The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between Great Britain and the Sultan of Perak on 20 January 1874, on the Colonial Steamer Pluto, off the coast of Perak. The treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimised British control of the Malay rulers and paved the way for British imperialism in Malaya. It was the result of a multi-day conference organised by Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, to solve two problems: the Larut War and the disputed succession of the sultanship of Perak.
Perak was a major tin producer throughout the 19th century, leading Britain, which had already colonised Penang, Malacca and Singapore, to consider Perak of significant importance. However, local strife, collectively known as the Larut Wars (1861–1874), between the local Malay elites and frequent clashes between Chinese secret societies disrupted the supply of tin from the mines of Perak.
In 1871, Sultan Ali of Perak died. However, Raja Abdullah, the heir apparent, had not been present at his funeral. Raja Bendahara Sultan Ismail was proclaimed Sultan of Perak instead. At the same time, two Chinese secret societies, Ghee Hin (led by Chin Ah Yam) and Hai San (led by Chung Keng Quee), fought against each other over control of the tin mines during the Larut Wars.
The need to restore law and order in Perak gave cause for a new British policy concerning intervention in the affairs of the Malay States. In actuality there were two distinctive agreements made. The primary agreement was intended to ensure an end to the fighting between Ghee Hin and Hai San and pave the way for peaceful coexistence in future. The second, to settle the issue of succession in Perak.
Tate in The Making of Modern South-East Asia says of these that "the first one, which had been ready for over a week prior to the signing, concerned Larut and provided for a settlement between the Hai San and Ghee Ghin which both sides respected and carried out satisfactorily. The second (more recently drafted) agreement concerned the succession dispute around the Perak throne and was unsatisfactory from the very beginning."
Abdullah later appealed to the British regarding these two problems. He turned to Tan Kim Cheng, a Chinese businessman in Singapore who was also a member of the Ghee Hin secret society and a supporter of the Raja Muda Abdullah of Perak and the Ghee Hin in Larut. Tan, together with William Henry Macleod Read, an English merchant in Singapore, drafted a letter to Governor Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." Chung had already presented a petition on 26 September 1872, signed by himself and 44 other Chinese leaders, seeking British interference following the attack of 12,000 men of Chung Shan by 2,000 men of Sen Ning. The British immediately saw this as an opportunity to expand its influence in Southeast Asia and to strengthen its monopoly on tin exports. As a result, the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was signed.
The Chinese chiefs arrived on 13 January, the Hai San group was accompanied by Swettenham, while the Ghee Hins group was escorted by Pickering. Mantri Ngah Ibrahim arrived the next day, escorted by his lawyer R. C. Woods and his security chief Tristram Speedy. Abdullah and the Malay chiefs arrived on 15 January.
The afternoon session (circa 3:30 p.m.) on 16 January was a one-to-one meeting between Mantri Ngah Ibrahim and Clarke, in which Clarke highlighted to the Mantri that the problem in Larut was a direct consequence of his vacillating policy.
The second day of the conference (17 January) was the meeting between Clarke and the Malay chiefs, whose opinions were individually considered before the candidate for the sultanship was decided. 18 January was a Saturday and no business was conducted.
On 19 January, the draft treaty was discussed with the Malay chiefs. The Treaty of Pangkor was officially sealed in the afternoon session of the concluding day. In the morning session of 20 January, another agreement between Clarke and the Chinese chiefs was signed, i.e. Bond of $50,000 to keep the peace.
On 20 January, the Straits Settlements governor Sir Andrew Clarke convened a meeting aboard the Colonial Steamer Pluto anchored off Pangkor island. Documents were signed aboard the ship at Pangkor Island to settle the Chinese dispute, clear the sultan succession dispute and pave the way for the acceptance of British residency - Tristram Speedy was appointed to administer Larut as assistant to the British resident, whose advice must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching on Malay religion and customs. Abdullah was recognised as sultan by the British and was to be installed on the throne of Perak in preference to his rival, Sultan Ismail.
The Malay translation of the treaty was prepared by Frank Swettenham and Mohamed Said, the munshi for the Straits Settlements.
Another agreement was signed with the Chinese, Chung and Chin Ah Yam, leaders of the Hai San and Ghee Hin, respectively, were ennobled by the British with the title of Kapitan Cina (leader of the Chinese community) and the town of Larut was renamed Taiping ("太平" in Chinese, meaning "everlasting peace") as a confirmation of the new state of truce. A bond of $50,000 to keep the peace was also signed.
Tate in The Making of Modern South-East Asia says of these that "the first one, which had been ready for over a week prior to the signing, concerned Larut and provided for a settlement between the Hai San and Ghee Ghin which both sides respected and carried out satisfactorily. The second (more recently drafted) agreement concerned the succession dispute around the Perak throne and was unsatisfactory from the very beginning."
There were three possibilities for the Perak throne and of these only one was present at the meeting - Abdullah. Sultan Ismail who was the crowned ruler, had refused to attend. The British did not appear to know of the existence of the third possible claimant, Raja Yusof, who was naturally not invited.
The chiefs of Perak (who were not present) were concerned with the treaty, the agreement made between the British and Abdullah and the British's recognition of Abdullah as sultan), as the issue of succession was settled three years earlier with the election of Sultan Ismail. To these chiefs, the British may have proclaimed Abdullah sultan but his accession was not valid in their eyes and he did not hold the royal regalia. The royal regalia was held by Sultan Ismail which all attempts at recovering these from him having failed.
The three parties involved in the engagement were the British, the Malay rulers, and the Chinese.
British Officials Present were: