Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

The Straits Settlements were the collection of four distinct colonies, each acquired for its naval and commercial possibilities and opportunities. The respective settlements were Penang, 1786 (also known as Prince of Wales Island), Malacca, 1795, Singapore 1819, with Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands, and finally Labuan 1907, off the coast of Borneo.

They each allowed for commercial and naval shipping to take advantage of the rich spice and trading opportunities in the area. They were in no way contiguous, rather they were linked by the sea lanes as they converged on this natural choke point. They were initially controlled by the English East India Company before being transferred to the Crown.

Singapore was a colony built from scratch by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles on behalf of the East India Company. He had long been searching for a suitable port only to be thwarted by the local rulers, often with Dutch encouragement. In 1819, Raffles sidestepped the intransigent Dutch backed ruler of Abdul Rahman over the island of Singapore and installed Rahman's brother, Hussein, in his place. The Dutch protested vehemently on behalf of their client, but the London directors of the East India Company chose to look the other way and Raffles got the port that he so desperately wanted.

After the British secured Singapore from the Dutch through the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the British aimed to centralize the administration of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. 1826 a framework known as the Straits Settlements was established with Penang as its capital. Later, in 1832, the capital was moved to Singapore. While the three holdings formed the backbone of the Settlements, throughout the years Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Labuan and Dinding of Perak were placed under the authority of the Straits Settlements.

Straits Settlements Images: Choose an image to begin

In 1833, the East India Company was stripped of its monopoly of the trade from China. The settlements would pass to the governor-general of India in 1851 which itself was transferred to British rule as a result of the 1857 Mutiny. In 1867, the settlements were formally turned into a Crown Colony to be administered from the Colonial Office in London.

Labuan was added to the straits settlements much later. It had been ceded to the British in 1846 by the Sultan of Brunei in order to help suppress piracy in the area. It was later passed to North Borneo for administration before being moved to the Straits Settlements in 1907.

All parts of the Straits settlements were occupied by the Japanese in World War Two. After the war, the colony was dissolved with effect from 1 April 1946, with Singapore becoming a separate crown colony (and ultimately an independent republic), while Penang and Malacca joined the new Malayan Union (a predecessor of modern-day Malaysia). Labuan was briefly annexed to Singapore, before being attached to the new colony of British North Borneo. The Cocos or Keeling Islands and Christmas Island, originally made part of the crown colony of Singapore in 1946, were transferred to Australian administration in 1955 and 1957 respectively.

NOTE:: Singapore declared independence from Britain on 31 August 1963 before joining the new Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum. Tunku Abdul Rahman separated Singapore from the Federation two years later after heated ideological conflict between the ruling parties of Malaya and Singapore

Help Me Get it Right

  About the Author