North Borneo. Information.
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1941. From 1942 to 1945, North Borneo was occupied by Japanese military forces, before they were driven out by Australian troops. From 1946] to 1963, North Borneo was a Crown Colony of Great Britain, known in this time as British North Borneo. Located in the northeastern part of Borneo, it is now part of Malaysia as the state of Sabah, apart from the island group of Labuan which was separated from the rest in 1984 to form a Federal Territory, administered directly from the federal government. Area - 76 115 sq. km. Population - 285 000. (1936) Capital - Sandakan (pre war); Jesselton (post war) In 1865, the United States Consul to Brunei, Charles Lee Moses, obtained a 10-year lease for the territory of North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei. However, the post-Civil War United States wanted nothing to do with Asian colonies, so Moses sold his rights to the Hong Kong-based American Trading Company of Borneo owned by Joseph William Torrey. Torrey began a settlement at the Kimanis River mouth, which he named Ellena. Attempts to find financial backing for the settlement were futile, and disease, death and desertion by the immigrant labourers led to the abandonment of the settlement towards the end of 1866. With the imminent termination of the lease at hand in January 1875, Torrey managed to sell his rights to the Consul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Hong Kong, Baron Gustav von Overbeck. Von Overbeck managed to get a 10-year renewal of the lease from the Temenggong of Brunei, and a similar treaty from the Sultan of Sulu on 22 January 1878. To finance his plans for North Borneo, Overbeck found financial backing from the Dent brothers. However, he was unable to interest his government in the territory. After efforts to sell the territory to Italy for use as a penal colony, Von Overbeck withdrew in 1880, leaving Alfred Dent in control. Dent was supported by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and Admiral Sir Harry Keppel. In July 1881, Alfred Dent and his brother formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd and obtained an official Royal Charter 1 November the same year. In May 1882, the North Borneo Chartered Company replaced the Provisional Association. Sir Rutherford Alcock became the first President, and Alfred Dent became Managing director. In spite of some diplomatic protests by the Dutch, Spanish and Sarawak governments, the North Borneo Chartered Company proceeded to organise settlement and administration of the territory. The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and territorial rights from the sultan of Brunei, expanding the territory under 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). In 1888, North Borneo became a protectorate of Great Britain, but its administration remained entirely in the hands of the North Borneo Chartered Company, with the crown reserving only control of defence and foreign relations. From 1890 to 1905 the British government placed the colony of Labuan under the administration of North Borneo. The North Borneo Chartered Company effectively ruled until 1 January 1942. Japanese forces occupied North Borneo from 1942 to 1945. The North Borneo Armed Constabulary with only 650 men hardly provided any resistance to slow down the Japanese invasion. During Japanese military occupation, the Europeans were interned, public services ceased to exist, and there were widespread poverty, disease and malnutrition. In June 1945 the Australian 9th Division landed in Brunei and liberated much of North Borneo before the end of the war. North Borneo was placed under British Military Administration until restoration of civil government on 15 July 1946. The North Borneo Chartered Company did not have the financial resources to reconstruct North Borneo after the destruction of World War II. The major towns had been razed to the ground by allied bombing, and the infrastructure of North Borneo was in total devastation. The North Borneo Chartered Company decided to sell its interests to the British government. The territory was placed under control of the colonial office, and became a British crown colony on 15 July 1946 together with islands of Labuan. The destruction of the former capital Sandakan was so complete that Jesselton was chosen as the new post-war capital. The colonial system of administration was in most ways similar to rule during the Company era, retaining the same Residency and District structure; however, as a result of this change in status, North Borneo had access to British government funds for reconstruction. The British North Borneo was granted self-government on 31 August 1963 in Keningau to prepare for a merger with the Federation. A little over two weeks later, on 16 September 1963, the state united with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore, forming the Federation of Malaysia.
