The Madrid Protocol of 1885 was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain to recognize the sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago as well as the limit of Spanish influence in the region. Under the agreement, Spain relinquished all claim to Borneo.
The Spanish Government renounces, as far as regards the British Government, all claims of sovereignty over the
territories of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which have belonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), and which comprise the neighbouring islands of Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawali, as well as all those comprised within
a zone of three maritime leagues from the coast, and which form part of the territories administered by the Company styled the "British North Borneo Company".
— Article III, Madrid Protocol of 1885
Another important point regarding the agreement relates to Article IV, which guarantees no restriction on trade to the parties of the protocol within the Sulu Archipelago and North Borneo.
See also
References
- Tregonning, H.G. (1970). The Philippine Claim to Sabah (PDF). The Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
- "BRITISH NORTH BORNEO TREATIES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013.
Further reading
- Leigh R. Wright. Historical Notes on the North Borneo Dispute. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 3 (May 1966), pp. 471–484.
- Leigh R. Wright. The Origins of British Borneo. Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1976), pp. 149–154
- Leigh R. Wright. The Anglo-Spanish-German Treaty of 1885: A Step in the Development of British Hegemony in North Borneo. Australian Journal of Politics & History 18 (1), 62–75
