Unfederated Malay States

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The Malay Peninsula during the British colonial period. The Unfederated States in blue, the districts of the Federated Malay States in yellow. Straits Settlements in red.

The Native Malay States, officially called Unfederated Malay States , with around 63,400 km², were an administrative grouping of five sultanates as part of the British Empire on the Malay Peninsula . The four northern sultanates, in which the British had already shown interest in the late 19th century, were finally acquired by Siam in 1909 . Then there was Johor in the south . During the colonial days they were called "semi-independent". Together with the other parts of British Malaya , the Straits Settlements and the four Federated Malay States , they were combined to form the Malay Union in 1946 .

history

The Sultanate of Johor (23,200 km²; 1911: 180,412 inhabitants) was one of the most powerful island in India in the 18th century, with possessions also on Sumatra . It became more and more dilapidated through disputes over the throne. In 1877 the British installed a new dynasty that was favorable to them. The actual protectorate treaty was not concluded until 1914. Kelantan (14,200 km², 1911: 286,751 inhabitants), Kedah (9800 km², 1911: 245,986 E.), Trengganu (15,500 km², 1911: 154,073 E.) and Perlis (810 km², 1911: 32,746 E.) had until 1909 King of Siam recognized as overlord. It was a relatively loose vassal relationship that required tribute payments but brought little interference.

The area came under Japanese military administration in the Pacific War during World War II between December 1941 and October 1945 . Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu were returned to Thailand in October 1943, which the British reversed after the war. In May 1945, there were communal riots by Malays under the leadership of Pengulu Salleh against the Chinese in Johor. After the Second World War, Harold MacMichael submitted new treaties to the sultans, and in 1946 their states became part of the Malay Union , which later became the Malay League .

Colonial administration

The difference between the extent of control of the rulers between the Federated and Unfederated States was at best a theoretical one. The "advisers" assigned to the courts were not called residents , but general advisers, but they had the same powers. Even when Siamese sovereignty still existed, such advisers had existed in Kelantan (since 1903) and Trengganu (1904). The white district officers were also members of the Malaya Civil Service (MCS). The post office and railroad were also under the exclusive control of the colonial rulers. At the top of the list was the High Commissioner, a position always held by the Governor of the Straits Settlements in personal union.

The model of indirect rule practiced here served Harold Ingrams as a model for the administration in the South Arabian sultanate of Shihr and Mukalla .

economy

In contrast to the Federated Malay States , most of the areas were sparsely populated and covered by forests at the turn of the century. The rubber plantation economy did not begin until the boom year 1909/10, which also increased the Chinese population in the north (1921: 15.4%). Rice was grown for personal use.

The states were mercilessly taken advantage of in economic development. The Duff Developement Co. e.g. B. had received the plantation concession for almost 6500 km² in 1903; under the revised contract in 1912, it exchanged a fifth of the areas for others. The Sultan was sued for £ 1 million in damages in 1920 because no rail connection had been set up. After six years, British judges ruled the company should get £ 378,000. The Sultan was advised to "make himself a little unpopular and raise taxes" in order to pay the horrific legal costs.

Most of the agricultural products in the north were exported via Penang and Kelantan. The latter mainly produced cattle, betel nuts and copra. Tin, copra, and dried fish came from Tringganu. Johor, who in addition to rubber also produced a lot of gambir, pepper, tapioca, sago, betel and coconuts, conducted its business via Singapore.

After stabilizing in 1906, the Straits dollar became the common currency. The coins that were spent by the individual rulers went out of use until 1912.

literature

  • J. de V. Allen, AJ Stockwell, LR Wright (Eds.): A Collection of Treaties and Other Documents affecting the States of Malaysia, 1761-1963. 2 volumes. New York 1981.
  • Rupert Emerson: Malaysia: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule. New York 1937.
  • Labor Research Department: British Imperialism in Malaya. London 1926.
  • Lim Teck Ghee: Peasants and Their Agricultural Economy in Colonial Malaya 1874-1941. Kuala Lumpur 1977.
  • WA Graham: Kelantan. Glasgow 1908.
  • William Shaw: Coins of North Malaya. Kuala Lumpur 1971.
  • J. Stockwell: British imperial policy and decolonization in Malaya, 1942-52. In: Jnl. Imp. & Comm. Hist. Vol. 8, 1984, pp. 68-87.
  • Frank Swettenham: British Malaya. London 1907
  • CF Yong: Origins and Development of the Malayan Communist Movement, 1919-1930. In: Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 25, No. 4, Oct. 1991, pp. 625-648.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Earnest Chew: Swettenham and British Residential Rule in West Malaysia. In: Journal of South East Asian Studies. 5, September 2, 1974, pp. 166-178.
  2. ^ Labor Research Department; British Imperialism in Malaya. London 1926, p. 13.

See also