Editing Labuan (section)

==History==
{{Quote box |width=23em |align=right   |bgcolor=#B0C4DE
|title=Historical affiliations
|fontsize=90% |quote=
{{flagicon image|Old Flag of Brunei.svg}} [[Bruneian Empire|Sultanate of Brunei]] 15th century–1846<ref name="lb history"/><ref name="McColl2005"/><br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] 1846–1848<ref name="lb">{{cite web|url=http://www.bt.com.bn/life/2008/09/07/loss_of_labuan_a_former_brunei_island|title=Loss of Labuan, a former Brunei island|author=Rozan Yunos|publisher=[[The Brunei Times]]|date=7 September 2008|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428182303/http://www.bt.com.bn/life/2008/09/07/loss_of_labuan_a_former_brunei_island|archive-date=28 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="lb history"/><br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Labuan (1912–1946).svg}} [[Crown Colony of Labuan|Labuan Crown]] 1848–1941<ref name="lb history"/><ref name="lbc"/><ref name="Mathews2014"/><br />
{{*}}{{flagicon image|Flag of North Borneo (1902–1946).svg}} [[British North Borneo]] 1890–1904<br />
{{*}}{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] 1904–1906<br />
{{*}}{{flagicon image|Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904–1925).svg}} [[Straits Settlements]] 1907–1941<ref name="RentonRobertson1908"/><ref name="Office1917"/><br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg}} [[Japanese occupation of British Borneo|Empire of Japan]] 1942–1945<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg}} [[Crown Colony of North Borneo|British North Borneo Crown]] 1946–1963<ref name="Kratoska2001"/><br />
{{flag|Malaysia}} 1963–present<ref name="labuan"/>
}}

For three centuries from the 15th century, the north and west coast of [[Borneo]] including the island of Labuan was part of the [[Bruneian Empire|Sultanate of Brunei]].<ref name="lb history">{{cite book|author1=Stephen R. Evans|author2=Abdul Rahman Zainal|author3=Rod Wong Khet Ngee|title=The History of Labuan Island (Victoria Island)|url=http://library.perdana.org.my/Digital_Content/NLM/Batch3/B03_PDF_DVD001/15%20sep/M959.521EVAHistoryOfLabuanVictoriaIsland.pdf|year=1996|publisher=Calendar Print Pte Ltd|isbn=981-00-7764-5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701160652/http://library.perdana.org.my/Digital_Content/NLM/Batch3/B03_PDF_DVD001/15%20sep/M959.521EVAHistoryOfLabuanVictoriaIsland.pdf|archive-date=1 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="McColl2005">{{cite book|author=R. W. McColl|title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA123|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7229-3|pages=123–}}</ref> In 1775, Labuan was temporarily occupied by the [[British East India Company]] after the failure of the company's station at [[Balambangan Island]]. The Sultan of Brunei, [[Omar Ali Saifuddin I]] tried to secure the British East India Company's support against the [[Sulu]] raiders by offering Labuan as an alternative to Balambangan but, instead the company made a second but failed attempt to set up a station on Balambangan. The Sultan's subsequent reoffering of Labuan to the company did not result in the establishment of a permanent British settlement on the island either.<ref>B.A. Hussainmiya, Brunei Revival of 1906 A Popular History, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Brunei, 2006, p.xi</ref>

British policy changed in the 19th century, when Labuan started to attract British interest again. [[Rodney Mundy|Captain Rodney Mundy]] acquired the island for Britain through the [[Treaty of Labuan]] with the Sultan of Brunei, [[Omar Ali Saifuddin II]] on 18 December 1846.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Rodney Mundy|author2=James Brooke|title=Narrative of events in Borneo and Celebes, down to the occupation of Labuan: from the journals of James Brooke, Rajah of Sarãwak, and governor of Labuan, together with a narrative of the operations of H.M.S. Iris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FB1JAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA367|year=1848|publisher=Murray|pages=367–}}</ref> Mundy took [[Abdul Momin|Pengiran Mumin]] to witness the island's accession to the [[The Crown|British Crown]] on 24 December 1846.<ref name="Saunders2013">{{cite book|author=Graham Saunders|title=A History of Brunei|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUv8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA78|date=5 November 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-87394-2|pages=78 & 123}}</ref> Some sources state that during the signing of the treaty, the Sultan had been threatened by a [[Royal Navy|British navy]] warship ready to fire on the Sultan's palace if he refused to sign the treaty while another source says the island was ceded to Britain as a reward for assistance in combating pirates.<ref name="lb"/><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ubd.edu.bn/academic/faculty/FASS/staff/docs/BAH/revival.pdf |title=Brunei Revival of 1906 (A Popular History) – The Surrender of Labuan and The First Brunei-British Treaty |publisher=[[Universiti Brunei Darussalam]]; Brunei Press Sdn Bhd |date=2006 |access-date=29 April 2014 |author=B.A. Hussainmiya |pages=12/34 |location=[[Bandar Seri Begawan]] |isbn=99917-32-15-2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912112209/http://www.ubd.edu.bn/academic/faculty/FASS/staff/docs/BAH/revival.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/rart_doc/treacher1891.pdf |title=British Borneo: Sketches of Brunai, Sarawak, Labuan and North Borneo |publisher=[[Trinity Theological College, Singapore|Trinity Theological College]] |work=[[University of California Libraries]] |date=1891 |access-date=29 April 2014 |author=W. H. Treacher, C.M.G. M.A. Oxon |pages=12 / Chapter VI. Pages 84–92 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011213647/http://www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/rart_doc/treacher1891.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2013 }}</ref>

The main reason why the [[United Kingdom|British]] acquired the island was to establish a naval station to protect their commercial interest in the region and to suppress piracy in the [[South China Sea]].<ref name="lb history"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Henry Keppel|title=The Expedition to Borneo of H. M. S. Dido: 1843 – 1846|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHVCGKBzhYwC&pg=PA304|year=2009|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-941842-95-3|pages=304–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18481014.2.14.aspx|title=The Straits Times, 14 October 1848, Page 3 (Labuan)|publisher=[[National Library Board]]|date=14 October 1848|access-date=29 April 2014|pages=3}}</ref> The British also believed the island could be the next [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18481021.2.14.aspx|title=The Straits Times, 21 October 1848, Page 3 (Labuan)|publisher=National Library Board|date=21 October 1848|access-date=29 April 2014|pages=3}}</ref> Following the [[Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship 1847|Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship]] in 1847, which distilled the aforementioned events into a single document - Labuan was ceded to the British in perpetuity.<ref name=":wright">{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=LR |title=The Origin of British Borneo |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=1970 |location=Hong Kong |pages=205}}</ref> The island became a [[Crown Colony of Labuan|Crown Colony]] in 1848 with [[James Brooke]] appointed as the first governor and [[commander-in-chief]], with [[William Napier (lawyer)|William Napier]] as his lieutenant-governor.<ref name="lb history" /><ref name="lbc">{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article709047|title=Opening of the New Colony of Labuan|publisher=[[National Library of Australia]]|work=Sydney Daily Advertiser|date=23 September 1848|access-date=29 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Mathews2014">{{cite book|author=Philip Mathews|title=Chronicle of Malaysia: Fifty Years of Headline News, 1963–2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=md9UAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15|date=28 February 2014|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=978-967-10617-4-9|pages=15–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Rodney Mundy|author2=James Brooke|title=Narrative of events in Borneo and Celebes, down to the occupation of Labuan: from the journals of James Brooke, Rajah of Sarãwak, and governor of Labuan, together with a narrative of the operations of H.M.S. Iris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FB1JAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA367|year=1848|publisher=Murray|pages=367–}}</ref> In 1849, the [[Eastern Archipelago Company]] became the first of several British companies to try to exploit Labuan coal deposits.<ref>{{cite book|author=Phillip Cottrell|title=Investment Banking in England 1856–1881(Rle Banking and Finance)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6rZBqy4X-gC&pg=PA211|date=25 May 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-53020-0|pages=211–}}</ref> The company was formed to exploit coal deposits on the island and adjacent coast of Borneo but soon became involved in a dispute with [[James Brooke]].<ref name="lb history" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Eastern Archipelago Company|title=The Queen on the Prosecution of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B. Against the Eastern Archipelago Company; Containing the Judgments of the Queen's Bench and the Exchequer Chamber, Together with Two Articles from the "Times" Newspaper, Etc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gCFYAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA9|year=1853|publisher=W. Clowes & Sons|pages=9–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Eastern Archipelago Company|title=Annual Report of the Directors of the Eastern Archipelago Company|year=1853|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ls0NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA149|publisher=Eastern Archipelago Company|pages=149–}}</ref> Not proving itself a great commercial or strategic asset, administration of Labuan was handed to the [[British North Borneo Company]] in 1890.<ref name="OlsonShadle1996">{{cite book|author1=James Stuart Olson|author2=Robert Shadle|title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0VnzMelzm8C&pg=PA645|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29367-2|pages=645–}}</ref><ref name="Welman">{{cite book|author=Frans Welman|title=Borneo Trilogy Volume 1: Sabah|date=9 March 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glG-WBH8hkQC&pg=PA162|publisher=Booksmango|isbn=978-616-245-078-5|pages=162–}}</ref> The North Borneo Company did not prove that effective a manager either, and in 1904 [[Malcolm Stewart Hannibal McArthur]] even proposed handing the island back to Brunei.<ref name="deVienne2015">{{cite book |author1=Marie-Sybille de Vienne |title=Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century |date=2015 |publisher=NUS Press |isbn=9789971698188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfpIBwAAQBAJ |page=90}}</ref> In 1894, a [[submarine communications cable]] was built by the British to link the island's communications with [[North Borneo]], Singapore and [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?sec=l&file=%2f2012%2f1%2f16%2flifefocus%2f20120116083237 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429161634/http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?sec=l&file=%2F2012%2F1%2F16%2Flifefocus%2F20120116083237 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 April 2014 |title=Staying connected |work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |date=16 January 2012 |access-date=30 April 2014 }}</ref> By 30 October 1906, the British Government proposed to extend the boundaries of the [[Straits Settlements]] to include Labuan. The proposal took effect from 1 January 1907.<ref name="RentonRobertson1908">{{cite book|author1=Alexander Wood Renton|author2=Maxwell Anderson Robertson|author3=Frederick Pollock|author4=William Bowstead|title=Encyclopædia of the laws of England with forms and precedents by the most eminent legal authorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QsyAAAAIAAJ|year=1908|publisher=Sweet & Maxwell}}</ref><ref name="Office1917">{{cite book|author=United States. Hydrographic Office|title=Asiatic Pilot: The coasts of Sumatra and the adjacent straits and islands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNQNAQAAMAAJ|year=1917|publisher=Hydrographic office under the authority of the secretary of the navy}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="British conquest of Labuan" |height="100">
Anglo Bruni Treaty 1844.jpg|Anglo Bruneian Treaty 23 Oct 1844<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marryat|first1=Frank|title=Borneo and the Indian Archipelago with Drawings of Costume and Scenery|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=XM5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA114&hl=en|year=1848|publisher=Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans|isbn=9789810588304 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Belcher|first1=Edward|title=Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, During the Years 1843-46; Employed surveying the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago Vol. 1|year=1848 |publisher=Reeve, Benham, and Reeve |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=jotKAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA174}}</ref>

Treaty_of_Labuan1846_dec18_outside.jpg|Marines stationed outside the Sultan's palace during the signing of the 1846 Treaty of Labuan<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mundy|first1=Rodney|title=Narrative of Events in Borneo and Celebes, down to the Occupation of Labuan: from the Journals of James Brooke, Esq. Vol. 1|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=FB1JAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA294-IA2&hl=en|year=1848|publisher=John Murray}}</ref>

Treaty_of_Labuan1846.jpg|Signing of the Treaty of Labuan 18 Dec 1846<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mundy|first1=Rodney|title=Narrative of Events in Borneo and Celebes, down to the Occupation of Labuan: from the Journals of James Brooke, Esq. Vol. 1|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=FB1JAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA294-IA2&hl=en|year=1848|publisher=John Murray}}</ref>

Flag raising Labuan 24Dec1846 Mundy.jpg|Flag raising Labuan 24 Dec 1846<ref name="lb history"/>
Map of Labuan (1888).jpg|An 1888 British Map of Labuan
</gallery>

[[File:Japanese landing off the west coast of British North Borneo, Labuan.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] anchoring at the coast of Labuan on 14 January 1942]]

In [[World War II]], Labuan was [[Japanese occupation of British Borneo|occupied]] by [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] from 3 January 1942 until June 1945 and garrisoned by units of the [[Thirty-Seventh Army (Japan)|Japanese 37th Army]], which controlled Northern Borneo.<ref>{{cite book|author1=T. A. Edwin Gibson|author2=G. Kingsley Ward|title=Courage remembered: the story behind the construction and maintenance of the Commonwealth's military cemeteries and memorials of the wars of 1914–1918 and 1939–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7xAAAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|isbn=978-0-7710-8786-8}}</ref> The island served as the administrative centre for the Japanese forces.<ref name="Ooi2004">{{cite book|author=Keat Gin Ooi|title=Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smKyAAAAIAAJ|date=October 2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-770-2}}</ref> During the occupation, the Japanese Government changed the island name to '''Maida Island''' ({{lang|ja|前田島}} [''Maeda-shima'']) on 9 December 1942 after [[Marquess|Marquis]] [[Toshinari Maeda]], as a remembrance to the first Japanese commander in northern Borneo. Maeda was killed in an [[Aviation accidents and incidents|air crash]] at [[Bintulu]], Sarawak when en route to the island to open the airfield there.<ref name="lb history"/><ref name="Ooi2004"/> As the Allied counter-attack came closer, the Japanese also developed Labuan and [[Brunei Bay]] as a naval base.<ref name="Saunders2013"/>

[[File:American Support Craft (AWM 108818).jpg|thumb|right|American [[Landing craft|support craft]] moving towards [[Victoria, Labuan|Victoria]] and Brown beach to assist the landing of the members of Australian [[24th Brigade (Australia)|24th Infantry Brigade]] on the island during [[Operation Oboe Six]]]]
[[File:Japanese Surrender, Labuan (AWM 115989).JPG|thumb|150px|left|Japanese Commander in Borneo, Lieutenant General [[Masao Baba]] signing the surrender document dated 9 September 1945 on the [[9th Division (Australia)|Australian 9th Division]] headquarters in Labuan while being watched by the [[Major general (Australia)|Australian Major General]] [[George Wootten]]]]

The liberation of Borneo by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] began on 10 June 1945 when the Australian Army under the command of [[Major general (Australia)|Australian Major General]] George Wootten launched an attack under the codename of [[Battle of North Borneo|Operation Oboe Six]]. Labuan became the main objective for the Allied forces to repossess.<ref name="Sandler2001">{{cite book|author=Stanley Sandler|title=World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-027Yrx12UC&pg=PA182|date=January 2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-8153-1883-5|pages=181–182}}</ref> Soon, the [[9th Division (Australia)|9th Division]] of the Australian Army launched the attack with support from airstrikes and sea bombardments until the capture of the Labuan airstrip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article56381584|title=Australians Swarm Ashore on N-W Borneo Coast|author=James O'Connor|publisher=National Library of Australia|work=[[The Morning Bulletin]]|date=13 June 1945|access-date=30 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17942995|title=Capture of Labuan Airstrip in Borneo|author=Australian Officials|publisher=National Library of Australia|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=19 June 1945|access-date=30 April 2014}}</ref> Most of the Labuan island area including the main town of [[Victoria, Labuan|Victoria]] was under the control of Allied forces within four days of the [[Battle of Labuan|landing on 10 June]].<ref name="Sandler2001"/> On 9 September 1945, the Japanese Lieutenant General [[Masao Baba]] officially surrendered at a place now known as Surrender Point near the Layang-layang beach which he had been brought to the 9th Division headquarters on the island to sign the surrender document in front of the Australian 9th Division Army Commander [[George Wootten]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/OAWG/war_memorials/overseas_memorials/malaysia/Pages/malaysia%20surrender%20point.aspx|title=Surrender Point Memorial, Labuan Island|publisher=[[Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia)|Department of Veterans' Affairs]]|date=19 November 2012|access-date=1 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501110149/http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/OAWG/war_memorials/overseas_memorials/malaysia/Pages/malaysia%20surrender%20point.aspx|archive-date=1 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The name of Labuan was later restored by the British and the island was administered under the [[British Military Administration (Borneo)|British Military Administration]] together with the rest of the Straits Settlements. Labuan then on 15 July 1946 joined the [[Crown Colony of North Borneo|North Borneo Crown Colony]], which in turn became the state of Sabah and [[Malaysia]] in 1963.<ref name="lb history"/><ref name="Kratoska2001">{{cite book|author=Paul H. Kratoska|title=South East Asia, Colonial History: Peaceful transitions to independence (1945–1963)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yookbQZ-0yUC&pg=PA129|year=2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-24784-9|pages=129–}}</ref> In 1984, the Government of Sabah ceded Labuan to the [[Government of Malaysia|federal government]] and later was admitted as a [[Federal Territories (Malaysia)|federal territory]]. This was done so that it could become an offshore financial centre.<ref name="labuan">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvs.gov.my/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=01e32808-0a2b-4369-9747-2021f14012c9&groupId=16746 |title=Laws of Malaysia A585 Constitution (Amendment) (No.2) Act 1984 |work=Government of Malaysia |publisher=Department of Veterinary Services |access-date=28 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429050631/http://www.dvs.gov.my/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=01e32808-0a2b-4369-9747-2021f14012c9&groupId=16746 |archive-date=29 April 2014 }}</ref> It was declared an international offshore financial centre and [[free trade zone]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?rp=19 |title=Chapter 8: Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre |publisher=[[Bank Negara Malaysia]] |access-date=1 May 2014 |quote=Labuan was declared as an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) in October 1990 to complement the activities of the domestic financial market in [[Kuala Lumpur]], strengthen the contribution of financial services to [[Gross National Product]]s of Malaysia as well as develop the island and areas within its vicinity. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033011/http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?rp=19 |archive-date=2 May 2014 }}</ref>