Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
East India Company
British interest in the region began with the need for a halfway base for East India Com-
pany (EIC) ships plying the India-China maritime route. The first base was established on
the island of Penang in 1786.
Meanwhile, events in Europe were conspiring to consolidate British interests on the
Malay Peninsula. When Napoleon overran the Netherlands in 1795, the British, fearing
French influence in the region, took over Dutch Java and Melaka. When Napoleon was de-
feated in 1818, the British handed the Dutch colonies back.
The British lieutenant-governor of Java, Stamford Raffles - yes,
that
Stamford Raffles -
soon persuaded the EIC that a settlement south of the Malay Peninsula was crucial to the
India-China maritime route. In 1819, he landed in Singapore and negotiated a trade deal
that saw the island ceded to Britain in perpetuity, in exchange for a significant cash tribute.
In 1824, Britain and the Netherlands signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty dividing the region in-
to two distinct spheres of influence. The Dutch controlled what is now Indonesia, and the
British controlled Penang, Melaka, Dinding and Singapore, which were soon combined to
create the 'Straits Settlements'.
