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Expansion of the Brunei Empire

Type Event Region Asia Time 1520–1530

In the 1520s, the Brunei Empire continued expanding its maritime power on the foundation of the hegemony established by Sultan Bolkiah, who died in 1…

Timeline

  1. 1520–1524Brunei Town · BruneiIn the final years of Sultan Bolkiah's reign, the Brunei Empire's power reached its zenith, controlling most of northern Borneo's coast and islands of the southwestern Philippines, with Brunei Bay as the hub linking trade networks between China and the Malay world.
  2. 1524–1527Brunei Town · BruneiAfter Bolkiah's death, a new sultan acceded, and Brunei maintained suzerainty over its vassal states. The imperial fleet continued patrolling the routes from Brunei Bay to the Sulu Sea, ensuring that trade in camphor, agarwood, and marine products was not seriously disrupted by the Portuguese advance eastward.
  3. 1527–1530Sulu Archipelago · SuluBrunei's power extended to Sulu and Mindanao, consolidating influence over the southern Philippines through Islamized chiefs and trading posts. Around 1527, Brunei remained the most powerful maritime polity in Borneo and the Sulu Sea region.

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