The Far East
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British Territories in pink, of the Far East.

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Straits Settlements  Federated Malay States 1905-1950

The Portuguese were first to set up a trading base in the state of Malacca in 1511. The Dutch took Malacca in 1641 and the British set up a foothold in the peninsular on the island of Penang in 1786. After Stamford Raffles had founded Singapore in 1819, an agreement between the Dutch and British gave Britain Malacca in exchange for British territory on Sumatra. 1824 saw the Dutch leave. These 'Straits Settlements' were ruled from British India until 1867. In 1874, Perak, one of the many states on the peninsular ruled by a Sultan was brought under British auspices. By 1888 all the west coast states of Pahang, Selengor and Negeri Sembilan had followed suit to become the Federated Malay States in 1896. Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu joined later after an agreement with Siam to whom they had been tributary. Johore was the last to join. After WWII and the Japanese occupation these states, with the island of Labuan became the Federation of Malaya in 1948 except Singapore, because of its importance, which had become a separate colony in 1946.
The mainly ethnic communist Chinese who had fought against the Japanese during WWII resented the new federation and started a guerilla war, the Malayan Emergency had begun. During 1952-1954 at the peak of the emergency, Sir Gerald Templar, Commander-in-Chief of the British and Commonwealth forces, through military efficiency and local adaptability with the fostering of good village relations, turned the tide of war against the insurgent communists. By 1957 it was all but over, being declared at an end in 1960. The Federation gained sovereign independence on 31st August 1957 to become part of Malaysia in 1963.

Sir James Brooke arrived in Sarawak in 1839 and was rewarded by the Sultan of Brunei, after he put down a revolt in 1841, with the governorship. He was a benevolent ruler and introduced many reforms. In 1888 Sarawak became a British Protectorate but remained under the control of  the Brooke family until the Japanese occupation in WWII. After which the Brooke family ceded it to Britain to become a Crown Colony in 1946. It joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Leased to the British North Borneo Company by the Sultan of Brunei in 1881, becoming the protectorate of British North Borneo in 1888, united with the island of Labuan after WWII to become a Crown Colony in 1946. In 1963 it became the state of Sabah, part of the Federation of Malaysia.

Formed from the federation of the Malay States, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Singapore on 9th July 1963. Singapore, due to political differences left the federation in 1965 to become the Republic of Singapore. Malaysia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

19461963 1965 on

Founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 by purchase from the Sultan of Johore, Singapore became strategically important as the primary British military base in the Far East. In 1867 becoming part of the Straits Settlements it was captured by the Japanese in 1942. After liberation in 1945 it became a separate colony in 1946. It was given internal self government in 1959 under Lee Kuan Yew, the worlds longest serving prime minister, he retired in 1990. The Republic of Singapore is a member of the Commonwealth.

1906  Since 1959

The Sultan of Brunei once controlled all of Borneo but by 1888 had been reduced to two small enclaves surrounded by Sarawak. British protection was accepted in the same year. In 1906 a British 'resident' was installed as with other Malay states who's advice the Sultan followed in all matters except customs and religion. Pressure was put on Brunei to join Malaysia in 1963 but it declined and gained internal self-government in 1971.
The British Government made Brunei independent on 1st January 1984 without consulting the inhabitants and against the wishes of the ruling Sultan. It is a Commonwealth member.

During the 18th and 19th centuries European expansionism had caused certain areas of China to come under their dominance.
Weihaiwei was one of these, becoming a British possession in 1898, returning to Chinese rule in 1930.

In 1841, during the first 'Opium War' Hong Kong Island was occupied by the British and formally ceded by China with the Treaty of Nanjing  in perpetuity the following year. The Peninsular of Kowloon was acquired by the Treaty of Peking in 1860. With the need for more space the New Territories were leased from China in 1898 for 99 years. Hong Kong grew as a trading area, but was occupied by the Japanese during WWII. After liberation in 1945, the colony witnessed an influx of refugees from mainland China after the communist took power there. With UN trade embargoes on China caused by the Korean War, Hong Kong grew as a financial and business centre becoming the most important in Asia. With the lease on the New Territories due to run out in 1997, negotiations with China started in the 1980's. Even though Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were Britain's to keep, it was agreed to hand over the entire colony to China. After much discussion an agreement guaranteed that Hong Kong would keep it's existing economic and social structure for at least 50 years after the hand over. The last Governor Chris Patten introduced democratic reforms to ensure the populations freedoms. However China objected saying they contravened the 1984 agreement and they were dropped in 1996. The last Crown Colony of the British Empire was passed over to China on 1st July 1997. It is now a Special Administrative Region of China retaining some degree of autonomy.