Marudu Bay
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| Marudu Bay | |
|---|---|
| Malay: Teluk Marudu | |
 Marudu Bay, seen from the east side at Kg. Mempakad. | |
  Marudu Bay Location within Malaysia  Marudu Bay Marudu Bay (Malaysia) | |
| Location | Kudat Division, Sabah, Malaysia |
| Coordinates | 6°58′0″N 116°56′0″E / 6.96667°N 116.93333°E |
| Type | Bay |
| Part of | Sulu Sea |
| River sources | Bandau River (Marudu River), Bintasan River, Telaga River, Taka River, Taritipan River, Tuaran River, Kinarom River |
| Max. length | 60 kilometres (37 mi) |
| Max. width | 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) |
| Surface area | 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 33 metres (108 ft) |
| Settlements | Kudat, Kota Marudu |
Marudu Bay (Malay: Teluk Marudu) is a large bay on the north coast of the island of Borneo. It is located in the state of Sabah, Malaysia and opens to the Sulu Sea. Administratively, it is a part of Kudat Division. Kota Marudu District is on the south side of the bay, Kudat District on the west and Pitas District on the east side.
History
Marudu Bay had been in the overlapping spheres of interest of the Sultanate of Sulu and Bruneian Sultanate since the 18th century. Attempts to drive the Sultan of Sulu's followers out of the region failed. A punitive expedition by the "White Rajah" James Brooke in 1845 only succeeded in weakening the power of the Sultanate of Sulu in the region for a short time, despite naval support from Sir Thomas Cochrane. Although Sharif Usman, the Sultan's governor, was killed in this punitive expedition, his son Sharif Yassin[2] returned to Marudu Bay in 1870 and founded a trading post at the mouth of Tandik River.[3]
Shortly after his appointment, William Hood Treacher, the first governor of North Borneo under the North Borneo Chartered Company, moved the company's headquarters to a small bay in Marudu Bay that had just been discovered by Alfred Hart Everett. It was here in Kudat where North Borneo's first capital was located for two short years.[4]
In 1887, Count Geldes d'Elslov acquired extensive areas of land on Marudu Bay and began growing tobacco. From these beginnings emerged the London Borneo Tobacco Company.[5]
In 1892, the Filipino national hero José Rizal, together with like-minded people, planned to found an agricultural settlement at the mouth of Bengkoka River in Marudu Bay in order to escape the repression of the Spanish government. However, the idea of a patriotic enclave was never realized.[6]