User:Mr Tan/CL

Cecilia Catherina Lange (25 November 1849–1 June 1936) was the second wife of Sultan Abu Bakar. She is also the mother of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, who was to become one of the most influential statesman during his time.

Early life
Lange was born in Badung, Bali, the third child of Danish trader Mads Lange by his Chinese wife, Nonna Sangnio, also known by her Chinese name Ong Sang Nio. Nonna was the daughter of a Kuta-based Chinese Kapitan who came from southern China and settled in East Java. Some scholars believed that her mother may have some indigenous ancestry herself. During her early days she was fondly known as "Nona Celie" by her family members.

As a child, she was sent to Singapore to be educated in a Catholic convent. She remained in Singapore throughout her childhood and teenage years, making only one trip back to Kuta, Bali to pay respects to her late father in 1859, who had died in 1856. Cecilia spent much of her time with her half-brother, Andreas Emil, who was studying in Raffles Institution during her time in Singapore. (Her other half-brother Carl died in his childhood while studying in Singapore).

Marriage and later life
Upon reaching adulthood, she met the future Sultan (then a Maharaja) Abu Bakar. They married in 1870, and Lange took on the name of "Zubaidah binti Abdullah" upon her conversion to Islam. After their marriage, the Maharaja took her to Calcutta, France and England on a honeymoon.

Prior to their marriage, the Maharaja, who grew very fond of Lange, decided to set aside his past prejudices. During their 25 years of marriage, Lange was particularly favoured by the Sultan in his court, and she bored him two children: a son, Ibrahim, who was to succeed his father in 1895, and a daughter, Mariam, who was to become the first wife of the Sultan of Pahang.

After her husband died in 1895, she was made the Dowager Empress by her son, Sultan Ibrahim. She lived in seculsion in Johore until her death in 1936, rarely appearing in public, although she occassionally received European visitors.