婆罗洲(Borneo)

马来群岛中的岛屿。面积约751,929平方公里。由中国海、苏禄海、西里伯斯海、望加锡海峡和爪哇海所包围。是世界第三大岛。北部为马来西亚联邦的沙劳越、沙巴和汶莱苏丹国。南部为印尼领土。岛上多山，大部分地区有稠密雨林覆盖。最高峰是基纳巴卢山，海拔4,101公尺。大部分地区河流可通航，包括拉让河），它是贸易和商业活动的主要命脉。有关婆罗洲的叙述，最早见於西元150年左右托勒密所着的《地理学指南》。此地曾发现罗马人贸易用的珠子，证明早期文明发达。婆罗门和笈多王朝艺术风格的佛教文物显示受到印度人的影响，他们在5世纪已到达此地。16世纪初随着伊斯兰教的传入，此地建立了若干穆斯林王国，其中有些是臣属於爪哇。大约在这个时期，葡萄牙人、西班牙人相继来此建立贸易站。17世纪初，荷兰人打破葡、西的垄断贸易，但也必须和新兴的英国势力交手。第二次世界大战後，沙劳越和北婆罗洲（後来的沙巴）均成为英国直辖殖民地。荷属婆罗洲後来因强烈的民族主义浪潮而导致1949年婆罗洲的主权改易为印尼。1963年沙巴和沙劳越加入马来西亚联邦时，英国政府放弃对这些地区的统治权。1984年汶莱也独立。

English version：

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.

参考文章

• 婆罗洲鹎的名称类别、保护现状、地理分布鸟类知识