The fall of Melaka has ended the Malaccan Sultanate. It also destroyed the unity of the Malay world. Several former vassals like Aceh broke away and created their own powerful kingdoms. In 1514, Sultan Ali Mughayar Shah (1514-1530) declared Acehnese independence and the creation of the Sultanate of Aceh Darrusalam.

Making alliances with rival kingdoms was a common strategy used to gain political and economic advantage. Sometimes it also involved working with European powers like the Portuguese and later the Dutch to fight against rival kingdoms.

After the Fall of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud, the last sultan of the Malaccan sultanate fled from the Portuguese and shifted his istana (palace) several times. He was helped by his loyal Orang Lautfollowers who knew the river systems in the Singapore-Johore and Riau-Lingga area well and soon a whole chain of Johore forts were built along the Johore River.

Led by his own Bendahara,AbdulJalil, a group of nobles ambushed and murdered the Sultan to depose of the ruler because of his unwise policies and cruelty towards his subjects. Sultan Mahmud was childless and because of this, Bendahara Abdul Jalil has made himself the new Sultan.

The Orang Laut who remember their sacred oath to Seri Tri Buanato always be loyal to his direct descendants have declared that they will not support the BendaharaAbdul Jalil’s proclamation to be Sultan.

Sultan Mahmud’s tomb is buried

at Kampung Makam (Village of

the Tomb) after his murder inear

Kota Tinggi, in Johor. The legend is

that before he drew his last

breath, Sultan Mahmud cast a

curse on his murderers and

forbade the sons of Bintan to

touch the grounds of Kota Tinggi

for all eternity. Till today, people

still believe the curse still exists and

people from Bintan fear to come

to Kota Tinggi. Do you believe in

this curse?

In 1718, Raja Kecil from Siak on the east coast of Sumatra claimed to be a descendent of the murdered Sultan Mahmud and invaded the sultanate with the support of rebel Orang Laut forces. The invading force was defeated with the help of Bugis settlers who came from south Sulawesi. The Bugis will eventually become important allies of the Johore sultanate and become so influential that they control royal positions in the Johore-Riau sultanate. The Orang Laut who have been faithful messengers and naval warriors of the Johore-Riau sultanate are expected to be side-lined and lose the important role they play in the royal court.

Portuguese Maps: 1604 Map

of Godino de Eredia

Dutch ships preyed on Portuguese shipping off Changi Point.

In 1603, the Portuguese ship Santa Catarina was seized in the waters off Singapore which fetched 3.5 million florins, a large

sum in it’s time. More naval battles between Portugal and

the Dutch East Indies were fought off the Straits of Singapore.

The Kallang Basin: The Kallang River is the longest river in Singapore and means ‘mill’ or ‘factory’ because of the many saw mills, rice mills and ship builders in the area. Ming porcelain shards which date to the reign of Ming Emperor Wanli (1573-1621) were found in Kallang and also in Tanjong Rhu. There were also local Malay pottery found. This gives evidence that trade with China in Singapore still continued even this period. Singapore also remained an important part of the Johore-Riau Sultanate trading network

Evidence of the Singapore settlement in the Singapore River however vanished after the 1600s. In the wars against the Portuguese or Acehnese , the settlements were probably raided and destroyed. The settlement might also have moved to safer Malay bases in the area such as the Kallang River Basin.

There was a Dutch report in 1695 that there is a cluster of 10 pile-dwellings in Keppel Harbour and a “a custom-house for fish in the middle of the channel”. The ruler of Johor collected duties on the catch. There is however no evidence of any important trading post in Singapore. Archaeology and history both show that by 1650, Singapore had returned to its marginal position which it had occupied before 1300.” – John Miskic

In 1703, the ruler of Johor offered the island of Singapore to a British captain, Alexander Hamilton who was an independent British trader. The Sultan did not have any population on the island and it is possible that he made this offer because he wanted to encourage commercial activity there but did not have enough people to exploit Singapore’s position himself. Hamilton had no money, political support and authority to take advantage of the offer and he turned it down. Hamilton however see potential on the island becoming a prosperous port

The East India Company (EIC) was set up to compete with the Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. It was a private chartered company set up in 1600 and given a royal monopoly over British trade over British trade in India, Southeast Asia and China.

The English and Dutch fought a

series of wars in the 17th and

18th centuries for control over

the seas and trade routes. They

were also often related to civil

war royal succession disputes in

England. The wars resulted in

Holland become the leading

maritime state in the 17th

century. Britain, through the

EIC, was also able to firmly

established its control over

India during this period and

became a growing naval

power.

The EIC traded English woolens, Indian cottons and later opium to China to make a profit on the China trade. Opium was very profitable because it was grown in India. Even though the Qing dynasty had banned opium sale in China in 1729 as an illegal drug and the British government was not directly involved in the sale of opium, the EIC made a large amount of profit by producing it and selling it to China and Southeast Asia through private traders. This led to the Opium Wars (1839-42; 1856-69)when China tried to ban the trade.

Until 1819, they only had Penang and Bencoolen as trading ports but these were of limited value.

In 1623, VOC-EIC rivalry lead to the execution of 10 EIC traders in Ambon in Maluku. They were suspected of trying to overthrow VOC influence in the Spice Islands. They were tortured, beheaded and the head of the English captain impaled on a pole for all to see. It was published in a brochure and used later in the Anglo-Dutch war to get British support for the war.

In the Malay Peninsula, British trade influence in the

Malay courts was however slowly growing. British traders

formed close relations with Malay courts and often

acted as advisors on political and military matters. Some

of the British traders spoke fluent Malay and even inter-

married with locals. They traded in Indian cloth, opium,

muskets, cannon and gunpowder (even the knowledge

to produce them) in exchange for Chinese goods and

local produce.

Between 1793 to 1819, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars broke out in Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte, a brilliant French general won many battles for the French army and seize control of France in 1799. He then went on to conquer almost the whole of Europe by 1804. Under the new French empire, Holland became a satellite state and was finally annexed in 1810.

During this time, the Stadholder (chief executive)

and head of the Dutch Republic was William V,

Prince of Orange in Nassau, fled to London and

wrote a series of letters from the Kew Palace in

London to Dutch army officers and colonial

governors. He urged them to resist France and to

cooperate with Britain by surrendering their ships and

colonies to Britain for “safekeeping”. The governors

of Malacca, Ambon and West Sumatra obeyed but

elsewhere, others were confused and demoralized

by the new instructions.

1818: Stamford Raffles joined the EIC as a 14 year-old clerk in 1795 and was part of the EIC team which planned and invaded Java in 1811. He became the governor of Java (1811-1816) and Governor-General of Bencoolen in 1818. He was ambitious to make Britain a leading trading nation in the world and break Dutch trade monopoly.

Colonel William Farquhar was a Scottish EIC army officer who was involved in the military expedition against Malacca in 1795. He was based in Malacca for 23 years and promoted to become its commander and Resident. , Farquhar had signed a treaty with the Johor-Riau Court to get a British port at the southern end of the Straits of Melaka but the EIC board of directors were against it

Aceh is under Penang’s jurisdiction and

therefore under my charge. You should

remain in Penang while we get this

sorted out with our bosses in India.

It won’t stop me. I’ll slip out

quietly and sail south to join

Farquhar at sea.

Sultan Mahmud had two

sons: Tengku Hussein Long

(older) and Tengku Abdul

Rahman (younger)

When Sultan Mahmud passed

away in 1810,, the powerful

Bugis faction used their

influence to place Tengku

Abdul Rahman on the throne.

Malay traditions stated that the dead sultan could only

be buried after the new sultan had been appointed. The

Bugis chiefs and the Dutch, who held influence in the

Johor-Riau Sultanate supported Tengku Abdul Rahman

being the new Sultan. They held a coronation ceremony

to make him the new sultan.

Those who supported

Tengku Hussein were not

pleased but they could

not do anything about it.

Hussein Shah was in

Pahang for his wedding.

Tengku Hussein went

to live in Riau.

In 1818, the Dutch signed a treaty with Sultan Rahman that

stated that his empire (which included Singapore) would be

under Dutch control.

Tengku Hussain referred to himself as Yang Dipertuan Selator Lord of the Straits. He signed off as Yang Depertuan of Singapore in his letters to the Riau-Lingga court. As the raja of Singapore, Hussein saw himself as someone who had given legitimacy to the settlement. He hoped to get a share of the wealth created by Singapore through taxes and tribute. The wealth created would help Sultan Hussain gain followers, loyalty and political power

Temenggong Abdul Rahman was related by marriage to TengkuHussain Shah. He was a local Malay chief and his domain included a number of islands in the northern part of the Riau islands and part of Johor. The Temenggong and his people came to Singapore between 1800 and 1818 because the Dutch gave their support to the Bugis in the Johor-Riau sultanate. The Temenggong hoped that with the British on his side, he would have an important part to play in the Singapore entrepot and see his family reputation restored.

Daing Ibrahim his son

“Tengku Hussein set sail for Singapore. They met on board the warship to meet Mr Raffles who honoured the Tengku by firing cannons, beating drums, and so fourth. Afterwards, he was taken below deck and given a chair sitting beside Mr Raffle’s and Mr Farquhar. Mr Raffles told spoke to him using courteous words, advising him and payig him delicate compliments. And the Tengku agreed to whatever Mr Raffles proposed and so the affair was settled.” The Tufhat al-Nafis, a Bugis version of the Johor-Riau history describes the meeting between Raffles, Farquhar and TengkuHussein:-

Raffles smuggled Tengku Hussein into Singapore and on 6 February 1819, proclaimed him the rightful Sultan of Johore.

Raffles, the Temenggong and Sultan Hussein signed the Treaty of 6 February 1819 which confirmed Singapore as a British possession.

Treaty of 6 February 1819

In return for an annual payment of 5,000 Spanish

dollars to the Sultan and 3,000 Spanish dollars to the

Temenggong, the EIC was to have the sole right to

build a factory on Singapore island

The Sultan was not to allow any other power to settle

in Singapore.

Half the duties collected from any native ships using

Singapore were to go to the Sultan and Temenggong.

Raffles returned to

Bencoolen, leaving

Major William

Farquhar as the first

British Resident of

Singapore.

By 1825, Sultan Hussein had signed away many of his rights to the British.

By the end of the 19th century, the Sultan’s family had lost almost all authority in Singapore, and become unknown to the people.

The Temenggong, on the other hand, enjoyed the support of the Malay population. When he died in 1825, his son, Ibrahim, continued to establish a relationship of trust with the British. Ibrahim’s son, Abu Bakar, took over in 1862 and negotiated with the British to take on several positions in the British government. He was eventually appointed Sultan of Johor by the British in 1885.

British: needed the Dutch in the event of a common enemy.

Dutch: in debt to the British as it had borrowed heavily from them during the war.

The Dutch protested strongly against the foundation of Singapore, but did not take military action.

Both Holland and Britain had been involved in fighting France in the Napoleonic Wars (1793 – 1815) and neither wanted to start another war. Both wanted to settle their differences by peaceful means.

Discussions began in 1819 and by 1820 the Dutch had agreed that the British would remain in SG. In 1824, the Anglo-Dutch treaty was signed.

No import or export duties, apart from a few small local changes.

Only free port in the Malay Archipelago until 1819.

Annual trade totaled over 13 million Spanish dollars by 1823.

Free from government monopoly: merchants were free to trade in all goods (unlike Dutch ports)

By 1823, the port was international.

Why?1819 Treaty did not give the island to

Britain.

Raffles signed a further treaty which

stated:

Britain was to have control of the entire

island.

Why?

Singapore was still under the

sovereignty of the Sultan.

John Crawfurd organised another treaty:

The Sultan and Temenggong agreed to

cede to the East India Company “the

island of Singapore, together with the

adjacent seas, straits and islets to the

extent of ten geographical miles from

the coast of the said main island of

Singapore”.

Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 a) By the drawing of an imaginary line through the

Straits of Malacca and south of Singapore, the

area was divided into a British "sphere of

influence" and a Dutch "sphere of influence".

Each country would have commercial control

within its own area and agreed not to interfere in

the affairs of the other country's "sphere of

influence".

b) The Dutch agreed to cede all their bases in India

and the Malay Peninsula to Britain.

c) The Dutch accepted the British possession of

Singapore.

d) Britain ceded Bencoolen to Holland, and Holland

gave Malacca to Britain.

British and Dutch spheres of influence

confirmed:

Treaty made official what was already in

existence

The Dutch were to win control of the East

Indies, the British came to dominate the

Malay Peninsula.

Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824 meant that Singapore could develop as a

trading settlement without the interference from the Dutch.

By 1832, SG had replaced Penang as the centre for the Straits

Settlement.

The end of the Johore Empire:

The decline of the Johore Empire has

been happening for some time, the

treaty just confirmed it.

Anglo-Dutch Relations:

Improved in Europe; but there were difficulties in the East.

Rivalry between Dutch and British officials and merchants still existed. For many years to come, there were complaints from the British that their trade was being hampered by the Dutch.

Relations between Dutch and British officials were so poor that the agreement to act together against piracy was never put into effect.