medal, British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897), medals, Military, Britain, British Army

Artist: London, mint; Date(s): 1898; Classification(s): medal, British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897), medals, Military, Britain, British Army; Acquisition: loan by Cambridge in America, 2005 [LW.0037] Description: The state of North Borneo, which is now part of the Malaysian state of Sabah, began independent existence as a United States possession leased from the Sultan of Brunei, and then passed through the hands of various trading companies, US, Austro-Hungarian and British, before the formation of the British North Borneo Co. in 1882. It became a British Protectorate in 1888. Under the company the terms of the lease were considerably expanded, and new settlement organisation and taxation systems emplaced. This, while boosting the country's productivity, also caused resentment among the local population. Datu Muhammad Salleh (Mat Salleh) became a figurehead of this opposition feeling, and the Company's burning of his village in 1897 failed to quell his increasing power. His destruction of the Company's harbour at Pulau Gaya in 1897 led to a more determined reprisal against his new fort of Ranau in 1898, after which Mat Salleh had to retreat into the hinterland. He was eventually killed in 1900. The bar to this medal indicates that it was awarded to participants in the expedition against Ranau. Forces in these actions were so small that only fifty-two of these medals were issued, and of these only five in silver, of which this unnamed example is one. Lester Watson purchased it from the London dealer Baldwin in 1933.

Collection

Fitzwilliam Museum

Inventory Number

2532154

Title

medal, British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897), medals, Military, Britain, British Army

Object Type

Text

Measurements

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