page_title: Kota Kinabalu
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kota Kinabalu / History
caption_attribution_description: English: SOME OF THE BOMB DAMAGE AT JESSELTON, BRITISH NORTH BORNEO.
context_page_description: Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies to its west and Mount Kinabalu, which gave the city its name, is located to its east. Kota Kinabalu has a population of 452,058 according to the 2010 census; when the adjacent Penampang and Putatan districts are included, the metro area has a combined population of 628,725.
  In the 15th century, the area of Kota Kinabalu was under the influence of Bruneian Empire. In the 19th century, the British North Borneo Company first set up a settlement near the Gaya Island. However, it was destroyed by fire in 1897 by a local leader named Mat Salleh. In July 1899, the place located opposite to the Gaya Island was identified as a suitable place for settlements. Development in the area was started soon after that; and the place was named "Api-api" before it was renamed after the vice-chairman of BNBC as "Jesselton". Jesselton became a major trading port in the area, and was connected to the North Borneo Railway.
context_section_description: Since the 15th century, the area of Jesselton was under the influence of the Bruneian Empire. In the late 1800s, the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) began to establish colonies throughout North Borneo. In 1882, BNBC founded a small settlement in the area known as Gaya Bay, which was already inhabited by Bajau people. The first settlement was on Gaya Island. In 1897, this first settlement was burned and destroyed by the indigenous Bajau-Suluk chief Mat Salleh.
  After the destruction, BNBC decided to relocate the settlement to the more easily defended mainland at Gantian Bay (now Sepanggar Bay) in 1898. However that location was found to be unsuitable and in July 1899, Mr. Henry Walker, a Land Commissioner, identified a 30 acres (12 ha) site opposite Gaya Island as a replacement for Gantian. This fishing village named Api-Api (see Original names above) was chosen due to its proximity to the North Borneo Railway and its natural port that provided good anchorage, which was up to 24 feet deep.
  By the end of 1899, construction had started on shoplots, a pier and government buildings. This new administrative centre was renamed Jesselton after Sir Charles Jessel, who was the then Vice-Chairman of BNBC. Eventually, Jesselton became a major trading post of North Borneo, dealing in rubber, rattan, honey, and wax. The North Borneo Railway was used to transport goods to the Jesselton harbour. The Malay and Bajau uprisings during those times were not uncommon, and BNBC worked to quell the long-standing threat of piracy in the region. Jesselton suffered a large-scale destruction when it was razed by the British in their retreat from the Japanese and suffered more destruction when the Allies bombed it in 1945. After the Japanese takeover of Borneo, it was again renamed Api. Several rebellions against the Japanese military administration took place in Api. One major rebellion in the town occurred on 10 October 1943 by a group called Kinabalu Guerrillas in the Jesselton Revolt consisting of local inhabitants. Japanese forces quelled the rebellion after its leader, Albert Kwok, was arrested and executed in 1944. At the later stages of the war, what remained of the town was destroyed again by Allied bombings day and night for over six months as part of the Borneo Campaign in 1945, leaving only three buildings standing. The war in North Borneo ended with the official surrender of the Japanese 37th Army by Lieutenant General Baba Masao in Labuan on 10 September 1945.
  After the war on the edge of bankruptcy, the British North Borneo Company returned to administer Jesselton but was unable to finance the huge costs of reconstruction. They gave control of North Borneo to the British Crown on 18 July 1946. The new colonial government elected to rebuild Jesselton as the capital of North Borneo instead of Sandakan, which had also been destroyed by the war. The Crown Colony administration designed a plan, later known as the "Colonial Office Reconstruction and Development Plan for North Borneo: 1948–1955”, to rebuild North Borneo. This plan provided £6,051,939 for the rebuilding of infrastructure in North Borneo. When the Crown Colony of North Borneo together with Sarawak, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, it became known as Sabah, and Jesselton remained its capital. On 22 December 1967, the State Legislative Assembly under Chief Minister Mustapha Harun passed a bill renaming Jesselton as Kota Kinabalu. The city was upgraded to city status on 2 February 2000.
caption: Bomb damage at the town of Jesselton during World War II, this was part of the Borneo Campaign by Allied forces during 1945.
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