With Islamic rule, Brunei rose to the height of its power during the 16th century under one of the greatest Sultans in its history - Sultan Bolkiah. He made a number of expeditions with his fleet to Java and Malacca and made conquests not only in Borneo but also in the Philippines.
Trade with outside countries increased and by the early 1900's the British began to show an interest in Borneo. In 1838 the famous Victorian adventurer James Brooke arrived in Borneo, at a time when piracy was rife. Brooke fought against piracy and successfully quelled a rebellion. In return, the ruling Sultan ceded him an area now known as Sarawak and made Brooke the Rajah.
From then on, the Sultanate came under increasing pressure from the Brooke regime to the south and American and European speculators in Sabah, to release more territory. These pressures culminated in the seizing of Limbang in 1890 which split Brunei into two parts. Sandwiched between the North Borneo Company to the Northeast and the Brooke State in the Southwest, the formerly powerful Sultanate of Brunei was reduced to the size it is today.
Two events brought tremendous changes to Brunei.
One was the discovery of oil in 1929; the other was the extension by Britain of formal protection to Brunei in a protectorate agreement in 1905.In 1950 the late Sultan Sir Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien ascended to the throne on the death of his brother. He ruled for 17 years, and in October 1967 he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Sultan Muda Hassanal Bolkiah, who was crowned in 1968.
During Sir Omar's reign, many international and domestic developments affected life in Brunei. A new constitution was written in 1959 citing Brunei as a self governing state, while its foreign affairs, security and defence remained the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
Although dissident groups in the fifties and sixties made representations for reunification with Sarawak and the newly formed Malaysia, Sir Omar made the decision that Brunei should remain an independent state. From that time on there followed a period of stability and prosperity for the people of Brunei. Brunei achieved full independence at midnight on 31 December 1983, following a treaty signed in 1979. The next day Brunei became a member of the Commonwealth and within a week joined ASEAN. On 21 September 1984, Brunei became the 159th member state of the United Nations.
The Sultan's father passed away on 7 September 1986. He is generally considered to be the “Architect of Modern Brunei”.
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