Editing Straits Settlements (section)

===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}}