Battle of Balambangan Island

Battle of Balambangan Island
	Part of Twenty Years' War
	; The location of Balambangan
Date	1775
Location	Sabah, Balambangan Island
Result	Bruneian victory Sulu burns down Balambangan before retreating;
Belligerents
Bruneian Empire;	Sulu Sultanate Pirates; ;
Commanders and leaders
Omar Ali Saifuddien I; Pengiran Temenggong Ampa	Muhammad Israil; Datu Teting
Units involved
Bruneian Army	Sulu Army
Strength
Many (unspecified)	Outnumbered (unspecified)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Balambangan Island was a battle that occurred in the island of Balambangan. The battle was part of the Bruneian–Sulu War between forces of the Bruneian Sultanate and the forces of the Sulu Sultanate.

Background

In pre-1762, the Sulu Sultanate took over Manila from Brunei. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien was displeased. In retaliation, the Sultan sent a mission to take place Manila from Azim ud-Din I. The mission didn't arrive until 1769 and indirectly fought the Spanish instead of the Sulu Sultanate.^[1]

The Sulu Sultanate then despatched a force under the command of Datu Teting to attack Balambangan in 1775^[2]

Battle

the leaders of Balambangan retreated to find safety in Labuan after the British quickly established a presence in Brunei.^[2] When the two forces clashed, Datu Teting surrendered the island and his troops fled back to Sulu after learning that the warriors of Brunei, led by Pengiran Temenggong Ampa, were far too strong for them to defeat.^[3]^[4]

However, before retreating, his troops burned down parts of Balambangan however this was averted by Pengiran Temenggong Ampa.^[4]

Aftermath

Despite some of Balambangan being burned down, the island was mostly safe from Sulu hands. However Datu Teting would return to fight them again in 1788 in Kampung Sembulan.^[4]

References

^ Masa silam sarana masa depan: kumpulan kertas kerja Seminar Sejarah Brunei II (in Malay). Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. 1999. p. 18. ISBN 978-99917-34-16-3.
^ ^a ^b Vienne, Marie-Sybille de (9 March 2015). Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century. NUS Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-9971-69-818-8.
^ History, Borneo (29 December 2014). "Borneo History: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien I". Borneo History. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Santos, Jason (5 December 2020). "History of Sembulan: home to remnants of ancient Brunei army Part 1". The Vibe.

[:2-1] Masa silam sarana masa depan: kumpulan kertas kerja Seminar Sejarah Brunei II (in Malay). Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. 1999. p. 18. ISBN 978-99917-34-16-3.

[:3-2] Vienne, Marie-Sybille de (9 March 2015). Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century. NUS Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-9971-69-818-8.

[:0-3] History, Borneo (29 December 2014). "Borneo History: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien I". Borneo History. Retrieved 7 April 2023.

[:5-4] Santos, Jason (5 December 2020). "History of Sembulan: home to remnants of ancient Brunei army Part 1". The Vibe.

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