THE IMPACT OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM
By 1826, the whole of the Malay Peninsula had been brought within the British sphere of influence, while it was two more decades before areas of northern Borneo were included. In the early 19th century, British imperial policy was determined by a variety of strategic, political and economic factors, but after the 1870s economic factors played a major role.
The establishment of Singapore as a British free port was aimed at checking the Dutch policy of trade monopoly in Strait of Melaka and also at safeguarding the India-China trade routes. However, only in 1824 with the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which demarcated British and Dutch spheres of influence with an imaginary line down the Strait of Melaka, did the Dutch threat in the Strait of Melaka come to an end.
The British settlement on Penang in 1786 was the initial step in the spread of British power through the northern states of Kedah (then including Perlis), Kelantan and Terengganu, all under Siam's overlordship. In 1821 when Siam attacked Kedah, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah fled first to Penang where he was protected by the British, who also prevented Siam bringing Perak and Selangor under its control. The Burney Treaty of 1824 guaranteed the independence of these two states.
James Brooke's acquisition of Sarawak in 1841 and the British government's acquisition of Labuan as a naval base in 1846, both territories from Sultan Omar Ali of Brunei, brought these areas under the British sphere of influence.
British imperial policy was essentially confined to taking islands to meet naval and strategic needs. The British avoided large-scale annexation of territory or intervention in local affairs unless necessary as these actions could prove expensive. However, they interfered in the affairs of the district of Naning, which they had taken over from the Dutch after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. British attempts to impose Melaka taxes on the Naning people led to the first instance of Malay resistance against the British; it ended with Naning's subjugation in 1832.
In 1855, the British again interfered in the affairs of Johor when they settled the territorial dispute between Tengku Ali and Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. Tengku Ali was finally recognized as sultan of Johor, but was given control over only the territory of Muar-Kesang, while the rest of Johor was ruled by Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. In 1885, the British recognized the Temenggong's son, Abu Bakar (who had succeeded him in 1862), as sultan, thus creating a new sultanate in Johor from the Temenggong lineage of the former Johor-Riau-Lingga-Pahang dynasty. Succession disputes and violent disturbances in Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan led to the abandonment of the policy of non-interference in 1874. The British government intervened first in Perak, then in Selangor and Sungai Ujong, a small kingdom in Negeri Sembilan. The rulers of these Malay states each agreed to the appointment of a British Resident whose advice had to be accepted in all matters except those of Malay custom and the Islamic religion. In 1888, the British intervened in Pahang because of internal disputes, and the Bendahara agreed to accept a British Resident in return for being allowed to adopt the title of sultan.
