North Borneo

North Borneo
Borneo Utara
1881–1942
1945–1946
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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)
Map of North Borneo, 1903
Map of North Borneo, 1903
StatusProtectorate of the United Kingdom
CapitalKudat (1881–1884);
Sandakan (1884–1945);
Jesselton (1946)
Common languagesEnglish, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Lundayeh, Rungus, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc.
GovernmentChartered 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 eraNew Imperialism
• North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd
26 August 1881
• Granted royal charter
1 November 1881
May 1882
• Protectorate
12 May 1888
2 January 1942
10 June 1945
• Ceded to the Crown colony
15 July 1946
CurrencyNorth 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 ofMalaysia

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, (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, 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 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.


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