Brunei Sultanate Established

1411

Islam arrived on the northwest coast of Borneo through Chinese Muslim traders and Malay seafarers, and the first Sultan of Brunei established a maritime kingdom controlling trade in camphor, pepper, and precious forest products gathered from the island's interior. The sultanate's strategic position on the South China Sea made it a waystation between the spice islands of the Moluccas and the commercial ports of the Asian mainland.