British Malaya, 1870s-1920s

G2 Full History - syllabus K227, 2027

How Britain gained control in Malaya while Malay rulers kept their titles: the 1874 Pangkor Treaty, Residents, and how tin, rubber and migration changed work and power.

• Background: trade before control

  Before the 1870s, Britain ruled its port settlements directly but only traded with the Malay states next door.

• Why Britain stepped into Perak

  Tin made Perak valuable, but fighting, a dispute over the throne and choices by Abdullah and Clarke explain why Britain acted in 1874.

• An adviser with real power

  The Sultan kept his title, but he had to follow the British Resident's advice on almost everything except religion and custom.

• Federated and Unfederated States

  Four states were joined under more central British control in the FMS, while five others came under British advisers separately.

• Tin, rubber and a changing society

  Tin and rubber exports brought businesses, railways and jobs, but the gains were shared very unequally.

• Different people, different responses

  People could support some British policies and oppose others, depending on what they stood to gain or lose.

• Put it together: Who gained which power?

  Keeping a Sultan's title, deciding taxes and selling more exports are different kinds of evidence. Match each to the question it can answer.