The Treaty of Labuan was signed between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the Brunei Sultanate on 18 December 1846. Under this treaty, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the island of

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...

to Great Britain.

Background

Labuan had belonged to Brunei since the reign of the first Sultan of Brunei, Muhammad Shah. The island, previously uninhabited, was used by Malay and Chinese merchants and traders to shelter their ships from storms. Labuan was important economically for Brunei as it was regarded as the Sultanate's gateway to the outside world. Labuan was considered as a safe shelter and strategically positioned to protect Bruneian interests in the region, especially the Chinese trade route between Brunei and Manila. Tarling, Nicholas (1990). ''Brunei: Political, Commercial, and Social History''. Volume 2. Brunei Times. p. 84. After the fall of Manila to the Spaniards, trading activities in Labuan increased the Island's revenues as taxes increased, due to the increasing number of traders and merchants who came for water supply and most importantly, coal, which Labuan had vast reserves on the Island.

Foreign interests in Labuan

Labuan attracted foreign interest due to the economic potential of the island. However, to Brunei, Labuan was their secret weapon in quelling pirates activity, especially that of the Sulus, who had once been under Bruneian rule. In 1700s, the Sultan of Brunei offered Labuan island to the British in exchange for assistance to protect Brunei from Sulu pirates. However, the offer came to nothing. By 1800s, several foreign powers started to come to Southeast Asia, started by the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511 and the Dutch conquest of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and Southern Borneo, as a result of the

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London (), was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Angl ...

, Labuan became more important to the foreign powers they began to venture into

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

from Labuan.

1840s

Following the events which affected the Brunei Sultanate in Sarawak, the British, pressured by its commercial interests, decided that it was a good opportunity for them to occupy Labuan. For the British, Labuan would be used as a port to harbour their ships. The rich coal supply in Labuan further increased British interest in the island. The expansion of other western powers in the region caused Britain to realise the need for a permanent harbour in northwestern Borneo to prevent further foreign interference. The British worried that the Sultan might seek the assistance of other foreign powers who at that time were active in Southeast Asia, such as the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

. Nevertheless, Labuan was considered a safe shelter and strategically situated to protect British interests in the region especially the China trade route. With the assistance of

James Brooke James Brooke (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajahs, White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was born and ra ...

, Britain now sought to take over Labuan.

Cession of Labuan

Soon after the signing of the 1846 treaty, the British put pressure on Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II to cede Labuan to the British. The Sultan refused and employed delaying tactics. However the British navy lined up British warships near the Sultan's palace with cannons ready to fire if the Sultan refused to sign the treaty. The Sultan had no choice but to put the royal seal, symbolising the surrender of

Island to Great Britain as a

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

, ceding it to the British Queen "in perpetuity", to provide British traders with a harbour where they could protect their trade interests. After the signing, James Brooke was knighted and later appointed the first British governor of Labuan. Six days later, the British occupied the island. It was on 24 December 1846 when Captain Mundy, commanding , took possession of Labuan, "in the Name of Her Majesty Victoria Queen of

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

under the Direction of His Excellency Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, C.B., Commander-in-Chief".

Aftermath

The loss of Labuan was a big blow to Brunei, as Labuan was considered as its only gateway through the sea to the outside world. It was after the loss of Labuan that Brunei began to lose most of its territories, mainly to the Brooke Regime in

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and British North Borneo Chartered Company in

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

Alleged expiration of the Treaty and request for the return of Labuan to Brunei

In 1957, the British High Commissioner for Brunei Sir Anthony Abell made a proposal to the Brunei government and to the Secretary for the Colonies Alan Lennox-Boyd, in which the Crown Colony of Labuan was to be returned to Brunei after a long time since the island was ceded to Great Britain in December 1846. The

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

did not agree with the proposal as he saw it as a motive by the Great Britain to accept the proposed merger of the three British Borneo Colonies of Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak into one administration. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III demanded that the Island of Labuan be returned to Brunei alleging that the Treaty of Labuan expired after Labuan had been in possession of Great Britain for 100 years. Since it was clearly stated in the Treaty that Labuan was ceded forever although ceded by force, Sir Anthony Abell "denied the validity of the Sultan's arguments and said that he did not expect the British government would support Brunei claim for the return of Labuan." The talks between Brunei and Great Britain about the return of the island to Brunei continued until Labuan, together with

and

, joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Annex

Treaty of Labuan

1. Peace, friendship, and good understanding shall subsist for ever between Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Highness the Sultan of Borneo Proper, and their respective Heirs and Successors. 2. His Highness the Sultan hereby cedes in full sovereignty and property to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Her Heirs and Successors for ever, the Island of Labuan and its dependencies, the Islets adjacent thereto. 3. The Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland hereby engages, in consideration of the cession above specified, to use its best endeavours to suppress Piracy, and to protect lawful commerce, and the Sultan of Borneo, and his ministers, promise to afford every assistance to the British authorities.Graham Irwin, ''Nineteenth-Century Borneo. A Study in Diplomatic Rivalry'', Brill (1955) p. 123–124.

References

{{reflist 1846 treaties Labuan North Borneo 1846 in Asia 1846 in the British Empire Brunei–United Kingdom relations 1846 in Southeast Asia