evidence: North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo)[2] was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally established by concessions of the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu in 1877 and 1878 to a German-born representative of Austria-Hungary, businessman and diplomat, Gustav Overbeck. [...] At the early stage of the administration, there was a claim in northern Borneo by the Spanish authorities in the Philippines, and an attempt to raise the Spanish flag over Sandakan was met with interference by a British warship.[18] To prevent further conflict and to end the Spanish claim to northern Borneo, in 1885 an agreement known as the Madrid Protocol was signed in Madrid between the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, recognising the Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago.[27][35] As the company did not wish to be involved in further foreign affairs issues,[31] North Borneo was made a British Protectorate on 12 May 1888.[36][37] In 1890, the Crown Colony of Labuan was incorporated into the administration of North Borneo, before returning to direct British rule in 1904.[38] There were several local insurrections from 1894 to 1900 by Mat Salleh and by Antanum in 1915.[39] The First World War did not greatly affect the territory, and logging business grew during the interwar period.[40]