment by Amin Sweeney. JMBRAS 47(2) December 1974
Tomb of “The King of Brunei” in Nanking by Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim. JMBRAS 56(2) December 1983
Visit of the ‘King of Brunei’ to the Emperor Yung Lo of China:
Contemporary and Ancient Accounts from Peoples Daily, Beijing, 25 December 1983 JMBRAS 57(1) June 1984