<P> Stone pillars bearing inscriptions in the Pallava script, found in Kutai along the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan and dating to around the second half of the 4th century, constitute some of the oldest evidence of Hindu influence in Southeast Asia . By the 14th century, Borneo became a vassal state of Majapahit (in present - day Indonesia), later changing its allegiance to the Ming dynasty of China . The religion of Islam entered the island in the 10th century, following the arrival of Muslim traders who later converted many indigenous peoples in the coastal areas . </P> <P> The Sultanate of Brunei declared independence from Majapahit following the death of Majapahit Emperor in mid-14th century . During its golden age under Bolkiah from the 15th century to the 17th century, the Bruneian Empire ruled almost the entire coastal area of Borneo (lending its name to the island due to its influence in the region) and several islands in the Philippines . During the 1450s, Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab born in Johor, arrived in Sulu from Malacca . In 1457, he founded the Sultanate of Sulu; he titled himself as "Paduka Maulana Mahasari Sharif Sultan Hashem Abu Bakr". Following their independence in 1578 from Brunei's influence, the Sulu's began to expand their thalassocracy to parts of the northern Borneo . Both the sultanates who ruled northern Borneo had traditionally engaged in trade with China by means of the frequently - arriving Chinese junks . Despite the thalassocracy of the sultanates, Borneo's interior region remained free from the rule of any kingdoms . </P> <P> Since the fall of Malacca in 1511, Portuguese merchants traded regularly with Borneo, and especially with Brunei from 1530 . Having visited Brunei's capital, the Portuguese described the place as surrounded by a stone wall . While Borneo was seen as rich, the Portuguese did not make any attempts to conquer it . The Spanish visit to Brunei led to the Castilian War in 1578 . The English began to trade with Sambas of southern Borneo in 1609, while the Dutch only began their trade in 1644: to Banjar and Martapura, also in the southern Borneo . The Dutch tried to settle the island of Balambangan, north of Borneo, in the second half of the 18th century, but withdrew by 1797 . In 1812, the sultan in southern Borneo ceded his forts to the English East India Company . The English, led by Stamford Raffles, then tried to establish an intervention in Sambas but failed . Although they managed to defeat the Sultanate the next year and declared a blockade on all ports in Borneo except Brunei, Banjarmasin and Pontianak, the project was cancelled by the British Governor - General Lord Minto in India as it was too expensive . At the beginning of British and Dutch exploration on the island, they described the island of Borneo as full of head hunters, with the indigenous in the interior practising cannibalism, and the waters around the island infested with pirates, especially between the north eastern Borneo and the southern Philippines . The Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping in the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo, along with the attacks by Illanuns of the Moro Pirates from the southern Philippines, such as in the Battle off Mukah . </P> <P> The Dutch began to intervene in the southern part of the island upon resuming contact in 1815, posting Residents to Banjarmasin, Pontianak and Sambas and Assistant - Residents to Landak and Mampawa . The Sultanate of Brunei in 1842 granted large parts of land in Sarawak to the English adventurer James Brooke, as a reward for his help in quelling a local rebellion . Brooke established the Kingdom of Sarawak and was recognised as its rajah after paying a fee to the Sultanate . He established a monarchy, and the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great - nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years; the leaders were known as the White Rajahs . Brooke also acquired the island of Labuan for Britain in 1846 through the Treaty of Labuan with the Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin II on 18 December 1846 . The region of northern Borneo came under the administration of North Borneo Chartered Company following the acquisition of territory from the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu by a German businessman and adventurer named Baron von Overbeck, before it was passed to British Dent brothers (comprising Alfred Dent and Edward Dent). Further enroachment by the British reduced the territory of Brunei . This led the 26th Sultan of Brunei, Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin to appeal the British to stop, and as a result a Treaty of Protection was signed in 1888, rendering Brunei a British protectorate . </P>

This nation is 2000 miles southeast of the island of borneo in indonesia