History of Sabah

The history of Sabah can be traced back to about 23–30,000 years ago when
evidence suggests the earliest human settlement in the region existed.
The history is interwoven with the history of Brunei and the history of
Malaysia, which Sabah was previously part of and is currently part of
respectively. The earliest recorded history of Sabah being part of any
organised civilisation began in the early 15th century during the thriving
era of the Sultanate of Brunei.[1] Prior to this, early inhabitants of
the land lived in predominantly tribal societies, although such tribal
societies had continued to exist until the 1900s.[2] The eastern part of
Sabah was ceded to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658 for
the former helping a victory over Brunei enemies, but many sources stated
it had not been ceded at all.[3] By the late 19th century, both territories
previously owned by Sultan of Brunei and Sultan of Sulu was granted to
British syndicate and later emerged as British North Borneo under the
management of the North Borneo Chartered Company.[4] Sabah became a
protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently became a Crown
colony from 1946 until 1963, during which time it was known as Crown Colony
of North Borneo. On 16 September 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya, Sarawak
and Singapore (left in 1965) to form the Federation of Malaysia.