Three settlements, one colony
British power in our country began on the coast, at three trading ports. The first was Penang (Pulau Pinang). In 1786, Francis Light of the English East India Company obtained the island from the Sultan of Kedah, hoping to build a trading base and a harbour for ships sailing to China.
Key idea
Penang (1786), Singapore (1819) and Melaka (1824) were joined in 1826 to form the Straits Settlements — three ports ruled together by the British.
Singapore and Melaka
The second port was Singapore. In 1819, Stamford Raffles signed an agreement with local Malay leaders and set up a British settlement there. It quickly grew into a busy free port. The third was Melaka, which the British gained from the Dutch under the Treaty of London 1824, in exchange for Bencoolen in Sumatra.
The Straits Settlements
In 1826, the British joined Penang, Singapore and Melaka together to form the Straits Settlements. At first the capital was Penang, but in 1832 it moved to Singapore, which had become the most important port. The Straits Settlements were first run by the English East India Company. In 1867 they became a Crown Colony, ruled directly from the Colonial Office in London.
Remember
- Penang — Francis Light, 1786, from the Sultan of Kedah.
- Singapore — Stamford Raffles, 1819.
- Melaka — from the Dutch by the Treaty of London 1824.
- Joined as the Straits Settlements in 1826; capital moved to Singapore in 1832.