Borneo w/ Olivier Hein

Borneo has too often been viewed from elsewhere—mapped as a frontier, divided by national borders and made mysterious by those who write from a distance. This panel turns the map around.

Drawing on history, cultural memory and lived experience, Olivier Hein, Janet Tay and Welyne Jeffrey Jehom consider an island shaped by ancient trade, Indigenous knowledge, colonial ambition and modern ideas of development.

About the book

The world’s third-largest island, and the only one administered by three different sovereign nations, Borneo is something of a mystery. Home to an incredibly diverse indigenous population, once infamous for headhunting; a hotbed of military activity during World War II; a poster child for the ecological movement even as its rainforest is destroyed; and the host of Indonesia’s planned new capital city, Nusantara—Borneo’s past, present and future are nothing if not eclectic.

But hidden under its enigmatic façade is an extraordinary island at the centre of world affairs in ancient times, yet often aloof from them. From early visitors bringing new religions to the island, to a fluctuating relationship with China, to a time when piracy ruled, Olivier Hein’s sweeping tale uncovers the little-known events that shaped not only Borneo but the whole Malay Archipelago.

Linking Indonesian, Malaysian and Bruneian history, Hein brings together, for the first time, all the elements that make this island so unique. With Borneo sitting uncomfortably in the firing line of today’s great global power shift from Trans-Atlantic to Trans-Pacific, and now attracting millions of visitors a year, the story of this rich and complex island has never been more relevant.

About the author

Olivier Hein is a Mauritian-British author whose books include Ridge and Vale: The Extraordinary History of the Cotswolds; Glory, Faith and Sorrow: The Epic History of Peru; Borneo: The History of an Enigma; Star and Key: The Historical Adventure of Mauritius; and Mother of the World: The Remarkable History of Turkmenistan (all published by Hurst). Formerly a UN, UK and OSCE diplomat, posted to New York, Paris, Kosovo and Turkmenistan, he also contributes to The Chap magazine. He lives with his family in the Cotswolds.