Marudu 1845

“Thus has Marudu ceased to exist; and Seriff Houseman’s power received a fall from which it will never recover”, James Brooke wrote in his diary (1) on 20 August 1845 after a successful campaign against Syarif Osman of Marudu, (2) which had its eventual tragic climax in the destruction of Marudu by the British Navy. 

Brooke had managed to convince Vice Admiral Thomas Cochrane to proceed with a great fleet against Marudu. The accusation of piracy, which Brooke used intentionally against Syarif Osman, served Brooke as a pretext for the attack. However, on closer examination, this accusation turns out to be false. Nevertheless, Cochrane and other commanders of the British ships, as well as colonial officials, relied on Brooke’s details because, in their opinion, he had insight into the situation in Borneo and because he presented authorities in Singapore, India and London with documents containing allegedly incriminatory evidence against Syarif Osman.