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North Borneo
North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo (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, businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck.
Overbeck had recently purchased a small tract of land on 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.
As the population was too small to effectively serve the economy, coupled with British administration policy at the time restricting indigenous participation in the economy to maintain their traditional life and concentrate on their own economic endeavours, the British sponsored various migration schemes for Chinese workers from Hong Kong and China to work in the European plantations, Javanese and Buginese from the neighbouring Dutch East Indies, and Japanese immigrants to participate in the economic activities of North Borneo. The start of World War II with the arrival of Japanese forces brought an end to protectorate administration, with the territory placed under a military administration and then designated as a Crown colony.
North Borneo was founded in 1877–1878 through a series of land concessions in northern Borneo from the Sultanate of Brunei and Sulu to an Austrian-German businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck. A former American Trading Company of Borneo territory on the western coast of northern Borneo had already passed to Overbeck, requiring him to go to Brunei to renew the concession of the land he bought from Joseph William Torrey. 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. Meanwhile, the Sultanate of Bulungan's influence also reached Tawau on the south-eastern coast, but came under the influence of the more powerful Sultanate of Sulu.
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 in Austria-Hungary and Italy as well as in his own country of Germany, but none showed any real interest. Only Great Britain, which had sought to control trade routes in the Far East since the 18th century, responded. The interest of the British was strengthened by their presence in the Crown Colony of Labuan since 1846. 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. 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.
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 countrymen Rutherford Alcock, Admiral Henry Keppel, Richard Biddulph Martin, Admiral Richard Mayne, and William Henry Read. The Provisional Association then applied to Queen Victoria for a royal charter, which was granted on 1 November 1881. William Hood Treacher was appointed as the first governor, and Kudat at the northern tip of Borneo was chosen as the Provisional Association administration capital. The granting of the royal charter had worried both the Dutch and the Spanish, who feared that Britain might threaten the position of their colonies.
In May 1882, the Provisional Association was replaced by the newly formed North Borneo Chartered Company, with Alcock acting as the first President and Dent becoming the company managing director. 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. Under Governor Treacher, the company gained more territories on the western coast from the Sultanate of Brunei. The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and territorial rights from the Sultan of Brunei, expanding the territory under their control to the Putatan River (May 1884), the Padas district (November 1884), the Kawang River (February 1885), the Mantanani Islands (April 1885) and additional minor Padas territories (March 1898).
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 the Spanish flag over Sandakan was met with interference by a British warship. To prevent further conflict and to end the Spanish claim to northern Borneo, in 1885 an agreement known as the Madrid Protocol was signed in Madrid between the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, recognising the Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago. As the company did not wish to be involved in further foreign affairs issues, North Borneo was made a British Protectorate on 12 May 1888. In 1890, the Crown Colony of Labuan was incorporated into the administration of North Borneo, before returning to direct British rule in 1904. There were several local insurrections from 1894 to 1900 by Mat Salleh and by Antanum in 1915. The First World War did not greatly affect the territory, and logging business grew during the interwar period.
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North Borneo
North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo (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, businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck.
Overbeck had recently purchased a small tract of land on 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.
As the population was too small to effectively serve the economy, coupled with British administration policy at the time restricting indigenous participation in the economy to maintain their traditional life and concentrate on their own economic endeavours, the British sponsored various migration schemes for Chinese workers from Hong Kong and China to work in the European plantations, Javanese and Buginese from the neighbouring Dutch East Indies, and Japanese immigrants to participate in the economic activities of North Borneo. The start of World War II with the arrival of Japanese forces brought an end to protectorate administration, with the territory placed under a military administration and then designated as a Crown colony.
North Borneo was founded in 1877–1878 through a series of land concessions in northern Borneo from the Sultanate of Brunei and Sulu to an Austrian-German businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck. A former American Trading Company of Borneo territory on the western coast of northern Borneo had already passed to Overbeck, requiring him to go to Brunei to renew the concession of the land he bought from Joseph William Torrey. 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. Meanwhile, the Sultanate of Bulungan's influence also reached Tawau on the south-eastern coast, but came under the influence of the more powerful Sultanate of Sulu.
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 in Austria-Hungary and Italy as well as in his own country of Germany, but none showed any real interest. Only Great Britain, which had sought to control trade routes in the Far East since the 18th century, responded. The interest of the British was strengthened by their presence in the Crown Colony of Labuan since 1846. 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. 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.
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 countrymen Rutherford Alcock, Admiral Henry Keppel, Richard Biddulph Martin, Admiral Richard Mayne, and William Henry Read. The Provisional Association then applied to Queen Victoria for a royal charter, which was granted on 1 November 1881. William Hood Treacher was appointed as the first governor, and Kudat at the northern tip of Borneo was chosen as the Provisional Association administration capital. The granting of the royal charter had worried both the Dutch and the Spanish, who feared that Britain might threaten the position of their colonies.
In May 1882, the Provisional Association was replaced by the newly formed North Borneo Chartered Company, with Alcock acting as the first President and Dent becoming the company managing director. 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. Under Governor Treacher, the company gained more territories on the western coast from the Sultanate of Brunei. The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and territorial rights from the Sultan of Brunei, expanding the territory under their control to the Putatan River (May 1884), the Padas district (November 1884), the Kawang River (February 1885), the Mantanani Islands (April 1885) and additional minor Padas territories (March 1898).
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 the Spanish flag over Sandakan was met with interference by a British warship. To prevent further conflict and to end the Spanish claim to northern Borneo, in 1885 an agreement known as the Madrid Protocol was signed in Madrid between the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, recognising the Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago. As the company did not wish to be involved in further foreign affairs issues, North Borneo was made a British Protectorate on 12 May 1888. In 1890, the Crown Colony of Labuan was incorporated into the administration of North Borneo, before returning to direct British rule in 1904. There were several local insurrections from 1894 to 1900 by Mat Salleh and by Antanum in 1915. The First World War did not greatly affect the territory, and logging business grew during the interwar period.