British North Borneo

British North Borneo was a protectorate on the northern tip of the island of Borneo, in what is now the Malaysian state of Sabah. The territory was assembled from concessions granted in 1877 and 1878 by the sultanates of Brunei and Sulu to the adventurer Gustav Overbeck, who transferred his rights to Alfred Dent. In 1881 Dent founded the North Borneo Provisional Association, which received a royal charter, and in 1882 the North Borneo Chartered Company took over administration. Kudat was chosen as the first capital, but the seat was soon moved to Sandakan, which became the colony's main port and commercial centre; Jesselton, later Kota Kinabalu, grew on the west coast. The company promoted tobacco, rubber and timber, and governed a diverse population of indigenous communities, Chinese immigrants and Europeans. Japanese forces occupied North Borneo in 1942. After the war the chartered company's rule ended, and in 1946 the territory became the Crown Colony of North Borneo, which later joined Malaysia as Sabah.