Editing Straits Settlements (section)

== History and government ==
{{see also|Singapore in the Straits Settlements}}

===East India Company rule===
The establishment of the Straits Settlements followed the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824]], by which the [[Malay Archipelago]] was divided into a British zone in the north and a Dutch zone in the south. This resulted in the exchange of the British settlement of [[Bengkulu (city)|Bencoolen]] (on Sumatra) for the Dutch colony of [[Malacca]] and undisputed control of Singapore. The population of the settlements were largely Chinese, with a tiny but important [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] minority.<ref>''Singapore Free Press'', 3 January 1861</ref> Their capital was moved from [[George Town, Penang|George Town]], the capital of [[Penang]], to Singapore in 1832. Their scattered nature proved to be difficult and, after the company lost its monopoly in the [[Bone china|china]] trade in 1833, expensive to administer.<ref>[[Turnbull, CM]] (1972) ''The Straits Settlements, 1826–1867: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony'', Athlone Press, London. P3</ref>

[[File:KITLV - 80020 - Kleingrothe, C.J. - Medan - Quay in Penang - circa 1910.tif|thumb|The [[Port of Penang]] in [[George Town, Penang|George Town]] during the 1910s]]
During their control by the [[East India Company]], the settlements were used as [[penal settlements]] for Indian civilian and military prisoners,<ref>Anderson, C (2007) ''The Indian Uprising of 1857–8: prisons, prisoners, and rebellion'', Anthem Press. P14</ref> earning them the title "Botany Bays of India".<ref>S. Nicholas and P. R. Shergold, "Transportation as Global Migration", in S. Nicholas (ed.) (1988) ''Convict Workers: Reinterpreting Australia's Past'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge</ref>{{RP|29}} There were minor uprisings by convicts in Singapore and Penang in 1852 and 1853.<ref>[[Turnbull, CM]], "Convicts in the Straits Settlements 1826–1867" in ''Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'', 1970, 43, 1</ref>{{RP|91}} Upset with East India Company rule, in 1857 the European population of the settlements sent a petition to the British Parliament<ref>Petition reprinted in ''Straits Times'', 13 October 1857</ref> asking for direct rule; but the idea was overtaken by the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].

When a "Gagging Act" was imposed to prevent the uprising in India from spreading, the settlements' press reacted with anger, classing it as something that subverted "every principle of liberty and free discussion".<ref>''Straits Times'', 28 July 1857</ref> As there was little or no vernacular press in the settlements, such an act seemed irrelevant: it was rarely enforced and ended in less than a year.<ref>Seow, FT (1998) ''The media enthralled: Singapore revisited'', Lynne Rienner Publishers, Singapore</ref>{{RP|6}}

===Crown colony status===
On 1 April 1867, the Straits Settlements [[Transfer of the Straits Settlements|were transferred]] to the [[British Colonial Office]] and became a [[Crown colony]], making the settlements answerable directly to the Colonial Office in London instead of the Government of [[British Raj|India]] in Calcutta. Earlier, on 4 February 1867, [[letters patent]] had granted the settlements a colonial constitution. This allocated much power to the settlements' [[List of governors of the Straits Settlements|governor]], who administered the colony of the Straits Settlements with the aid of an [[Executive Council of the Straits Settlements|Executive Council]], composed wholly of official (i.e., ex-officio) members, and a [[Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements|legislative council]], composed partly of official and partly of nominated members, of which the former had a narrow permanent majority. The work of administration, both in the colony and in the [[Federated Malay States]], was carried on by means of a civil service whose members were recruited by competitive examination held annually in London.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|wstitle=Straits Settlements|last=Clifford|first=Hugh Charles|author-link=Hugh Clifford (colonial administrator)|volume=25|pages=980–981|inline=1}}</ref>{{RP|980}}

Penang and Malacca were administered, directly under the governor, by [[Resident (title)|resident councillors]].<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

===Governor's wider role===
In 1886, the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] (which were settled and once owned by the Scottish [[Clunies-Ross family]]) and [[Christmas Island]], formerly attached to [[Ceylon]], were transferred to the care of the government of the Straits Settlements in Singapore. In 1907, the former [[Crown Colony of Labuan]], in Borneo, which for a period was vested in the [[British North Borneo Company]], was resumed by the British government and was vested in the governor of the Straits Settlements.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

The governor was also [[High Commissioner]] for the Federated Malay States on the peninsula, for [[British North Borneo]], the sultanate of [[Brunei]] and [[Sarawak]] in Borneo. British [[resident (title)|residents]] controlled the native states of Perak, [[Selangor]], [[Negri Sembilan]], and [[Pahang]], but on 1 July 1896, when the federation of these states was effected, a [[resident-general]], responsible to the high commissioner, was placed in charge of all the British [[protectorate]]s in the peninsula.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

===Japanese invasion and dissolution===
During [[World War II]] (specifically the [[Pacific War]]), the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] [[Malayan campaign|invaded Malaya and the Straits Settlements]] by landing on [[Kelantan]] on 8 December 1941. On 16 December, Penang became the first Straits Settlement to fall into Japanese hands, followed by Malacca on 15 January 1942. Singapore was the last settlement to fall on 15 February, following the [[Battle of Singapore]]. The Straits Settlements, along with the rest of the [[Malay Peninsula]], [[Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak|remained under Japanese occupation]] until the end of the war in August 1945.

After the war, the colony was dissolved with effect from 1 April 1946, with [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]] becoming a separate Crown colony (and ultimately an [[Singapore|independent republic]]), while Penang and Malacca joined the new [[Malayan Union]] (a predecessor of modern-day [[Malaysia]]). [[Colony of Labuan|Labuan]] was briefly annexed to Singapore, before being attached to the new colony of [[North Borneo]] (and ultimately detacheded to become a [[Labuan|Federal Territory]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/cf47ce98-0e14-4c1f-a6f7-cb55c99b4df6 | title=The Straits Settlements is Dissolved |date= 1 April 1946|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230410205549/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/cf47ce98-0e14-4c1f-a6f7-cb55c99b4df6 |archive-date= 10 April 2023 |url-status= dead}}</ref>

[[File:View of Malacca (7886237414).jpg|thumb|300px|left|Malacca, 1860–1900]]
[[File:View of Penang from Tie Sin's Tower (7886247166).jpg|thumb|300px|left|Penang from Tie Sin's Tower, 1860–1900]]
[[Image:Malaysia tree diagram.svg|thumb|left|700px|Evolution of [[Malaysia]]]]
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