This article is about a former British protectorate. For a former unsuccessful proposed country, see North Borneo Federation. For the Crown colony that succeeded the protectorate of North Borneo, see Crown Colony of North Borneo. For the modern Indonesian province, see North Kalimantan.
North Borneo
Borneo Utara
1881–1942 1945–1946
Flag
Badge
Motto: Latin: Pergo et Perago[1] (I persevere and I achieve)[1]
Anthem: God Save the Queen (1881–1901) God Save the King (1901–1942; 1945–1946)
English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Lundayeh, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc.
Government
Chartered company, Protectorate
Monarch
• 1881-1901
Victoria (first)
• 1936-1942, 1945-1946
George VI (last)
Governor
• 1881–1887
William Hood Treacher (first)
• 1937–1946
Charles Robert Smith (last)
Historical era
New Imperialism
• North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd
26 August 1881
• Granted royal charter
1 November 1881
• North Borneo Chartered Company
May 1882
• Protectorate
12 May 1888
• Japanese invasion
2 January 1942
• Allied liberation
10 June 1945
• Ceded to the Crown colony
15 July 1946
Currency
North Borneo dollar
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Bruneian Empire
Sultanate of Sulu
Sultanate of Bulungan
Crown Colony of Labuan
Japanese occupation of British Borneo
British Military Administration (Borneo)
Crown Colony of North Borneo
Today part of
Malaysia
North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo)[2] was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo was originally established by concessions of the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu in 1877 and 1878 to a German-born representative of Austria-Hungary, a businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck.
Overbeck had recently purchased a small tract of land in the western coast of Borneo in 1876 from American merchant Joseph William Torrey, who had promoted the territory in Hong Kong since 1866.
Overbeck then transferred all his rights to Alfred Dent before withdrawing in 1879. In 1881, Dent established the North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd to manage the territory, which was granted a royal charter in the same year. The following year, the Provisional Association was replaced by the North Borneo Chartered Company. The granting of a royal charter worried both the neighbouring Spanish and Dutch authorities; as a result, the Spanish began to stake their claim of northern Borneo. A protocol known as the Madrid 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.
North Borneo produced timber for export; along with agriculture this industry remained the main economic resource for the British in Borneo. As the population was too small to effectively serve the economy, the British sponsored various migration schemes for Chinese workers from Hong Kong and China to work in the European plantations, and for Japanese immigrants to participate in the economic activities of North Borneo. The starting of World War II with the arrival of Japanese forces however brought an end to protectorate administration, with the territory placed under a military administration and then designated as a crown colony.
NorthBorneo (usually known as British NorthBorneo, also known as the State of NorthBorneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island...
island just off the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. A little more than...
The NorthBorneo dispute, also known as the Sabah dispute, is the territorial dispute between Malaysia and the Philippines over much of the eastern part...
Philippines, alongside parts of present-day Sabah, North and East Kalimantan in north-eastern Borneo. The sultanate was founded either on 17 November 1405...
The Crown Colony of NorthBorneo was a Crown colony on the island of Borneo established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of the British Military...
II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak...
The NorthBorneo Federation, also known as North Kalimantan (Malay: Negara Kesatuan Kalimantan Utara, lit. 'Unitary State of North Kalimantan'), was a...
The Battle of NorthBorneo took place during the Second World War between Allied and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Borneo campaign of the Pacific...
The Greater NorthBorneo languages are a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The subgroup historically covers languages that are spoken...
Governor of NorthBorneo was the appointed head of the government of NorthBorneo. Originally the Governor was appointed by the NorthBorneo Chartered Company...
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held...
followed the war. Battle of Malaya Battle of Borneo (1941–42) Borneo campaign (1945) Battle of NorthBorneo Japanese invasion of Malaya Japanese occupation...
Malaysia Timur), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest...
1946 to 1963. Flag of NorthBorneo from 1882 to 1902. Flag of NorthBorneo from 1902 to 1946. Flag of the Crown Colony of NorthBorneo from 1948 to 1963....
British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak...
The British NorthBorneo dollar was the currency of British NorthBorneo from 1882 to 1953. It was subdivided into 100 cents. The dollar had remained at...
Philippines. Flag of NorthBorneo (1882–1902) Flag of NorthBorneo (1902–1942 and 1945–1946). Flag of the governor of NorthBorneo (1882–1903). Flag of...
claims on territories which include the Spratly Islands, portions of NorthBorneo, and the Scarborough Shoal. The Philippine government claims Spratly...
representatives of the British NorthBorneo Company. Under this agreement, the Sulu Sultan gave control of lands in NorthBorneo, now known as Sabah and part...
separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with...
The Malaya and British Borneo dollar (Malay: ringgit; Jawi: رڠڬيت) was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, NorthBorneo, Brunei and the Riau archipelago...
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