The Straits Settlements (Malay: Negeri-negeri Selat, نݢري٢ سلت; Chinese: 海峡殖民地) were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a Crown colony on 1 April 1867. The colony was dissolved in 1946 as part of the British reorganisation of its Southeast Asian dependencies following the end of the Second World War.
The Straits Settlements consisted of the four individual settlements of Malacca, Dinding, Penang (also known as Prince of Wales Island) and Singapore (with Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands). The island of Labuan, off the coast of Borneo, was also incorporated into the colony with effect from 1 January 1907, becoming a separate settlement within it in 1912. Most of the territories now form part of Malaysia, from which Singapore gained independence in 1965. Meanwhile the Cocos (or Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were transferred to Australian control in 1955 viz. 1958, combined in 1996 to form the Australian Indian Ocean Territories.
The East India Company Dollar (XEID), its currency since 1826, was replaced in 1886 by their own Straits Settlements Dollar (STSD). |
