Institution

British North Borneo Company

1881–1946 · 19th century · Also known as North Borneo Chartered Company

The British North Borneo Company was a chartered company that governed North Borneo, modern Sabah, from 1881 to 1946 under a British royal charter. It held lands acquired from the sultans of Brunei and Sulu, ruled through a governor at Sandakan and developed tobacco and rubber estates. It also administered Labuan from 1890 to 1906. After the Japanese occupation it ceded North Borneo to the British crown.

British North Borneo Company
Image: North Borneo Chartered Company · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 profiles

Brunei SultanateDeclineSulu SultanateDeclineMalaysiaFoundation

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Brunei SultanateCrown Colony of LabuanNorth BorneoCrown Colony of North Borneo

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). British North Borneo Company. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/british-north-borneo-company
MLA
“British North Borneo Company.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/british-north-borneo-company. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “British North Borneo Company.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/british-north-borneo-company.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘British North Borneo Company’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/british-north-borneo-company (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻