British Malaya

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Sultanates on the territory of British Malaya, and Singapore, ca.1888

The term British Malaya , in German often also British Malaya , describes an area with British colonial possessions, which were located on the Malay Peninsula including the island of Singapore and the offshore archipelagos, and gradually became the British from the 18th century Were incorporated into the colonial empire . The name British Malaya became obsolete after independence in 1957.

history

Before the establishment of the Malay Union in 1946 , these areas were not subject to any uniform administration: the sultanates were only indirectly subject to British rule (mostly through so-called residences ), only Straits Settlements (with Singapore) were directly subject to the British crown.

After the occupation of British Malaysia by Japan during the Second World War (1941/1942 to 1945), the Malay Union was founded on April 1, 1946 ; it consisted of the previous states of British Malaya with the exception of Singapore, which was converted into a crown colony. This structure existed until the founding of the Federation of Malaya (English Federation of Malaya , Malaysian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu ) in 1948. This federation gained independence in 1957 and was dissolved in Malaysia in 1963 .

Composition of the area

The territory of the British Malaya consisted of administratively quite different parts. These goods:

  • Federated Malay States (four sultanates with the rank of protectorate), 1895–1946
  • Unfederated Malay States (Five Sultanates), 1826–1946
  • Straits Settlements (including Singapore, Malacca, Dinding and Penang), 1826–1946

Federated Malay States

The Federated Malay States ("Federated Malay States", also called Protected Malay States ) was a federation of four sultanates established in 1895, which until then were administered as British protectorates. The following sultanates were:

This administrative grouping covered about 71,000 km² and about 860,000 inhabitants in 1905.

Unfederated Malay States

The Unfederated Malay States ("Non-Federated Malay States", also called Native Malay States ) were an administrative grouping of five sultanates as part of the British Empire on the Malay Peninsula. The sultanates involved were:

The area covered about 63,400 km².

Straits Settlements

The Straits Settlements comprised the British colonies in Southeast Asia on the Straits of Malacca . The most important possessions were:

as well as some smaller colonies on Borneo and in the Pacific.

Its importance lay in its strategically important location on the spice route . On April 1, 1867, the Straits Settlements became a British Crown Colony. With the establishment of the Malay Union, Singapore was separated from the rest of the Straits Settlements and declared a crown colony.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Malay States , in: Encyclopædia Britannica , 1911, Volume 17, page 478ff. ( Federated States ) and 482ff. ( Unfederated States ), online (archived) at: archive.org/
  2. ↑ a b c England / United Kingdom , Directory of Colonies, Section England / United Kingdom , compilation of the encyclopedia of WorldStatesmen.org, online at: worldstatesmen.org / ... (individual selected countries there)
  3. ↑ a b c The Royal Ark. Royal and Ruling Houses of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas , online at: 4dw.net / ... (individual selected countries there)
  4. ↑ Straits Settlements , in: Encyclopædia Britannica , 1911, Volume 25, pp. 980f., Cited. based on: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica / Strats Settlements , Wikisource (English language version), online at: en.wikisource.org/.../Straits_Settlements
  5. ↑ Singapore , in: Encyclopædia Britannica , 1911, Volume 25, page 147f., Quoted in. based on: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica / Singapore , Wikisource (English language version), online at: en.wikisource.org/.../Singapore