Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/70

60 of suzerainty to the company. The attention of the English was meantime turned to the north of the island, which was subject to the sultan of Sulu, from whom, in 1756, Alexander Dalrymple obtained possession of the island of Balambangau, and all the north-eastern promontory. A military post was established, but in 1775 it was sur prised and destroyed by the natives under the d-utus or subordinate chiefs, who were dissatisfied with the cession of their territory. This disaster rendered a treaty, which had just been concluded (in 1774) with the sultan of Bruni, in great measure a dead letter, and before the end of the century English influence in Borneo was practically at an end. The Dutch, too, were overtaken, in spite of apparent success, with a succession of misfortunes, through their own mismanagement; and in 1809 their settlements were all abandoned by order of Marshal Daendels. The natives along the coast, assisted and stimulated by immi grants from the neighbouring islands to the north, gave themselves more and more to piracy, and rendered the trade of civilized nations almost an impossibility. In 1811, however, an embassy was sent to the British Government in Java by the sultan of Banjermassin to crave their assistance, and in reply Alexander Hare was despatched as commissioner and resident. He not only formed an advantageous treaty with the sultan, but got for himself a grant of a district of country which he proceeded to colonize and cultivate. An expedition was also sent against Sambas, and a post established at Pontianak. On the restoration of the Dutch possessions in 1818 all these arrangements were cancelled, and a free field was left to the enterprise of the Dutch Government. A succession of active commissioners Boekholtz, Tobias, Halewijn, &amp;lt;fec. soon laid the foundations of an extensive supremacy. About half of the kingdom of Banjermassin was surrendered by the sultan in 1823, and further concessions were granted by his son in 1825. Meanwhile, George Muller was exploring the east coast, and obtained from the sultan of Kuti an acknowledgment of the Dutch authority a con cession which seems to have been immediately regretted, as the enterprising traveller was shortly afterwards killed. The outbreak of a war in Java turned the attention of the Dutch in some measure from Borneo, and nothing was done by them to check the piracy which was growing more and more unendurable. On the rise of Singapore direct trade had been opened with Sarawak and Bruni, and it was a matter of moment to the English merchants that their traffic should be safe. In 1838 Sir James Brooke, an Englishman, whose attention had been turned to the state of affairs in the Eastern Archipelago, set out for Borneo, determined, if possible, to remedy the evil. By 1841 he had obtained from the sultan of Bruni the highest authority in Sarawak, and before many years were over he succeeded in restoring order and peace to the dis trict, and, with the assistance of the English Government, in repressing piracy. (See and .) In 1847 the sultan of Bruni agreed to make no cession of territory to any nation or individual without the consent of Her British Majesty. The Dutch hopes of gradually incorporating the whole island were thus frustrated, but this served only to increase their activity in other direc tions. In 1844 the sultan of Kuti had acknowledged their protectorate, and about the same time a treaty of similar character was formed with Passir. Since 1834, when Gunong-Tebur, Tanjong, and Bulungan are said to have made a nominal submission, the boundaries of their authority have undergone no change to the north; and in general their political power has been rather rising in level, so to speak, over the southern part of the island than seek ing to spread over a wider area.

1em  BORNHOLM, an island in the Baltic, belonging to Denmark, in the &quot; Stift &quot; of Seeland, between 54 59 and 55 18 N. lat., and between 14 42 and 15 8 E. long. It is about 20 miles in length by 14 in breadth, with a generally mountainous surface and steep and rocky shores. Besides a good freestone, which is largely exported for building, it furnishes limestone, blue marble, coal, and clay. Oats, flax, and hemp are cultivated. The popula tion amounts to about 33,000, and is chiefly employed in agriculture, fishing, brewing, distillation, and the manu facture of earthenware. Weaving and clock-making are also carried onto some extent. The capital is Bonne, and there are six other small towns on the island, Svanike, Nexoe, Hasle, Allinge, and Sandvig, the total town population amounting to 11,100. On the north- west coast are the ruins of the castle of Harnmershuus, which was built in 1158, and long served as a state-prison ; while another old castle, erected by Christian V. in 1684, and important as commanding the entrance to the Baltic, is situated on Christiansb e, one of a small group of islands about 11 miles to the north-east. The island of Borah olm has had a very eventful history. For a short time, in the 9th century, it formed a separate principality or kingdom, which was afterwards united to Denmark. In 1510 it was captured by the Hanseatic League, and in 1522 it became directly subject to the city of Liibeck. In 1645 the Swedes took it by storm, and their possession of it was confirmed by the peace of Boeskild in 1658; but the sympathies of the people were with Denmark, and a pop ular insurrection succeeded in expelling the Swedish forces.  BORNU, or, a kingdom of Central Africa, situated to the south-west of Lake Chad, and separated from the Niger by the kingdom of Haussa. Its area is estimated at 51,250 square miles, and its population at 5,000,000. The country is for the most part a flat alluvial plain, subject in its north-eastern portions to inundation from the lake and its tributary rivers the Shari and the Yo. The former of these, which is by far the larger, serves as a boundary towards Baghermi on the east ; the latter, rising in Haussa, flows north-east through the whole country. The soil is in general fertile and well watered, yielding large crops even under very imperfect cultivation. 