Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements, collective name for certain former British colonies in Southeast Asia. The three British East India Company territories of Pinang, Singapore, and Malacca (see Melaka) were given a unified administration in 1826 and called the Straits Settlements. The company was dissolved in 1858, and the territories were placed under the jurisdiction of the India Office. In 1867 the Straits Settlements became a crown colony administered by the Colonial Office. Labuan, which had been made a dependency of Singapore in 1906, was constituted a fourth Settlement in 1912. (Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands had been made dependencies of Singapore in 1889 and 1903, respectively.) The Straits Settlement crown colony was dissolved in 1946; Singapore with its dependencies became a separate crown colony, and Pinang and Malacca were included in the Malayan Union, which became the Federation of Malaya in 1948, now Malaysia.

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Straits Settlements

Former British crown colony, on the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia. It comprised three trade centres, Penang, Singapore, and Malacca, which were established or taken over by Britain's East India Company. They were made a British crown colony in 1867. Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, and Labuan were added in the early 20th century. Occupied by the Japanese during World War II, the colony was broken up in 1946 when Singapore became a separate colony. The remaining parts were ultimately ceded to Australia and Malaysia.

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Straits Settlements

(formerly) a British crown colony of SE Asia that included Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Labuan, and some smaller islands

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Straits Settlements 

from 1826 to 1946, a British colony in Southeast Asia. The Straits Settlements originally included the island of Pinang and Province Wellesley, which is situated on the Malay Peninsula, and also the island of Singapore and the city of Malacca. Later the colony included a Naning, a principality on the Malay Peninsula that was conquered in 1831–32, as well as Labuan Island, the Cocos Islands, and Christmas Island. George Town, on Pinang, was the capital until 1832, when Singapore became the capital.

The Straits Settlements were a part of British India until 1867, when they became a Crown Colony. As of 1976, Pinang, the Malay Peninsula, and Labuan Island have become part of Malaysia. Singapore is a republic, and the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island belong to the Commonwealth of Australia.