American Activity in North Borneo, 1865-1881

Tregonning, K. G.

doi:10.2307/3634654

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

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“…This changed in the late nineteenth century, with the withdrawal of Spain's territorial ambitions in Borneo following the signing of the Anglo-Spanish-German Treaty in 1885, Britain's decision to grant formal protection over North Borneo in 1888, and the Treaty of Paris in 1898, which resulted in the American colonial takeover of the Philippines (Wright 1972: 71). Unlike Spain, which had historically sought to extend influence into the Bornean mainland, the United States did not harbour such territorial aims (see Gould 1969: 63–64; Tregonning 1954: 357–372) 11…”

Section: Origins: Colonial Laxity and Post-colonial Rumblingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimming the Seas around Borneo: Contesting Island Sovereignty and Lighthouse Administration amidst the End of Empire, 1946–1948

Saunders

2019

TRaNS

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This article examines issues of island sovereignty and lighthouse administration in maritime Southeast Asia in the context of post-war decolonisation. It does so by demonstrating how lax and complacent colonial governance in British North Borneo led to the construction of a lighthouse on contested island territory. By the late 1940s these islands became the focal point of a regional dispute between the Philippines, North Borneo's colonial government, and the United Kingdom. While lighthouses were, in the colonial mind-set, deemed essential for illuminating the coasts and projecting order onto the seas, the Philippine government sought to renege on colonial-era obligations and wrest a new sense of post-colonial legitimacy.The legacy of the Turtle Island transfer was therefore significant in recalibrating imperial lighting in the Sulu Sea, as well as giving rise to a Philippine post-colonial authority that was characterised by an acknowledgement of indigenous Suluk maritime heritage. Similarly, it reflected an extension of previous instances of transnational disputes in the region, where the island shoal had been simultaneously claimed and administered by the United States, the United Kingdom and the historical Sulu Sultanate. While the lighthouse remained destroyed, and the seas dimmed, by mid-1948 the Turtle Islands had attained a new post-colonial and transnational status. Utilising a range of archival sources, memoirs and published material, this article sheds light on an under-examined period of Southeast Asian history.

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Section: Origins: Colonial Laxity and Post-colonial Rumblingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimming the Seas around Borneo: Contesting Island Sovereignty and Lighthouse Administration amidst the End of Empire, 1946–1948

Saunders

2019

TRaNS

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Sustaining the Hakka Chinese Identity in Sabah: The Role of the Basel Church

Wong

2021

Contesting Malaysia’s Integration Into the World Economy

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‘Hantu’ and Highway: Transport in Sabah 1881–1963

Kaur

1994

Mod. Asian Stud.

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Sabah (previously known as British North Borneo) occupies the whole of the northern portion of the island of Borneo, covering an area of 76, 115 square kilometres. Its immediate neighbours are Brunei, Sarawak and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). From 1882 to 1942, Sabah was administered by the British North Borneo (Chartered) Company. The territory possessed three main attractions: its timber, its reputed minerals and its land. Timber has now grown to be amajor export commodity, second only to petroleum. With the exception of deposits of coal and some gold, economic resources of other sought-after minerals were not proven during the period. The land proved to be the most valuable asset. Many crops were experimented with: tobacco, sugar cane, coffee, coconuts and rubber and they laid the basis for the economic development of the territory. The expansion of these crops was largely assisted by the introduction of a modern transport system which supplemented the original means of communication, the rivers. The railway in particular provided the impetus for the rubber boom on the west coast. In turn, this resulted in the emergence of an export-oriented economy, specializing in rubber, timber, copra and tobacco. From 1942, Sabah was occupied by the Japanese until its liberation in 1945. After a brief period under military administration, it became a British Colony in 1946. Under colonial rule from 1946 to 1963 the previous pattern of economic exploitation continued.

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American Activity in North Borneo, 1865-1881

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Dimming the Seas around Borneo: Contesting Island Sovereignty and Lighthouse Administration amidst the End of Empire, 1946–1948

Dimming the Seas around Borneo: Contesting Island Sovereignty and Lighthouse Administration amidst the End of Empire, 1946–1948

Sustaining the Hakka Chinese Identity in Sabah: The Role of the Basel Church

‘Hantu’ and Highway: Transport in Sabah 1881–1963

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