什麼是婆羅洲

馬來羣島中的島嶼。面積約751,929平方公里。由中國海、蘇祿海、西里伯斯海、望加錫海峽和爪哇海所包圍。是世界第三大島。北部為馬來西亞聯邦的沙勞越、沙巴和汶萊蘇丹國。南部為印尼領土。島上多山，大部分地區有稠密雨林覆蓋。最高峯是基納巴盧山，海拔4,101公尺。大部分地區河流可通航，包括拉讓河），它是貿易和商業活動的主要命脈。有關婆羅洲的敍述，最早見於西元150年左右托勒密所着的《地理學指南》。此地曾發現羅馬人貿易用的珠子，證明早期文明發達。婆羅門和笈多王朝藝術風格的佛教文物顯示受到印度人的影響，他們在5世紀已到達此地。16世紀初隨着伊斯蘭教的傳入，此地建立了若干穆斯林王國，其中有些是臣屬於爪哇。大約在這個時期，葡萄牙人、西班牙人相繼來此建立貿易站。17世紀初，荷蘭人打破葡、西的壟斷貿易，但也必須和新興的英國勢力交手。第二次世界大戰後，沙勞越和北婆羅洲（後來的沙巴）均成為英國直轄殖民地。荷屬婆羅洲後來因強烈的民族主義浪潮而導致1949年婆羅洲的主權改易為印尼。1963年沙巴和沙勞越加入馬來西亞聯邦時，英國政府放棄對這些地區的統治權。1984年汶萊也獨立。

Borneo

Island, Malay Archipelago. Bounded by the China Sea, Sulu, and Celebes seas, the Makassar Strait, and the Java Sea, it is the third-largest island in the world, measuring 290,320 sq mi (751,929 sq km). The northern part includes the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and the sultanate of Brunei; the southern section forms part of Indonesia. Borneo is mountainous and largely covered in dense rain forest; its highest point is Mount Kinabalu, at 13,455 ft (4,101 m). Much of it is drained by navigable rivers, including the Rajang, which are the principal lifelines of trade and commerce. It is mentioned in Ptolemy's Guide to Geography of c. AD 150; Roman trade beads give evidence of an earlier civilization. Brahman and Buddhist images in the Gupta style indicate the influence of Indians who apparently arrived in the 5th century. With the arrival of Islam in the 16th century, various Muslim kingdoms were founded, some of which owed allegiance to Java. Around the same time, the Portuguese, followed by the Spanish, set up trading stations. In the early 17th century the Dutch broke the Portuguese-Spanish monopoly, but they in turn had to deal with newly established British interests. After World War II, Sarawak and North Borneo (later Sabah) became British crown colonies. strong nationalist sentiment in Dutch Borneo resulted in the passing of sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949. The British relinquished Sabah and Sarawak to the Malaysian federation in 1963, while Brunei became independent in 1984.