The charter recounts the grants and commissions obtained from the rulers of Brunei and Sulu and authorises the Company to acquire their benefits.
A company built on earlier grants
The charter established the corporate framework for administration. Its recitals point back to grants and commissions obtained from Sulu and Brunei. It belongs after those instruments in the chain of authority; it is not the beginning of North Borneo’s political history.
Why this record matters
Its recitals trace the Company’s rights to grants from the rulers of Sulu and Brunei: the corporate enterprise followed their authority.
Sources & further reading
01
The British North Borneo Company charter
Sabah State Attorney-General’s Chambers
Charter granted at Westminster, 1 November 1881; official reading copy, nine pages.