British Malaya

British Malaya was a colony in Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (Southeast Asia) that lasted from 1874 to 1948 CE, about 74 years. Its people spoke Germanic languages (Gothic, Frankish, English, German, Dutch, Norse).

From the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 Britain placed residents in the Malay sultanates and grouped them into federated and unfederated states. Tin mined by Chinese migrants and rubber tapped by Indian labourers made it a leading world supplier of both.

See British Malaya on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1874 to 1948 CE

Duration

74 years

Type

Colony

Region

Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, Southeast Asia

Language family

Germanic

Capital

Kuala Lumpur

Became

• Federation of Malaya 1948 to 1963 CE

Events in Southeast Asia during its time

• 1883 Krakatoa erupts
• 1896 Philippine Revolution
• 1942 Fall of Singapore
• 1945 Indonesia declares independence

Neighbours in Southeast Asia

• Dutch East Indies 1800 to 1949 CE
• Indonesia 1945 CE to the present
• Bruneian Sultanate c. 1368 to 1888 CE
• Sultanate of Sulu c. 1405 to 1915 CE
• Aceh Sultanate 1496 to 1903 CE
• Spanish Philippines 1565 to 1898 CE
• Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam) 1782 to 1932 CE
• Nguyen dynasty 1802 to 1945 CE
• Konbaung dynasty 1752 to 1885 CE
• British Burma 1826 to 1948 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Europe
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE, Europe
• Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Qing dynasty 1636 to 1912 CE, East Asia
• United States 1776 CE to the present, North America
• United Kingdom 1801 CE to the present, Europe
• Haiti 1804 CE to the present, Mesoamerica and Caribbean
• Russian Empire 1721 to 1917 CE, Europe

Questions