Balambangan Island

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Balambangan Island
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Location of Balambangan Island between South China Sea and Sulu Sea
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Balambangan Island
Geography
Location Tun Mustapha Marine Park
Coordinates 7°15′49″N116°53′21″E / 7.26361°N 116.88917°E / 7.26361; 116.88917 Coordinates: 7°15′49″N116°53′21″E / 7.26361°N 116.88917°E / 7.26361; 116.88917
Archipelago Borneo
Adjacent to Balabac Strait
Area79 km2 (31 sq mi)
Length24 km (14.9 mi)
Width7 km (4.3 mi)
Highest elevation160 ft (49 m)
Highest pointDamper Hill
Administration
State Flag of Sabah.svg  Sabah

Balambangan Island (Malay : Pulau Balambangan) is an island in Kudat Division, Sabah, Malaysia. It is located off the northern tip of Borneo and is situated just about 3 kilometres west of Banggi Island. It is now part of the Tun Mustapha Marine Park. [1]

Contents

History

Alexander Dalrymple, an officer of the East India Company (EIC), concluded an agreement with Sultan Bantilan Muizzud-Din on 12 September 1762 whereby the Sultanate of Sulu ceded the island of Balambangan to the company, and Dalrymple took possession of the island on 22 January 1763. [2] The establishment of a factory on Balambangan was officially approved by a committee of the board of directors in 1768 and Dalrymple was offered the role of management of the new settlement. [3]

However, Dalrymple quarrelled with the directors, and his insistence on absolute management of Balambangan led to his dismissal in March 1771. [3] Dalrymple was replaced by John Herbert who commanded the Britannia as it transported soldiers, goods, and supplies from India in 1772, [2] and arrived at Balambangan in December 1773. [3] The settlement traded opium, munitions, and fabrics with the Tausugs and Maguindanaons. [2] Herbert's mismanagement of Balambangan and poor relations with the Tausugs resulted in the settlement's destruction on 26 February 1775 at the hands of Moro pirates, [4] and Herbert and other survivors escaped to Brunei. [3]

In the second half of the 18th century, the Dutch from Batavia attempted to settle the island's western coast, but withdrew by 1797. [5]

In 1803, in response to the restitution of the Moluccas to the Dutch as per the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India, decided upon the resettlement of Balambangan, and instructed R. J. Farquhar, the British Resident at Amboina, to manage the expedition to the island. [6] Farquhar reestablished the settlement at Balambangan by the end of September 1803, [6] , despite the ships Anstruther and Thornhill being wrecked off the coast of Banggi Island whilst en route from Malacca to Balambangan on 23 September, and the General Baird being destroyed by fire in the settlement's harbour on 29 October. [7] [8]

Farquhar left Balambangan for Penang on 7 December, and a commissioner was appointed to manage the settlement. [6] Balambangan came under the jurisdiction of Penang, and as lieutenant governor of Penang, Farquhar planned to fortify the settlement on Balambangan, but the resumption of war with France led the court of directors of the EIC to veto the plan; the island was abandoned in 1805. [6]

In December 1805, five members of the ill-fated crew of shipwrecked schooner Betsey made it off Balambangan Island in a small boat despite being attacked by eleven natives; however, one sailor died in the boat due to his injuries. [9]

See also

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Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar, 1st Baronet was an influential British merchant of the early nineteenth century who served as a colonial governor and Member of Parliament. During his lengthy service for both the East India Company and the British government, Farquhar gained a reputation as an efficient and ambitious administrator and he notably served as Lieutenant-Governor of Prince of Wales Island from January 1804 to 1805 and as governor of Île de Bourbon, now known as Réunion from 1810 to 1811.

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Atlantic was launched in 1783. She made one voyage from England to Australia in 1791 carrying convicts. Later, she made one voyage for the East India Company (EIC). Subsequently she sailed to Smyrna, Surinam, and Gibraltar, before she disappeared from records in 1810.

Exeter was a three-decker East Indiaman built by Perry and launched in 1792. She made eight voyages to the East Indies for the East India Company (EIC). More unusually, on separate voyages she captured a French frigate and participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. She was sold for breaking up in 1811.

Atlas was built in Souths Shields by Temple and launched in 1801 for Temple. She made two voyages transporting convicts from Ireland or England to Port Jackson. On the first voyage she carried cargo for the British East India Company (EIC). On the second she sailed to Bengal after delivering her convicts to New South Wales and was wrecked off India in 1820 while on her way back to Britain.

Alfred was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold. She participated in two notable incidents in which East Indiamen bluffed superior French naval forces from engaging. In January 1797, on her third voyage, in the Bali Strait Alfred and five other Indiamen sent off a French squadron of six frigates without a shot being fired. In February 1804, at Pulo Aura, during her sixth voyage she participated in a notable engagement with a French squadron. After her last voyage for the EIC Alfred served as a storeship and a hulk.

Wexford was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman in the service of the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages to India, Persia, and China for the EIC, on the first of which she participated in the battle of Pulo Aura. Her last voyage ended in 1817 and she was broken up c. 1819.

Varuna was launched at Calcutta in 1796. She made four voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC), and then spent two years as a troopship. She returned to India in 1806. She was lost in 1811, probably in a typhoon.

Euphrates was launched in 1803 as an East Indiaman. Between 1803 and 1812 she made four voyages to India for the British East India Company (EIC). During these voyages she participated as a transport in two military campaigns, the capture of the Cape of Good Hope and of Mauritius. She was wrecked in 1813 towards the end of the outward leg of a fifth voyage to India.

General Baird was built in Rangoon in 1801 or 1802 as a "country ship", that is, a British ship that traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. Her master was W. Fleming, and her owner Fairlie, Gilmore and Company.

Glatton was launched in Rotherhithe in 1796. Between 1796 and 1815 she made eight voyages to South-East Asia, China, and India as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1815 her owners sold her for use as a hulk.

In 1803, in response to the restitution of the Moluccas to the Dutch as per the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India, decided upon the resettlement of Balambangan Island, and instructed R. J. Farquhar, the British Resident at Amboina for the British East India Company (EIC), to manage the expedition.

Anstruther appears in lists of vessels registered in Calcutta in 1800 and 1803 as being built there, though there is no record of her launch year. She was a "country ship", that is, a British ship that traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. She was lost in September 1803 on an expedition to Balambangan Island.

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Sia (17 August 2016). "Do you know where Malaysia's biggest marine park is?". The Star/Asia News Network. AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Warren (1981), pp. 18–19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hall (1981), pp. 535–536.
  4. ↑ Warren (1981), p. 36.
  5. ↑ Sanderson Beck (2007). "Indonesia and the Dutch 1800–1950". San.Beck. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hall (1981), p. 540.
  7. ↑ Campbell (1806), p. 89.
  8. ↑ Clarke & McArthur (2010), p. 467.
  9. ↑ Bateson (1972), p. 40.

Bibliography

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