The North Borneo protectorate agreement

The agreement placed North Borneo under British protection while leaving internal administration with the Company. Its recitals derived the Company’s claimed sovereign rights from grants and commissions.

Date

12 May 1888

Document type

Agreement

Issuing authority / creator

British Government; British North Borneo Company

Citation

Protectorate Agreement, London, 12 May 1888, preamble and articles II–III.

Why it matters

The record explains the next stage of colonial government and the chain of instruments on which the Company relied. It asserts Company sovereignty, rather than affirming the Sulu lease interpretation.