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 Malaysia.