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Muda Hassim--a native Rajah in Borneo--and they asked Mr James Brooke to
take presents and letters of thanks to him, if he should be going
thither in his yacht. Mr Brooke had not decided which of the many
islands of the Eastern Archipelago he would visit, and he was as ready
to go to Borneo as to any other; so, setting sail, he made his way up
the Sarawak river, and anchored off Kuching, the capital, on August 15,
1839. The country was nominally under the rule of the Sultan of Brunei,
but his uncle, Rajah Muda Hassim, was then the greatest power in the
island. As he was favourable to English strangers, Mr Brooke paid him a
visit and was most kindly received. The Rajah was at this time engaged
in war with several fierce Dyak tribes who had revolted against the
Sultan, but his efforts to subdue them were vain. He told Mr James
Brooke his troubles, and begged him to help him to put down the
insurgents, and implored him not to leave him a prey to his enemies.
James Brooke consented to help him, and began the difficult task of
restoring peace in the country. With his help the rebellion, which the
Malay forces were too feeble to subdue, was brought to an end. Brooke
led the crew of his yacht, and some Malay followers against the
insurgents, and defeated them. Muda Hassim was very pleased to see that
order was restored in the country, and he conferred on James Brooke the
title of Rajah of Sarawak. It was some little time before the Sultan of
Brunei would consent to confirm the title, but in 1841 the Government of
Sarawak and its dependencies was formally made over to James Brooke, and
he became the first English Rajah of Sarawak. He ruled till 1868, when
he died and was succeeded by his nephew, Charles Johnson Brooke, who is
ruling Sarawak to-day.

When James Brooke became king, he set to work to improve the condition
of his subjects. He saw clearly that the development of commerce was the
best means of civilizing the natives, and, in order to do this, it was
necessary to put down piracy, which not only appealed to the worst
instincts of the Dyaks, but was a standing danger to European and native
traders in those seas. In the suppression of piracy he found a vigorous
ally in Captain (afterwards Admiral) Keppel, who, in command of H.M.S.
_Dido_, was summoned from the China Station in 1843 for this purpose.
The pirates were attacked in their strongholds by Captain Keppel. They
fought desperately, but could not withstand the su