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Mint:
London
Issuer:
British North Borneo Company
Die-engraver:
Spink & Son
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.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Baldwin 1933
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 38.7 mm
Weight: 55.78 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
Production date: AD 1898
Inscription present: British lion left facing out before Union Jack flagstaff and wooded background; exergue, laurel wreath with Spink & Sons engraved left and London engraved right
Inscription present: Arms of couped shield with galleasse at sea base, lion passant chief, shield flanked by native warriors one with shield and other with machete, above arms holding flagstaff, below motto on scroll over antlers
Accession number: CM.1154-2009
Primary reference Number: 141248
Watson Catalogue: 40
Ordering: M-0037
Previous object number: LW.0037
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141248 Accessed: 2024-12-26 17:14:10
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141248
|title=British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-26 17:14:10|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141248
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0037_281_29.jpg"
alt="British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897)"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">British North Borneo Co. Medal: Punitive Expedition (1897)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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