Introduction to Geography of Borneo
Borneo an island in the Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia. It lies in the Greater Sunda group of islands about 300 miles (480 km) east of Singapore. Surrounding the island are the waters of the Java, South China, Sulu, and Celebes seas and Makassar Strait. Borneo is the third largest island in the world, following Greenland and New Guinea. Its area is about 290,000 square miles (751,000 km2), roughly twice that of Montana. Politically, the island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei:
Kalimantan is part of Indonesia. Area: about 210.-000 square miles (544,000 km2). Population (2000): 11,331,558. Sarawak is part of Malaysia. Area: 48,050 square miles (124,450 km2). Population (2000): 2,603,485. Sabah is part of Malaysia. Area: 28,460 square miles (73,711 km2). Population (2000): 1,736,902. Brunei is an independent sultanate. Area: 2,226 square miles (5,765 km2). Population (2001): 332,844.
Borneo is an extension of the Asian mainland; only shallow seas separate it from the Malay Peninsula and from the adjacent islands of Sumatra and Java. The interior of the island is predominantly mountainous, with peaks up to about 8,000 feet (2,400 m). Mount Kinabalu (13,455,feet [4,101 m]), in the extreme north near the coast, is the island's highestvpeak. The coast is a low, largely marshy belt, 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 km) wide, which contains large areas of mangrove swamp.
Borneo lies on the Equator and has a tropically hot and humid climate along the coast. Here temperatures remain fairly constant throughout the year and average about 80° F. (27° C.). The mountainous areas have a cooler climate. Annual rainfall averages from 100 to 160 inches (2,540 to 4,060 mm). Most of the rain falls during two monsoon seasons.
Tropical rain forests, with numerous vines, flowering plants, and dense undergrowth, cover most of Borneo. Among the many animals are elephants, rhinoceroses, small leopards, bears, orangutans, gibbons, and wild pigs. The proboscis monkey is native only to Borneo. Snakes include pythons and cobras. There are many species of birds.
Economic Activities
Agriculture provides a livelihood for most of the people. The farms are generally small and lie along the coastal plain and in river valleys. Most of the farmers produce barely enough food for their own needs. Those in the interior practice a primitive kind of farming and engage in hunting and the gathering of foods from the forests. Rice is Borneo's chief crop; tobacco, cassava, sugarcane, spices, and cotton are also grown. There are also large estates, where the major products include rubber, coffee, palm oil, and tea. Rivers and coastal waters provide an abundant supply of fish.
Oil is Borneo's most valuable mineral resource. The principal producing fields are in Brunei. Other minerals, especially gold and other metals, have been mined from time to time.
The production of timber and related products from Borneo's vast forests is an important economic activity. Iromvood. camphor, and sago (a flour starch processed from the pith of the sago palm) are among the chief products.
Oil refining and the processing of food and forest products are Borneo's main industries.
Rivers, navigable mainly in their lower courses, provide the chief inland transportation routes. Among the main ones are the Kapuas, Barito, Rajang, Kajan, and Mahakam rivers. Cities with ports capable of handling oceangoing vessels include Bandiarmasin, Balikpapan, Pontianak, Kuchinc. Bandar Seri Begawan, and Kota Kinabalu. Railways are found only in Sabah and Brunei; roads are mainly near large cities and towns. Airlines provide foreign service and link Borneo's major cities.
People
Borneo's population is about 16,004,789. It consists chiefly of Malays, Chinese, and tribal people called Dyaks. The Dyaks are probably descendants of the original inhabitants. Traces of early humans, dating to at least 40,000 B.C., have been found by archeologists in the Great Cave of Niah in Sarawak.
Except for the Dyaks, most of the population lives along the coast. The Malays are formers and industrial workers: the Chinese are businessmen and traders. Borneo's languages are Malay, Chinese, and English, and Dyak tribal tongues. In general, the Malays are Muslims, and the Chinese follow Confucian or Buddhist beliefs. Most of the Dyaks practice animism.
Principal cities are Banjarmasin (population (550,800), Pontianak (467,900), Balikpapan (280,675), and Samarinda (575,000). All are in Kalimantan. Others include Kuching, in Sarawak; Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah; and Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.
History
The coast of Borneo was dotted with small ports long before Europeans arrived in Asia. Hindus settled in coastal areas as early as the 6th century A.D., followed by Muslims in the late 15th and the early 16th century.
When Portuguese traders first visited Borneo in the 16th century, the Sultan of Brunei ruled most of the island's northern coast. The rest of Borneo was under the rule of local princes. The Portuguese, and later the Dutch and British, traded with Borneo during the 17th and 18th centuries, but Europeans made no major impact until the mid-1880's. In 1841 James Brooke, an Englishman, was made the Rajah of Sarawak by the Sultan of Brunei in return for helping eliminate piracy and suppress rebellious tribesmen. Dutch control was established over areas of southern Borneo by the 1850's. The British quickly extended their control, reducing the Sultanate of Brunei to a tiny enclave on the northern coast.
In 1888 Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo became British protectorates. Four years later the boundary was fixed between British and Dutch possessions on the island. During World War II some of the coastal areas of Borneo were occupied by the Japanese. In 1946 Sarawak and North Borneo were made British colonies, but Brunei remained a British-protected sultanate. Dutch Borneo merged with Sumatra, Madura, and Java in 1949 to form Indonesia.
In 1963 Sarawak and North Borneo (renamed Sabah) joined Malaya and Singapore in forming the independent country of Malaysia. Indonesia's opposition to the creation of Malaysia led to armed conflict on Borneo; fighting ended in 1966. Brunei became independent in 1984.