James Erskine Murray (1810–1844) was a lawyer, author, and adventurer in Borneo.
Born as James Murray, seventh son of
Baron Elibank, by his second wife, Erskine was inserted into his name on marrying Isabella Erskine, a granddaughter of
Lord Alva, in 1832. He became a lawyer at the Scottish bar and wrote a book on travel in the
Iberian Peninsula. He took his family, including two sons and two daughters and a younger brother, Robert Dundas Murray, to
Port Phillip, Australia, in 1841.
Early in 1843 he left Port Philip, ostensibly to trade, and headed for Hong Kong. There, he sold one ship, Warlock, and bought a 90-ton
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, Young (or Yonge) Queen, and a 200-ton
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
, Anna, and set off to establish a settlement in Eastern Borneo. The two ships entered the
Mahakam River
The Mahakam River (Indonesian: ''Sungai Mahakam'') is third longest and volume discharge river in Borneo after Kapuas River and Barito River, it is located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of ...
(then called
Kutai) early in 1844 and sailed up to
Tenggarong
Tenggarong is a town in and the capital of Kutai Kartanegara Regency of East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The former Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate's capital was likewise located in Tenggarong.
Historically, the then capital was called ''Tepian P ...
where he consulted the local Sultan. The situation turned ugly and the ships sailed under fire, in the course of which Murray was killed, but the ships escaped. A survivor, Captain Hart, and others provided the details for an account by the younger brother of
George Gliddon, William A. Gliddon, describing how the
Rajah of Sarawak had rebuffed a proposal by Murray to join his enterprise; how Murray had arrived at Coti with his ships; how the Sultan had agreed to trade, but declined to allow Murray to settle; and how he had been compelled to retreat under fire.
The story was later written up from the account of another survivor by W Cave Thomas and has been studied in the context of the development of the Dutch East Indies, provoking the Dutch to oblige the Sultan to sign a treaty acknowledging their overall sovereignty over Kutei in 1845, and of the British involvement in Borneo.
References
1810 births
1844 deaths
Younger sons of barons
History of Borneo
Members of the Faculty of Advocates
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