This article is about a former British protectorate. For a former unsuccessful proposed country, seeNorth Borneo Federation. For the Crown colony that succeeded the protectorate of North Borneo, seeCrown Colony of North Borneo. For the modern Indonesian province, seeNorth Kalimantan.
North Borneo (usually known asBritish North Borneo, also known as theState of North Borneo)[2] was aBritish protectorate in the northern part of the island ofBorneo, (present-daySabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally established byconcessions of the Sultanates ofBrunei andSulu in 1877 and 1878 to aGerman-born representative ofAustria-Hungary, businessman and diplomat,Gustav Overbeck.
Overbeck had recently purchased a small tract of land on the western coast of Borneo in 1876 from American merchantJoseph William Torrey, who had promoted the territory inHong Kong since 1866. Overbeck then transferred all his rights toAlfred Dent before withdrawing in 1879. In 1881, Dent established the North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd to manage the territory, which was granted aroyal charter in the same year.[3] The following year, the Provisional Association was replaced by theNorth Borneo Chartered Company. The granting of a royal charter worried both the neighbouringSpanish andDutch authorities; as a result, the Spanish began to stake their claim of northern Borneo. A protocol known as theMadrid Protocol was signed in 1885 to recognise Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago, in return establishing the definite border of Spanish influence beyond northern Borneo. To avoid further claims from other European powers, North Borneo was made a British protectorate in 1888.
As the population was too small to effectively serve the economy, the British sponsored various migration schemes forChinese workers from Hong Kong andChina to work in the European plantations, and forJapanese immigrants to participate in the economic activities of North Borneo. The start ofWorld War II with the arrival ofJapanese forces brought an end to protectorate administration, with the territory placed under a military administration and then designated as aCrown colony.
Alfred Dent, the founder of North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd (later replaced by theNorth Borneo Chartered Company) was the key player to the establishment of solid British presence in northern Borneo.
North Borneo was founded in 1877–1878 through a series of landconcessions in northern Borneo from theSultanate of Brunei andSulu to an Austrian-German businessman and diplomat,Gustav Overbeck.[4][5][6] A formerAmerican Trading Company of Borneo territory on the western coast of northern Borneo had already passed to Overbeck,[7] requiring him to go to Brunei to renew the concession of the land he bought from Joseph William Torrey.[8][9][10]William Clark Cowie played an important role as a close friend of the Sultanate of Sulu in helping Overbeck to buy additional land on the eastern coast of Borneo.[11][12][13] Meanwhile, theSultanate of Bulungan's influence also reachedTawau on the south-eastern coast,[14] but came under the influence of the more powerful Sultanate of Sulu.[15]
Following his success in leasing large tracts of land from both the western and eastern parts of northern Borneo, Overbeck went to Europe to promote the territory inAustria-Hungary andItaly as well as in his own country ofGermany, but none showed any real interest.[7][16] OnlyGreat Britain, which had sought to control trade routes in theFar East since the 18th century, responded.[17][18][19] The interest of the British was strengthened by their presence in theCrown Colony of Labuan since 1846.[20][21][22] As a result, Overbeck received financial support from the British Dent brothers (Alfred Dent and Edward Dent) and diplomatic and military support from the British government.[6][18][23] Following the support from Britain, a clause was included in the treaties that the ceded territories could not be sold or given to another party without the permission of the British government.[4]
Unable to attract the interest of the governments of Austria, Italy and Germany, Overbeck withdrew in 1879; all his treaty rights with the Sultanates were transferred to Alfred Dent, who in 1881 formed the North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd with the support of countrymenRutherford Alcock, AdmiralHenry Keppel,Richard Biddulph Martin, AdmiralRichard Mayne, andWilliam Henry Read.[24][25][26] The Provisional Association then applied toQueen Victoria for aroyal charter, which was granted on 1 November 1881.[7][27][28]William Hood Treacher was appointed as the first governor,[29] andKudat at the northern tip of Borneo was chosen as the Provisional Association administration capital.[30][31] The granting of the royal charter had worried both theDutch and theSpanish, who feared that Britain might threaten the position of their colonies.[32]
In May 1882, the Provisional Association was replaced by the newly formedNorth Borneo Chartered Company, with Alcock acting as the first President and Dent becoming the company managing director.[33] The administration is not considered a British acquisition of the territory, but rather a private enterprise with government guidelines to protect the territory from being encroached upon by other European powers.[34] Under Governor Treacher, the company gained more territories on the western coast from the Sultanate of Brunei.[35] The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and territorial rights from theSultan of Brunei, expanding the territory under their control to the Putatan River (May 1884), the Padas district (November 1884), the Kawang River (February 1885), theMantanani Islands (April 1885) and additional minor Padas territories (March 1898).[note 1]
At the early stage of the administration, there was a claim in northern Borneo by the Spanish authorities in the Philippines, and an attempt to raise theSpanish flag overSandakan was met with interference by a British warship.[19] To prevent further conflict and to end the Spanish claim to northern Borneo, in 1885 an agreement known as theMadrid Protocol was signed inMadrid between the United Kingdom, Germany andSpain, recognising the Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago.[28][36] As the company did not wish to be involved in further foreign affairs issues,[32] North Borneo was made aBritish Protectorate on 12 May 1888.[37][38] In 1890, the Crown Colony of Labuan was incorporated into the administration of North Borneo, before returning to direct British rule in 1904.[39] There were several local insurrections from 1894 to 1900 byMat Salleh and byAntanum in 1915.[40] TheFirst World War did not greatly affect the territory, andlogging business grew during theinterwar period.[41]
Japanese military movement throughout theMalay Archipelago from 1941 to 1942
DuringWorld War II, the Japanese invasion of Borneo began with the unopposed landing of theJapanese forces at Miri and Seria on 16 December 1941, with the objective of securing oil supplies.[42] On 1 January 1942, theJapanese navy landed unopposed in Labuan.[43] The next day, the Japanese landed at Mempakul in North Borneo. After negotiations with the Officers-in-charge of Jesselton for its surrender, while they were waiting for troop reinforcements, Jesselton was occupied by the Japanese on 8 January. AnotherJapanese armydetachment arrived fromMindanao and began to land onTarakan Island, before proceeding to Sandakan on 17 January.[44] The Japanese arrival was met with no strong resistance, as the protectorate mainly relied on theRoyal Navy for defence. Although North Borneo had a police force, it never had its own army or navy.[45] By the end of January, North Borneo was completely occupied by the Japanese.[46] It was administered as part of theEmpire of Japan, with the officers of the chartered company being allowed to continued administration under Japanese supervision.[47]
The arrival of the Japanese forces to Borneo and the fall ofAnglo-Japanese Alliance had already been predicted by revelation through secrettelegrams that Japanese ships docked regularly at Jesselton were engaged in espionage.[48] Many of the British and Australian soldiers captured after thefall of Malaya andSingapore were brought to North Borneo and held asprisoners of wars (POWs) inSandakan camp where they were then forced tomarch from Sandakan toRanau.[49][50] Other POWs were also sent toBatu Lintang camp in neighbouring Sarawak. The occupation drove residents in the coastal areas to the interior in search of food and to escape the brutality of the war period,[51] which led to the creation of several resistance movements; one of the such movement known as the Kinabalu Guerrillas which was led byAlbert Kwok and supported by indigenous groups in North Borneo.[52][53]
As part of theAllied Campaign to retake their possessions in the East, Allied forces deployed to Borneo under theBorneo campaign to liberate the island. TheAustralian Imperial Force (AIF) played a significant part in the mission,[54] with the force being sent to Tarakan and Labuan islands to secure eastern and western Borneo.[55] The AlliedZ Special Unit provided intelligence and other information from the Japanese that facilitated the AIF landings,[55] whileUS submarines were used to transport Australian commandos to Borneo.[56] Most of the major towns of North Borneo were heavily bombed during this period.[57] The war ended on 15 August 1945 following theJapanese surrender and the administration of North Borneo was undertaken by theBritish Military Administration (BMA) from September.[58] The company official administration returned to administer the territory but, unable to finance the reconstruction cost after the war, ceded administration of the protectorate to thecrown colony government on 15 July 1946.[1][59][60]
1899 photograph of the British administration building inSandakan, capital of North Borneo from 1884 to 1945
The Chartered Company's system of administration was based on standardBritish colonial empire administrative structure, with the land divided into Residencies, and sub-divided into districts. Initially, there were only two Residencies: East Coast and West Coast, with Residents based atSandakan andJesselton respectively. Each Residency was divided into provinces, later known as districts, which were run bydistrict officers.[61] By 1922, there were five Residencies to accommodate new areas that were opened up for development. These were theWest Coast,Kudat,Tawau,Interior andEast Coast Residencies. These Residencies were in turn divided into 17 districts. Under this system, British held top posts, while native chiefs managed the people at lower levels. This was not a conscious attempt by the British to instillindirect rule but a convenient arrangement for the district officers who were unfamiliar with local customs and politics.[62]
The company administration established a foundation for economic growth in North Borneo by restoring peace to a land wherepiracy andtribal feuds had grown rampant. It abolishedslavery and set up transport, health and education services for the people, and allowedindigenous communities to continue their traditional lifestyles.[63] The British North Borneo Constabulary, the territory's police force, in 1883 comprised 3Europeans, 50Indians (Punjabis andPashtuns), 30Dayaks, 50Somalis and 20Malays.[64] Constables trained at depot an average of three days per week.[65] In 1884 the force had a total of 176 members,[64] which increased to about 510 over three years.[65] While under the protectorate, international relations were managed by theBritish government, internally North Borneo was governed by theNorth Borneo Chartered Company as an independent state with British protection.[2] The treaty signed on 12 May 1888 stipulated:
North Borneo, 1888
Agreement between the British Government and the British North Borneo Company for the establishment of a British Protectorate —Signed atLondon, 12 May 1888[2]
I. The State of North Borneo comprises the territories specified in the said Royal Charter, and such other territories as the Company have acquired, or may hereafter acquire, ‘under the provisions of Article XV of the said Charter. It is divided into nine Provinces, namely:
Province Alcock;
Province Cunliffe;
Province Dent;
Province Dewhurst;
Province Elphinstone;
Province Keppel;
Province Martin;
Province Mayne;
Province Myburgh.
II. The State of North Borneo shall continue to be governed and administered as an independent State by the company in conformity with the provisions of the said Charter; under the protection of Great Britain; but such protection shall confer no right on Her Majesty's Government to interfere with the internal administration of the State further than is provided herein or by the Charter of the Company. III. The relations between the State of North Borneo and all foreign States, including the States of Brunei and of Sarawak, shall be conducted by Her Majesty's Government, or in accordance with its directions; and if any difference should arise between the Government of North Borneo and that of any other State, the Company, as representing the State of North Borneo, agrees to abide by the decision of Her Majesty's Government, and to take all necessary to give effect thereto. IV. Her Majesty's Government shall have the right to establish British Consular officers in any part of the said territories, who shall receive exequaturs in the name of the Government of North Borneo. They shall enjoy whatever privileges are usually granted to Consular officers, and they shall be entitled to hoist the British flag over their residences and public offices. V. British subjects, commerce, and shipping shall enjoy the same right, privileges, and advantages as the subjects, commerce, and shipping of the most favoured nation, as well as any other rights, privileges, and advantages which may be enjoyed by the subjects, commerce and shipping of North Borneo. VI. No cession or other alienation of any part of the territory of the State of North Borneo shall be made by its Government to any foreign State, or the subjects or the citizens thereof, without the consent of Her Majesty's Government; but this restriction shall not apply to ordinary grants or leases of lands or houses to private individuals for purposes of residence, agriculture, commerce, or other business.
The opening of theNorth Borneo Railway Line on 3 February 1898 to transport commodity in the west coast area
With the beginning of planned economic activities under British administration, the North Borneo authorities began to open land foragriculture, andnative land rights began to be formed.[66][67] The government however felt that the native population was too small and unsuited to meet the requirements of modern development, so they began to sponsor various schemes for the migration ofChinese workers fromHong Kong andChina.[68][69] In 1882, the North Borneo authorities appointedWalter Henry Medhurst as Commissioner for Chinese Immigration with the mission of attracting more businessmen to invest in North Borneo by providing a workforce.[70] Medhurst's efforts were costly and unsuccessful; however, theHakka, not part of the plan, began to migrate to North Borneo where they formed an agricultural community.[70]
Since the 18th century,tobacco was North Borneo's foremost planting industry.[71] Thelogging history in North Borneo can be traced since the 1870s.[72] From 1890s, hardwood exports increased,[73] with logging expanding during theinterwar period.[41] In the 1900s, North Borneo joined therubber boom. The completion ofNorth Borneo Railway Line helped to transport the resources to a major port on the west coast. By 1915, around 34,828 acres (14,094 ha) of land, in addition to Chinese and North Borneo smallholdings, had been planted withrubber tree.[70] In the same year, the Governor of North Borneo, Aylmer Cavendish Pearson invited Japanese emigrants to participate in the economic activities there. TheJapanese government received the request warmly and sent researchers to discover potential economic opportunities.[74]
At the early stage, the Japanese encouraged their farmers to go to North Borneo to cultivate rice, as their country depended on rice imports. With increasing economic interest from the Japanese, they purchased a rubber estate owned by the North Borneo government.[74] By 1937, North Borneo exported 178,000 cubic metres of timber, surpassingSiam, which exporting 85,000 cubic metres of timber.[73] Many of the privately owned Japanese estates and companies had been involved in the economic sectors of North Borneo since being invited by the British.[75] With the increasing numbers of Japanese investments, many Japanese also migrated with their family to the east coast of North Borneo, primarily toTawau andKunak.[76]
The original monetary unit of North Borneo was theMexican dollar. The dollar was later matched to theStraits dollar and rated at 9 Straits dollars (equal to 5US dollars at the time).[77] Different notes were issued throughout the administration, with backgrounds featuring theMount Kinabalu or the company arms.[78]
In 1881, 60,000 to 100,000 indigenous people lived in North Borneo.[68] The people on the coast were mainly Muslims, with the aborigines mostly located inland.[77] TheKadazan-Dusun andMurut were the largest indigenous group in the interior, whileBajau,Bruneian,Illanun,Kedayan andSuluk dominated the coastal areas.[79] Following various immigration schemes initiated by the British, the population increased to 200,000 in 1920,[80] 257,804 in 1930,[77] 285,000 in 1935,[65] and 331,000 in 1945.[81] Under company rule, the government of North Borneo not only recruited Chinese workers but also Japanese immigrants to overcome the shortage of manpower in the economic sectors.[82] From 1911 until 1951, the total of Chinese population increased from only 27,801 to 74,374 which is divided betweenHakka (44,505),Cantonese (11,833),Hokkien (7,336),Teochew (3,948), someHailam (Hainan) (3,571) and other Chinese groups (3,181).[83]
North Borneo was connected to the Singapore-Hongkong submarine cable by a link from the island ofLabuan toMenumbok. The first message from the Borneo mainland to London was sent on 19 May 1894. A few days later, the work on a telegraph line from the West Coast to Sandakan was started. It took three years and exacted a heavy toll in human life to push the line through the almost uninhabited interior territory, until on 7 April 1897 a congratulatory message from the Governor in Sandakan for transmission to the Court of Directors in London was successfully transmitted from Sandakan to Labuan. In the early 1910s the technical and financial problems with the telegraph line prompted the company to venture into the construction of a wireless network, based on thequench-spark system of the GermanTelefunken Company. The first stage of this network comprised stations in Sandakan,Jesselton, Tawau and Kudat. The first wireless communication was established on 24 October 1913 between British North Borneo and Jolo on the Philippine Islands. Inland communication was effected on 14 January 1914 between Sandakan and Jesselton.[84][page needed]
TheNorth Borneo Railway opened to the public on 1 August 1914 as the main transportation facility for west coast communities.[85]Postal service was also available throughout the administration.[86]
Armstrong, Douglas Brawn (1920).British & colonial postage stamps: a guide to the collection and appreciation of the adhesive postal issues of the British empire. Methuen.
Vinogradov, A.G. (1980).The population of the countries of the world from most ancient times to the present days: Demography. WP IPGEB. GGKEY:CPA09LBD5WN.
Wright, Leigh R. (1988).The Origins of British Borneo. Hong Kong University Press.ISBN978-962-209-213-6.
Evans, Stephen R. (1990).Sabah (North Borneo): Under the Rising Sun Government. Tropical Press.
Olson, James Stuart (1991).Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN978-0-313-26257-9.
Dixon, Chris (1991).South East Asia in the World-Economy. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-31237-0.
Lines, William J. (1991).Taming the Great South Land: A History of the Conquest of Nature in Australia. University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-07830-7.
Webster, Anthony (1998).Gentleman Capitalists: British Imperialism in Southeast Asia 1770-1890. I.B.Tauris.ISBN978-1-86064-171-8.
Trost, R. Haller (1998).The Contested Maritime and Territorial Boundaries of Malaysia: An International Law Perspective. Kluwer Law International.ISBN978-90-411-9652-1.
Danny, Wong Tze-Ken (1999). "Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War".Archipel.58 (3).Persée:131–158.doi:10.3406/arch.1999.3538.
Feuer, A. B. (2005).Australian Commandos: Their Secret War Against the Japanese in World War II. Stackpole Books.ISBN978-0-8117-3294-9.
McCord, Norman; Purdue, Bill (2007).British History 1815-1914. OUP Oxford.ISBN978-0-19-926164-2.
Herb, Guntram H.; Kaplan, David H. (2008).Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview [4 volumes]: A Global Historical Overview. ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-1-85109-908-5.
Lim, Regina (2008).Federal-state Relations in Sabah, Malaysia: The Berjaya Administration, 1976–85. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.ISBN978-981-230-812-2.
Akashi, Yōji; Yoshimura, Mako (2008).New Perspectives on the Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-1945. NUS Press.ISBN978-9971-69-299-5.
Magenda, Burhan Djabier (2010).East Kalimantan: The Decline of a Commercial Aristocracy. Equinox Publishing.ISBN978-602-8397-21-6.
Ooi, Keat Gin (2010).The Japanese Occupation of Borneo, 1941-45. Routledge.ISBN978-1-136-96309-4.
Lane, Roger Dewardt (2010).Encyclopedia Small Silver Coins. Roger deWardt Lane.ISBN978-0-615-24479-2.
Doolittle, Amity A. (2011).Property and Politics in Sabah, Malaysia: Native Struggles Over Land Rights. University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-80116-2.
Colchester, Marcus (2011).Divers Paths to Justice: Legal Pluralism and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia. Forest Peoples Programme.ISBN978-616-90611-7-5.
Jeffreys, Andrew; Grimsditch, Peter; Herrero, Laura; Kuncinas, Paulus (2011).The Report: Sabah. Oxford Business Group.ISBN978-1-907065-36-1.
Dahlhoff, Guenther (2012).Bibliographic Set (2 Vol Set). International Court of Justice, Digest of Judgments and Advisory Opinions, Canon and Case Law 1946 - 2011. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.ISBN978-90-04-23062-0.
Evans, I. H. N. (2012).The Religion of the Tempasuk Dusuns of North Borneo. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-107-64603-2.
Skutsch, Carl (2013).Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge.ISBN978-1-135-19388-1.
Jones, Geoffrey G (2013).The Multinational Traders. Routledge.ISBN978-1-134-68001-6.
林開忠 (2013).客居他鄉－東南亞客家族群的生活與文化 [Living in a hometown - the life and culture of the Southeast Asian Hakka family]. 客家委員會客家文化發展中心 [Hakka Committee, Hakka Cultural Development Centre].ISBN978-986-03-7668-5.
Kratoska, Paul H. (2013).Southeast Asian Minorities in the Wartime Japanese Empire. Routledge.ISBN978-1-136-12506-5.
Epstein, Mortimer (2016).The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1943. Springer.ISBN978-0-230-27072-5.
Braithwaite, Richard Wallace (2016).Fighting Monsters: An Intimate History of the Sandakan Tragedy. Australian Scholarly Publishing.ISBN978-1-925333-76-3.
Fitzgerald, Robert (2016).The Rise of the Global Company: Multinationals and the Making of the Modern World. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-84974-6.
Press, Steven (2017).Rogue Empires: Contracts and Conmen in Europe's Scramble for Africa. Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-97185-1.
Aranas, Uwe (2018).The History of Wireless Telegraphy in British North Borneo. Department of Sabah Museum, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.ISBN978-983-9638356.
Cai, Y. (2020).Staging Indigenous Heritage: Instrumentalisation, Brokerage, and Representation in Malaysia. Routledge Studies in Culture and Development. Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-0-429-62076-8.
24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
.svg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
Malaysia portal
.svg)
.svg)
