• Straits Settlements

    , administrative response on the west coast of Malayas

    The Straits Settlements comprised the British East India Company's colonies in Southeast Asia along the Straits of Malacca. They existed from 1826 to 1946. The most important possessions were Penang, Singapore and Malacca. Their great strategic importance for the empire was based on their location on the spice route from East Asia to India and Europe. As a result, Singapore in particular developed into an important trading base. They were also important as a supply base for the British military during the Opium War.

    Creation and Expansion:
    The establishment of the Straits Settlements in 1826 was the administrative response to the establishment of three British possessions on the west coast of Malaya. In 1786, Francis Light had acquired the island of Penang for the East India Company. Later, the opposite coastal strip, the province of Wellesley, was also included. Another development was the founding of Singapore by Stamford Raffles in 1819. In 1824 a treaty was signed between Great Britain and the Netherlands. In this treaty, the Malay Archipelago was divided into a British zone to the north, on mainland Malay, and a Dutch zone to the south, on the islands of Southeast Asia. This brought the Bengkulu colony on Sumatra to the Netherlands and Malacca to England. The capital of the Straits Settlements was initially Georgetown in Penang. From 1832 Singapore was the capital. On April 1, 1867, the Straits Settlements became a British Crown Colony. Christmas Island and Cocos Island were annexed, as was Labuan on October 30, 1906. The Governor of the Straits Settlements was also High Commissioner of the Malay States, Johore, Sarawak, Brunei and British North Borneo, all of which were British protectorates at the time.
    Resolution:
    On April 1, 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved. Singapore, initially along with Labuan, became its own crown colony. Penang and Malacca became part of the Malay Union as crown colonies, to which Labuan was also annexed on July 15, 1946. Christmas Island and Cocos Islands were placed under Australian administration.
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