in the United Kingdom
Colonial period founded
Penang's capital city of
George Town in 1786, making it the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. A statue of Light still stands in the city's
Fort Cornwallis. English traders had been present in Malay waters since the 17th century. Before the mid 19th century, British interests in the region were predominantly economic, with little interest in territorial control. The growth of the
China trade in British ships increased the
East India Company’s (EIC) desire for bases in the region. Various islands were used for this purpose, with the first permanent acquisition being
Penang, which was leased from the
Sultanate of Kedah in 1786. This was followed soon after by the leasing of a block of territory on the mainland opposite Penang (known as
Province Wellesley). In 1795, during the
Napoleonic Wars, the British with the consent of the
Netherlands occupied
Dutch Malacca to forestall possible
French interest in the area. In 1824 British hegemony in Malaya was formalised by the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which divided the
Malay Archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands. The Dutch evacuated Malacca and renounced all interest in Malaya, while the British recognised Dutch rule over the rest of the East Indies. By 1826, the British controlled Penang, Malacca,
Singapore and the island of
Labuan, which they established as crown colonies of the
Straits Settlements, administered first under the EIC until 1867, when they were transferred to the
Colonial Office in London. On the other hand,
White Rajahs (founded by British adventurer
James Brooke) ruled the
Raj of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, while
North Borneo was founded by the
North Borneo Chartered Company. Both Sarawak and North Borneo subsequently became a
British Protectorate, and a
Crown colony in 1946. In 1944, the British drew up plans for a
Malayan Union, which would unite the
Federated and
Unfederated Malay States (except for Singapore), into a single Crown colony. It was established in 1946, and was dissolved in 1948 to be replaced by the
Federation of Malaya. The federation became independent from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1957, and joined
North Borneo,
Sarawak and
Singapore to form a new larger federation known as the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. However, in less than two years upon the founding of the federation, Singapore was
expelled as a consequence of the
1964 race riots.
Present in a carriage with Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on the state visit to London, 1974. The modern relations between the two countries was conditioned and shaped by British colonial rule in the country from the 19th century until its independence. Since the foundation of the Malaysian Federation, several visits have been made between each other leaders. The
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah paid a
state visit to the United Kingdom in July 1974. The next Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak paid a state visit to the United Kingdom in November 1993.
David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom visited Malaysia in the first half of 2012 as part of his Asia tour.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and his wife
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visited Malaysia from 13 to 16 September 2012, as part of a nine-day tour through Commonwealth countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific to celebrate
Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. On 2 November 2017,
Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, made an
official visit to Malaysia to commemorate the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries. == Economic relations ==