MUSEUMISING SARAWAK: OBJECTS, COLLECTORS AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE-PRODUCTION UNDER THE BROOKE STATE, C.1840-1940

Abstract

While the Brooke state of Sarawak is often dismissed as an anomaly, of little relevance to wider trends in Southeast Asian historiography, this thesis argues that Sarawak was a key player in the development of Southeast Asian science during this period. It situates the state within conceptual frameworks developed by scholars including Bernard Cohn, Christopher Bayly and Kapil Raj, with particular focus on the hybridity of colonial scientific knowledge and the importance of the museum as a ‘contact zone’ in which knowledge-production took place. Using a range of biographical approaches, the thesis examines the museumising imaginations of the Brookes, their government officers, professional scientists and the wider Sarawak community, revealing the centrality of this scientific worldview for the Brooke state. It also considers the Sarawak Museum’s place within local and international networks, the worldwide circulation of objects and information, and the implications of these connections for interpretations of Borneo.