History of Brunei
The history of Brunei concerns the settlements and societies located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, which has been under the influence of Indianised kingdoms and empires for much of its history. Local scholars assume that the Islamisation of Brunei started in the fifteenth century with the formation of the Bruneian Empire, a thalassocracy that covered the northern part of Borneo and Sulu. At the end of the 17th century, Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by the Brunei Civil War, piracy, and European colonial expansion. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei evacuated its capital for a brief period until the Spanish withdrew. The empire lost much of its territory with the arrival of the Western powers, such as the Spanish in Luzon and Visayas and the British in Labuan, Sarawak, and North Borneo. Wikipedia