author
Charles Hose
1863–1929
Drawn to the wild landscapes and cultures of Borneo, this British administrator turned firsthand experience into vivid writing on natural history and the peoples of Sarawak. His work still stands out for the way it blends travel, observation, and curiosity about the wider world.
1 Audiobook
The Pagan Tribes of Borneo A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition, with Some Discussion of Their Ethnic Relations
by Charles Hose, William McDougall
About the author
Born in Hertfordshire in 1863, Charles Hose was educated at Felsted and Jesus College, Cambridge before entering the service of the Rajah of Sarawak in 1884. He spent more than two decades in Borneo, where he became known not only as a colonial administrator but also as a zoologist and ethnologist with a strong interest in the region’s wildlife and communities.
Alongside his official duties, he collected specimens, took photographs, and wrote about the people and natural history of Sarawak. His books grew out of direct experience in the field, which gives them an immediacy that still appeals to readers interested in travel, anthropology, and the history of exploration.
Hose died in 1929. Today he is remembered for the record he left of Borneo at a time of major change, and for bringing together administration, scientific collecting, and storytelling in a single body of work.