British Malaya(1786-1957)

British arrival

14 Aug 1826 - 29 Jan 1946 Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang,
Singapore; see under Singapore).
1 Jul 1896 Federated Malay States (Negeri Sembilan, Pahang,
Perak, and Selangor).
31 Jan 1942 - 12 Sep 1945 Japanese occupation.
20 Aug 1943 - 8 Sep 1945 Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah, and Kelantan
annexed by Thailand.
12 Sep 1945 - 1 Apr 1946 British military adminisration.
1 Apr 1946 Malay Union (federated and unfederated Malay
states plus Malacca and Penang).
1 Feb 1948 Federation of Malaya
31 Aug 1957 Independence from Britain.


Britain established its first colony in the Malay Peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang to the British East India Company by the Sultan of Kedah. In 1824, the British took control of Malacca following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 which divided the Malay archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands, with Malaya in the British zone. In 1826, Britain established the crown colony of the Straits Settlements, uniting its four possessions in Malaya: Penang, Malacca, Singapore and the island of Labuan. The Straits Settlements were initially administered under the East India Company in Calcutta, before first Penang, and later Singapore became the administrative centre of the crown colony, until 1867, when they were transferred to the Colonial Office in London.

During the late 19th century, many Malay states decided to obtain British help in settling their internal conflicts. The commercial importance of tin mining in the Malay states to merchants in the Straits Settlements led to British government intervention in the tin-producing states in the Malay Peninsula. British gunboat diplomacy was employed to bring about a peaceful resolution to civil disturbances caused by Chinese and Malay gangsters employed in a political tussle between Ngah Ibrahim and Raja Muda Abdullah, and the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 paved the way for the expansion of British influence in Malaya. By the turn of the 20th century, the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States (not to be confused with the Federation of Malaya), were under the de facto control of British Residents appointed to advise the Malay rulers. The British were "advisers" in name, but in reality, they exercised substantial influence over the Malay rulers.

The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisers around the turn of the 20th century. Of these, the four northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu had previously been under Siamese control. The other unfederated state, Johor, was the only state which managed to preserve its independence throughout most of the 19th century. Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor and Queen Victoria were personal acquaintances, and recognised each other as equals. It was not until 1914 that Sultan Abu Bakar's successor, Sultan Ibrahim accepted a British adviser.

On the island of Borneo, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British North Borneo, while Sarawak was acquired from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke family, who ruled as white Rajahs.

Following the Japanese Invasion of Malaya and its subsequent occupation during World War II, popular support for independence grew.[30] Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union foundered on strong opposition from the Malays, who opposed the emasculation of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the ethnic Chinese.[31] The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in Malaya with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Malayan Communist Party launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency, as it was known, lasted from 1948 to 1960, and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth troops in Malaya. Although the insurgency quickly stopped there was still a presence of Commonwealth troops, with the backdrop of the Cold War.[32] Against this backdrop, independence for the Federation within the Commonwealth was granted on 31 August 1957.

Federated Malay States(1895–1946)
Unfederated Malay States(1909-1946)
Strait Settlement(1826-1946)
Malayan Union(1946-1948)
Federation of Malaya(1948-1963)- 1957 gained independence from Britain

Chronology of the list of Administrators in Britain ruled Malaya

High Commissioners
1 Jul 1896 - 1 Apr 1946 the governors of the Straits
Settlements (see Singapore)
Residents-general
1 Jan 1896 - 12 Dec 1901 Frank Athelstane Swettenham (b. 1850 - d. 1946)
(from 22 Jun 1897, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham)
5 Oct 1897 - 16 Apr 1898 Sir William Hood Treacher (b. 1849 - d. 1919)
(acting for Swettenham)
29 Apr 1900 - 12 Dec 1901 Sir William Hood Treacher (s.a.)
(acting for Swettenham)
13 Dec 1901 - 31 Dec 1904 William Hood Treacher (b. 1849 - d. 1919)
1 Jan 1905 - 30 Sep 1910 Sir William Thomas Taylor (b. 1848 - d. 1931)
11 May 1907 - 13 Feb 1908 Sir Edward Lewis Brockman (b. 1865 - d. 1943)
(acting for Taylor)
30 Sep 1910 - 31 Jan 1911 Reginald George Watson (acting) (b. 1862 - d. 1926)
Chief Secretaries
1 Feb 1911 - 2 Sep 1911 Arthur Henderson Young (b. 1854 - d. 1938)
2 Sep 1911 - 13 Sep 1920 Sir Edward Lewis Brockman (s.a.)
3 Apr 1914 - 8 Feb 1915 Sir Reginald George Watson (s.a.)
(acting for Brockman)
13 Sep 1920 - 1926 William George Maxwell (b. 1871 - d. 1959)
(from 3 Jun 1924, Sir William George Maxwell)
21 Dec 1920 - 9 Jan 1922 Oswald Francis Gerard Stonor (b. 1872 - d. 1940)
(acting for Maxwell)
1926 - 1930 William Peel (b. 1875 - d. 1945)
(from 4 Jun 1928, Sir William Peel)
1930 - 1932 Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane (b. 1876 - d. 1932)
1932 - 1934 Andrew Caldecott (b. 1884 - d. 1951)
1934 - 1935 Malcolm Bond Shelley (b. 1879 - d. 1968)
1935 - 1936 Marcus Rex (b. 1886 - d. 1971)
Federal Secretaries
1936 - 1939 Christopher Dominic Ahearne (b. 1886 - d. 1964)
1939 - 31 Jan 1942 Hugh Fraser
Japanese Military governors
31 Jan 1942 - Oct 1944 Tomoyuki Yamashita (b. 1888 - d. 1946)
Oct 1944 - 1945 Count Hisaichi Terauchi (b. 1879 - d. 1946)
1945 - 12 Sep 1945 Seishiro Itagaki (b. 1885 - d. 1948)
Civil governors
1942 - 1 Mar 1942 Takanobu Manaki (b. 1894 - d. 1974)
Mar 1942 - Apr 1943 Tokugawa Yoshichika (b. 1886 - d. 1976)
British Military Administrator
12 Sep 1945 - 31 Mar 1946 Louis Francis Mountbatten, (b. 1900 - d. 1979)
Duke of Mountbatten
Governor-general (of the Malayan Union and Singapore)
22 May 1946 - 1 May 1948 Malcolm John MacDonald (b. 1901 - d. 1981)
Governor
1 Apr 1946 - 1 Feb 1948 Sir Gerard Edward James Gent (b. 1895 - d. 1948)
High commissioners
1 Feb 1948 - 4 Jul 1948 Sir Gerard Edward James Gent (s.a.)
1 Oct 1948 - 6 Oct 1951 Sir Henry Lovell Goldworthy Gurney (b. 1898 - d. 1951)
15 Jan 1952 - 31 May 1954 Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (b. 1898 - d. 1979)
31 May 1954 - 31 Aug 1957 Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray (b. 1906 - d. 1966)