Editing Straits Settlements

{{Short description|British colony in Southeast Asia (1826–1946)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Straits Settlements
| common_name            = Straits Settlements
| linking_name           = the Straits Settlements
| flag                   = Flag of Malaysia#Historical flags
| image_flag             = Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925–1946).svg
| flag_type              = Flag<br />(1925–1946)
| symbol                 = Armorial of Malaysia#Historical
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Straits Settlements.svg
| image_map              = [[File:British Malaya circa 1922 en.svg|280px]]
| image_map_caption      = Malaya in 1922:
<div style="margin: 0 auto; text-align: left; width: 15em;">
{{legend |#0080ff|Unfederated Malay States: [[Johor]], [[Kedah]], [[Kelantan]], [[Perlis]], [[Terengganu]]}}
{{legend |#ffcc00|Federated Malay States: [[Negeri Sembilan]], [[Selangor]], [[Pahang]], [[Perak]]}}
{{legend |#ff0000|Straits Settlements: [[Malacca]], [[Penang]], [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]], [[Dinding]]}}</div>
| image_map2             = 
| image_map2_caption     = 
| status                 = {{ubl|[[Administrative division|Division]] within [[Bengal Presidency]] (1826–1867)|[[Crown colony]] (1867–1946)}}
| empire                 = British Empire
| era                    = British Empire
| year_start             = 1826
| year_end               = 1946
| event_pre              = [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824|Anglo-Dutch Treaty]]
| date_pre               = 17 March 1824
| event_start            = Established under [[East India Company|East India Co.]] rule
| date_start             = 
| event1                 = Converted to [[Crown colony]]
| date_event1            = 1 April 1867
| event2                 = [[Crown colony of Labuan|Labuan]] incorporated
| date_event2            = 1 January 1907
| event3                 = [[Japanese invasion of Malaya]] and beginning of [[Japanese occupation of Malaya]]
| date_event3            = 8 December 1941
| event4                 = [[Fall of Singapore]]
| date_event4            = 15 February 1942
| event5                 = Formal surrender by Japan to [[British Military Administration (Malaya)|British Military Administration]]
| date_event5            = 12 September 1945
| event_end              = Federated into the [[Malayan Union]] and the [[Colony of Singapore]]
| date_end               = 1 April
| event_post             = Labuan to [[Crown Colony of North Borneo]]
| date_post              = 15 July 1946
| p1                     = History of Penang#Early growth{{!}}Kedah Sultanate
| p2                     = Founding years of modern Singapore
| p3                     = Dutch Malacca
| p4                     = Dindings
| p5                     = Johor Sultanate
| p6                     = Perak#Sultanate of Perak{{!}}Perak Sultanate
| s1                     = Malayan Union
| s2                     = Colony of Singapore
| s3                     = Colony of Malacca
| s4                     = Colony of Penang
| s5                     = Bengal Presidency
| s6                     = Perak#Sultanate of Perak{{!}}Sultanate of Perak
| national_anthem        = "[[God Save the King]]"<br>(1826–1837; 1901–1942; 1945–1946)<br />"[[God Save the King|God Save the Queen]]" (1837–1901) {{center|[[File:United States Navy Band - God Save the Queen.ogg]]}}
| capital                = [[George Town, Penang|George Town]]<br />(1826–1832){{Sfn|Andaya|Andaya|1982|p=121}}<br />[[Singapore]]<br />(1832–1946){{Sfn|Andaya|Andaya|1982|p=123}}
| official_languages     = [[English language|English]]
| common_languages       = {{hlist | [[English language|English]]| [[Malay language|Malay]] | [[Mandarin Chinese|Chinese]] | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] }}
| currency               = [[Straits dollar]] (1898–1939)<br />[[Malayan dollar]] (1939–1946)
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| title_leader           = [[List of British monarchs|Monarch]]
| leader1                = [[George IV]]
| year_leader1           = 1826–1830 {{small|(first)}}
| leader2                = [[George VI]]
| year_leader2           = 1936–1946 {{small|(last)}}
| title_deputy           = [[List of British Governors of the Straits Settlements|Governor]]
| deputy1                = [[Robert Fullerton]]
| year_deputy1           = 1826–1830 {{small|(first)}}
| deputy2                = [[Shenton Thomas]]
| year_deputy2           = 1934–1946 {{small|(last)}}
| today                  = [[Malaysia]]<br>[[Australia]]<br>[[Singapore]]
}}

The '''Straits Settlements''' ({{langx|ms|Negeri-Negeri Selat}}) were a group of [[British Empire|British]] territories located in [[Southeast Asia]]. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British [[East India Company]], the Straits Settlements came under control of the [[British Raj]] in 1858 and then under direct British control as a [[Crown colony]] in 1867. In 1946, following the end of [[World War II]] and the [[Japanese occupation of Malaya|Japanese occupation]], the colony was dissolved as part of Britain's reorganisation of its Southeast Asian dependencies in the area.

The Straits Settlements originally consisted of the four individual settlements of [[Penang]], [[Singapore]], [[Malacca]], and [[Manjung District|Dinding]]. [[Christmas Island]] and the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] were added in 1886. The island of [[Labuan Territory|Labuan]], off the coast of [[Borneo]], was also incorporated into the colony with effect from 1 January 1907, becoming a separate settlement within it in 1912. Most of the territories now form part of [[Malaysia]], from which Singapore [[Independence of Singapore|separated]] in 1965. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were transferred from [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]] to Australian control in 1955 and 1958 respectively. Their administrations were combined in 1996 to form the [[Australian Indian Ocean Territories]].

==Settlements==
===Dindings===
The [[Manjung District|Dindings]] — named after the [[Dinding River]] in present-day [[Manjung District]] — which comprised [[Pangkor Island]] and the town of [[Lumut, Perak|Lumut]] on the [[Peninsular Malaysia|mainland]], were ceded by [[Perak#Sultanate of Perak|Perak]] to the British government under the [[Pangkor Treaty of 1874]]. It was hoped that its excellent natural harbour would prove to be valuable. This did not come to be with the territory being sparsely inhabited and altogether politically and financially unimportant.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|981}} It was returned to Perak in February 1935.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sejarah Manjung|url=http://www.mpm.gov.my/sejarahmanjung1|website=Laman Web Rasmi Majlis Perbandaran Manjung|publisher=Majlis Perbandaran Manjung|access-date=18 October 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127074723/http://www.mpm.gov.my/sejarahmanjung1|archive-date=27 November 2015}}</ref>

===Malacca===
The Dutch [[Dutch Malacca|colony of Malacca]] was ceded to the British in the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824]] in exchange for the British possession of [[British Bencoolen|Bencoolen]] and for British rights in [[Sumatra]]. Malacca's importance was in establishing an exclusive British zone of influence in the region, and was overshadowed as a trading post by Penang, and later, Singapore.

===Penang and Province Wellesley===
The first settlement was the Penang territory, in 1786. This originally comprised [[Penang Island]], then known as the {{'}}''Prince of Wales Island''{{'}}. This was later extended to encompass an area of the mainland, which became known as [[Province Wellesley]] (now [[Seberang Perai]]). The first grant was in 1800, followed by another in 1831. Further adjustments to Province Wellesley's border were made in 1859, in 1867 with a treaty with Siam and in 1874 with the [[Pangkor Treaty of 1874|Treaty of Pangkor]]. It was administered by a district officer, with some assistants, answering to the resident councillor of Penang. Province Wellesley consisted, for the most part, of a fertile plain, thickly populated by Malays, and occupied in some parts by sugar-planters and others engaged in similar agricultural industries and employing Chinese and Tamil labour. About a tenth of the whole area was covered by low hills with thick jungle. Large quantities of rice were grown by the Malay inhabitants, and between October and February, there was snipe-shooting in the paddy fields. A railway from Butterworth, opposite Penang, runs into Perak, and then via Selangor and Negri Sembilan to Malacca, with an extension via Muar under the rule of the Sultan of Johor, and through Johor to [[Johor Bahru]], opposite Singapore.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|981}}

===Singapore===
Singapore became the site of a British trading post in 1819 after its founder, [[Stamford Raffles]], successfully involved the East India Company in a dynastic struggle for the throne of [[Johor Sultanate|Johor]]. Thereafter the British came to control the entire island of Singapore, which was developed into a thriving colony and port. In 1824, the Dutch conceded any rights they had to the island in the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824]], and from 1832, Singapore was the seat of government of the Straits Settlements for 114 years until its dissolution in 1946.<ref name="micaSelfGovernment">{{cite web |title=Towards Self-government |url=http://www.sg/explore/history_towards.htm |publisher=Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore |access-date=18 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713023113/http://www.sg/explore/history_towards.htm |archive-date=13 July 2006 |url-status=dead}}|</ref>

== 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]]]]
{{Clear}}

== Population ==
[[File:Image from page 817 of "Popular electricity magazine in plain English" (1912) (14578993768).jpg|thumb|right|Malacca business street, 1912]]
The following are the area and population, with details of race distribution, of the colony of the Straits Settlements, the figures being those of the census of 1901:<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

{|class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2"| !! rowspan="2"| Area in square miles !!  rowspan="2"| Population in 1891  !! colspan="7"| Population in 1901
|-
! Total !! Europeans !! Eurasians !! Chinese !! Malays !! Indians !! Other nationalities
|-
| Singapore || 206 || 184,554 || 228,555 || 3,824 || 4,120 || 164,041 || 36,080 || 17,823 || 2,667
|-
| Penang, Province Wellesley and Dindings || 381 || 235,618 || 248,207 || 1,160 || 1,945 || 98,424 || 106,000 || 38,051 || 2,627
|-
| Malacca || 659 || 92,170 || 95,487 || 74 || 1,598  || 19,468 || 72,978 || 1,276 || 93
|-
| Total || 1,246 || 512,342 || 572,249 || 5,058 || 7,663 || 281,933 || 215,058 || 57,150 || 5,387
|}
The population, which was 306,775 in 1871 and 423,384 in 1881, had in 1901 reached a total of 572,249. As in former years, the increase was solely due to immigration, especially of Chinese, though a considerable number of Tamils and other natives of India settled in the Straits Settlements. The total number of births registered in the colony in 1900 was 14,814, and the ratio per 1,000 of the population during 1896, 1897, and 1898 respectively was 22–18, 20–82 and 21–57; while the number of registered deaths for 1896–1900 gave a ratio per 1000 of 42–21, 36–90, 30–43, 31–66 and 36-25 respectively, the number of deaths registered during 1900 being 23,385. The cause to which the excess of deaths over births is to be attributed is to be found in the fact that the Chinese and Indian population, which numbered 339,083, or over 59 per cent of the whole, was composed of 261,412 males and only 77,671 females, and a comparatively small number of the latter were married women and mothers of families. Male Europeans also outnumbered females by about two to one. Among the Malays and Eurasians, who alone had a fair proportion of both sexes, infant mortality was excessive due to early marriages and other causes.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

The number of immigrants landing in the various settlements during 1906 was: Singapore 176,587 Chinese; Penang 56,333 Chinese and 52,041 natives of India; and Malacca 598 Chinese. The total number of immigrants for 1906 was therefore 285,560, against 39,136 emigrants, mostly Chinese returning to China. In 1867, the date of the transfer of the colony from the East India Company to the Crown, the total population was estimated at 283,384.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|980}}

In 1939, the population reached 1,370,300.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=C. Peter |title=Singapore |url=https://ww2db.com/country.php?cid=133 |website=World War II Database}}</ref>

== Finance ==
[[File:1 dollar Eo Biển Edward VII 1903.png|thumb| Silver coin: 1 [[Straits dollar]], 1903]]

In the early nineteenth century, the most common currency used in the East Indies was the [[Spanish dollar]], including issues both from Spain and from the [[New World]] Spanish colonies, most significantly Mexico, due to market circulation from the [[Spanish East Indies]] ([[Spanish Philippines]]). Locally issued coinages included the [[Kelantan keping|Kelantan]] and [[Trengganu keping]], and the [[Penang dollar]]. In 1837, the [[Indian rupee]] was made the sole official currency in the Straits Settlements, as it was administered as part of [[Company rule in India|India]]. However, Spanish dollars continued to circulate and 1845 saw the introduction of coinage for the Straits Settlements using a system of 100 cents = 1 [[Straits dollar]], with the dollar equal to the Spanish dollar or [[Mexican peso]]. In 1867, the administration of the Straits Settlements was separated from India and the dollar was made the standard currency.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The revenue of the colony in 1868 amounted to $1,301,843. In 1906 revenue was $9,512,132, exclusive of $106,180 received for land sales. Of this sum, $6,650,558 was derived from import duties on [[opium]], wines, and spirits, and licences to deal in these articles, $377,972 from land revenue, $592,962 from postal and telegraphic revenue, and $276,019 from port and harbour dues.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|981}}

Expenditures, which in 1868 amounted to $1,197,177, rose in 1906 to $8,747,819. The total cost of the administrative establishments amounted to $4,450,791, of which $2,586,195 were personal emoluments and $1,864,596 other charges. The military expenditure (the colony paid on this account 20 per cent of its gross revenue to the British government by way of military contribution) amounted in 1906 to $1,762,438; $578,025 was expended on upkeep and maintenance of existing public works, and $1,209,291 on new roads, streets, bridges, and buildings.<ref name=EB1911/>{{RP|981}}

== See also ==
* [[Federation of Malaya]]
* [[Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca]]
* [[History of Malaysia]]
* [[History of Singapore]]
* [[List of Governors of the Straits Settlements|Governor of the Straits Settlements]]
* [[Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements]]
* [[Postage stamps and postal history of the Straits Settlements]]
* [[Straits Settlements cricket team]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{Cite book |last=Andaya |first=Barbara Watson |title=A history of Malaysia |last2=Andaya |first2=Leonard Y. |date=1982 |publisher=St. Martin's Pr |isbn=978-0-312-38120-2 |location=New York, N. Y}}

== Further reading ==
* ''Straits Settlements Blue Book, 1906'' (Singapore, 1907)
* ''Straits Directory, 1908'' (Singapore, 1908)
* {{wikisource-inline|Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society}} (Singapore)
* Sir Frederick Weld and Sir William Maxwell, severally, on the Straits Settlements in the ''Journal'' of the Royal Colonial Institute (London, 1884 and 1892)
* Henry Norman, ''The Far East'' (London, 1894)
* Alleyne Ireland, ''The Far Eastern Tropics'' (London, 1904); Sir Frank Swettenham, British Malaya (London, 1906)
* {{cite book |last1=Swettenham |first1=Frank|author-link=Frank Swettenham |title=The Empire and the century |date=1905 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |pages=827–834 |chapter=[[s:The Empire and the century/The Straits Settlements and Beyond|The Straits Settlements and Beyond]]}}
* ''The Life of Sir Stamford Raffles'' (London, 1856, 1898)

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Straits Settlements}}
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Singapore.html#Straits-Settlements WorldsStatesmen Singapore, listing the chief administrators]

{{British dependencies governors}}
{{British rule in Malaysian history}}
{{History of East Malaysia}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{Malaysia topics}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Straits Settlements| ]]
[[Category:British Malaya]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Asia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Malaysian history]]
[[Category:States and federal territories of Malaysia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1826]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1946]]
[[Category:1826 establishments in British Malaya]]
[[Category:1946 disestablishments in British Malaya]]
[[Category:British Malaya in World War II| ]]