Complex sentence: The Sultanate began to loosely govern the eastern part of North Borneo as on 1878, the Sultanate sold their land to an Austro-Hungarian consul who later left the territory to a British colonial merchant.
Split into simpler sentences: The Sultanate began to loosely govern the eastern part of North Borneo. In 1878, the Sultanate sold their land to an Austro-Hungarian consul who later left the territory to a British colonial merchant.