24 September 1841: James Brooke becomes the Rajah of Sarawak

Having crushed a rebellion against the Sultan of Brunei, James Brooke was made the governor of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, and was later confirmed as rajah.

James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, by Francis Grant. Photo © DeAgostini/Getty Images
(Image credit: Photo © DeAgostini/Getty Images)

James Brooke, born in India in 1803, was almost killed at the tender age of 22. He was shot in "the most intimate part of the male anatomy" while fighting the Burmese, according to an article from 2011 in the Daily Mail.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

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