India–United Kingdom relations would remain the empire's most important colony until independence. Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1876. From a small trading outpost, India became the jewel in the British crown. In 1858, the British Government took control of the territories and treaty arrangements of the former East India Company. In 1876, the area, which included modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, became "the Indian Empire" (often known historically as the "British Raj") with British Monarch Queen Victoria proclaimed as "Empress of India" (a title held by her successors until 1947). The British Indian Army was established and assisted Britain in many
Crown Colony of Labuan front of the commander of the 9th Division, Major General George Wootten. The official surrender ceremony was held on the next day on 10 September at Surrender Point. The town of Victoria had been damaged by Allied bombings but was rebuilt after the war. The island assumed its former name and was under British Military Administration (BMA) along with the rest of the British territories in Borneo before joining the Crown Colony of North Borneo on 15 July 1946. Following the acquisition of Labuan, it was made a crown colony and governed by a Governor. Governor John Hennessy imported a