Bolkiah
Known more for his unwavering diplomacy and opposition to violence, he was an adventurous navigator who frequently traveled to examine his territory and a figure who inspired numerous stories.
One such report, from Tomé Pires in 1515, cites Brunei's merchant ships arriving at Malacca with those from Tanjungpura and Labai in West Kalimantan.
[19] This demonstrates the importance of Borneo's trading powers at the time, with Brunei and Java depending on Labai (Laoe)'s advantageous location at the mouth of the Kapuas River.
[21] Arriving at a harbour on Borneo's northwest coast, Magellan's alguacil, Gonzalo de Espinosa recognised it as Bruni (the capital of Brunei).
Early in the morning, Espinosa welcomed the leaders of Bruni aboard his flagship, the Trinidad, where they arrived in a grand, gilded barge accompanied by musicians.
As the musicians performed loudly from these barges around the Spanish ships, Espinosa gave the order to salute and raised flags in recognition.
A Turkish cloak, velvet seats, linen, a glass, a vase, and a gold pen and ink box were among the presents they brought for Bolkiah.
Past this hallway was a slightly raised chamber adorned with lavish silk and brocade drapes, bathed in natural light from expansive windows.
A little farther in was a smaller but no less well decorated room where the muscular forty-year-old monarch, smoked betel on a big cushion with one of his young sons by his side.
[22] Upon awakening, Espinosa discovered a group of perhaps one hundred indigenous junks in the harbour, arranged into three squadrons and manned by strong Borneo fighters.
Espinosa soon came to the conclusion that resistance would be ineffective and gave the order for his ships to hoist anchor and set sail, thinking the king was trying to catch him off guard.
Furious by what he saw as the Sultan's betrayal, Espinosa ordered cannon fire on a number of neighbouring junks, causing two of them to sink, two more to ground, and killing several people within.
By revealing that Brunei once ruled over areas in western Borneo alongside territories in the northwest and east (Sarawak and Sabah) and the Philippine Islands, Pigafetta's tale adds to the oral history.
Oral tradition is confirmed by these Western records, which include tales like that of Nakhoda Ragam, who is credited with becoming Sultan Bolkiah, who is known for extending Brunei's power throughout Borneo.
[13] Bolkiah's victory over Seludang[27] as well as his marriage to Puteri Laila Menchanai, the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra, widened Brunei's influence in the region.
As the story of Bolkiah is also told in the poem, it is possible that the expansion of the Brunei Empire under the leadership of Awang Alak Betatar is included.
This demonstrates that the Bisaya people had a long-standing custom of sowing seeds or plants in recently conquered areas prior to the Sultan.
The narrative of Bolkiah, though it does not include his name, is identical to the tale of the Sultan discovering Princess Lela Menchanai floating in the ocean.
[4] The mausoleum of Sultan Bolkiah, sits on ridgeline at Jalan Kota Batu, facing the Brunei River and is surrounded by dense vegetation.
Between them rests a slab that records the death of Sultan Bolkiah bin Sulaiman on the ninth of Ramadan A.H. 930 (17 July 1524), with the date carefully spelled out in words.
It is possible that this slab was carved in more recent times to support Hugh Low's suggestion that Magellan's expedition visited during Bolkiah's later years, around 1521.
