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Concept
Semporna
Summary
Semporna (Pekan Semporna) is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010.
Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Chartered Company established Sandakan, and initially settled by Chinese traders, most fleeing from Spanish attacks on the Sulu Sultanate. Before being named "Semporna", this area was known as "Tong Talun" in Bajau language which means "Hujung Hutan" in Malay or "at the end of the forest" in English. Panglima Uddang, Panglima Sallehangni and Panglima Sakti of Bajaus Kubang ancestry were responsible for this name. Governor Treacher renamed the place "Labuan Semporna" which is Malay for "perfect anchorage" but the word Labuan was subsequently dropped. Other sources translate "Semporna" as "Peaceful Place".
Including other parts of eastern Sabah, this area was ruled by the Sultanate of Sulu before being handed over to the British North Borneo Chartered Company in 1876 by agreement. From that time on the area came under permanent British administration. Other western powers, including the Dutch, tried to conquer this area in June 1876 but were repelled by the British presence here.
This area also was long a main landing point for pirates. Very few people lived on the coasts for fear of these marauders, as they roamed the seas, kidnapping, raiding and killing. Action by Sir James Brooke, and other western colonial powers such as the Dutch and Spanish, managed to successfully combat the pirates over the course of the 1800s. Upon the advent of the Chartered Company in the early 1880s, only one pirate stronghold remained at Omadal island, which was defeated by HMS Zephyr in 1886. By mid 1887, a trading station on the southern side of the entrance to Darvel Bay was established. With pirates having recently destroyed the settlement of Maimbung in Sulu, some of the Chinese merchants there asked for permission to settle in the Company's territory, under the rule of law and its resulting security.
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