Riau-Lingga Sultanate
Riau-Lingga Sultanate, also known as the Lingga-Riau Sultanate, Riau Sultanate or Lingga Sultanate was a Malay sultanate that existed from 1824 to 1911, before being dissolved following Dutch intervention.
The sultanate came into existence as a result of the partition of the Johor-Riau Sultanate that separated Johor on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore, from the Riau Archipelago. This partition followed the succession dispute following the death of Mahmud III of Johor, when Abdul Rahman was crowned as the first Sultan of Riau-Lingga. The maritime kingdom was recognised by both the British and the Dutch following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
Its historical territory is almost parallel to the present-day Riau Islands Province, Indonesia.
History
Background
The Riau Archipelago became a part of the Malaccan Sultanate after the expansion by Tun Perak in the 15th century, following the decline of the Srivijaya Empire. After the fall of Malacca at the hands of the Portuguese, the axis of regional power was inherited by the Johor Sultanate. During the golden age of Johor, the kingdom stretched across half of the Malay Peninsula, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, Bangka, Jambi and the Riau Islands.According to the 1849 Johor Annals, on 27 September 1673 the Laksamana of Johor, Tun Abdul Jamil, was ordered by Abdul Jalil Shah III to found a settlement in Sungai Carang, Ulu Riau, on Bintan Island. The settlement in Sungai Carang was later known as Riau Lama. Initially a fortress to protect the Johor Empire, Riau Lama then prospered and became an increasingly prominent entrepôt for regional trade in the Strait of Malacca.
Ulu Riau became the capital of Johor during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim when he relocated the capital from Batu Sawar, Kota Tinggi in Peninsular Johor after the old capital was sacked by Jambi forces on 4 October 1722. Riau Lama then became the capital of the empire for 65 years, from 1722 to 1787.
The importance of Lingga began during the reign of Mahmud Shah III. In 1788, he relocated the capital from Riau Lama, Ulu Riau, Bintan to Daik, Lingga. The Sultan did this as he believed that he was being reduced to a mere figurehead under the Dutch. He then requested aid from his distant relative, Raja Ismail, a local ruler of Tempasuk to organise a successful campaign against the Dutch. Out of fear of retaliation by the Dutch, he organised a mass transfer of the populace: the Sultan left for Lingga with 2000 people, the bendahara went to Pahang with 1000 people while others headed to Terengganu. When the Dutch arrived in Riau, there were only a few Chinese planters left, who persuaded the Dutch not to chase the Malays.
The Sultan then developed Lingga and welcomed new settlers to the island. Dato Kaya Megat was appointed as the new Bendahara of Lingga. New dwellings were constructed, roads were built and buildings were improved. He found unprecedented new wealth when tin mines were organised in Singkep. Both the British and Dutch then restored his claim on the Riau island. He began to revive maritime trade discreetly with the British as a major source of commodities, especially valuable tin, gambier and spices.
Succession crisis and Sultan Abdul Rahman
In 1812, the Johor-Riau Sultanate experienced a succession crisis. The death of the Mahmud Shah III in Lingga left no heir apparent. Royal custom required that the succeeding sultan must be present at his predecessor's deathbed. However at the time Mahmud Shah III died, the eldest prince, Tengku Hussein, was in Pahang to celebrate his marriage to the daughter of the Bendahara. The other candidate was Tengku Hussein's half-brother, Tengku Abdul Rahman. To complicate matters, neither of the candidates was of full royal blood. The mother of Tengku Hussein, Cik Mariam, owed her origin to a Balinese slave lady and a Bugis commoner. Tengku Abdul Rahman had a similarly lowborn mother, Cik Halimah. The only unquestionably royal wife and consort of Mahmud Shah was Engku Puteri Hamidah, whose only child had died an hour after birth.In the following chaos, Engku Puteri was expected to install Tengku Hussein as the next sultan, because he had been preferred by the late Mahmud Shah. Based on the royal adat, the consent of Engku Puteri was crucial as she was the holder of the Cogan of Johor-Riau, and the installation of a new sultan was only valid if it took place with the regalia. The regalia was fundamental to the installation of the sultan; it was a symbol of power, legitimacy and the sovereignty of the state.
Nonetheless, Yang di-Pertuan Muda Ja'afar supported the reluctant Tengku Abdul Rahman, adhering to the rules of royal protocol, as he had been present at the late Sultan's deathbed. Unwilling and furious, the outspoken Queen is then reported to have said, "Who elected Abdul Rahman as sovereign of Johor? Was it my brother Raja Ja'afar or by what law of succession has it happened? It is owing to this act of injustice that the ancient empire of Johor is fast falling to decay".
Rivalry between the British and the Dutch now came into play. The British had earlier gained Malacca from the Dutch under the Treaty of The Hague in 1795 and saw an opportunity to increase their regional influence. They crowned Tengku Hussein in Singapore, and he took the title Hussein Shah of Johor. The British were actively involved in the Johor-Riau administration between 1812 and 1818, and their intervention further strengthened their dominance in the Strait of Malacca. The British recognised Johor-Riau as a sovereign state and offered to pay Engku Puteri 50,000 Ringgits for the royal regalia, which she refused.
Seeing the diplomatic advantage gained in the region by the British, the Dutch responded by crowning Tengku Abdul Rahman as sultan instead. They also obtained, at the Congress of Vienna, a withdrawal of British recognition of Johor-Riau sovereignty. To further curtail the British domination over the region, the Dutch entered into an agreement with the Johor-Riau Sultanate on 27 November 1818. The agreement stipulated that the Dutch were to be the paramount leaders of the Johor-Riau Sultanate and that only Dutch people could engage in trade with the kingdom. A Dutch garrison was then stationed in Riau. The Dutch also secured an agreement that Dutch consent was required for all future appointments of Johor-Riau Sultans. This agreement was signed by Yang Dipertuan Muda Raja Ja'afar representing Abdul Rahman, without the sultan's consent or knowledge.
Just as the British had done, both the Dutch and Yang Dipertuan Muda then desperately tried to win the royal regalia from Engku Puteri. The reluctant Abdul Rahman, believing he was not the rightful heir, decided to move from Lingga to Terengganu, claiming that he wanted to celebrate his marriage. The Dutch, who desired to control the Johor-Riau Empire, feared losing momentum because of the absence of mere regalia. They therefore ordered Timmerman Tyssen, the Dutch Governor of Malacca, to seize Penyengat in October 1822 and remove the royal regalia from Tengku Hamidah by force. The regalia was then stored in the Kroonprins Fort in Tanjung Pinang. Engku Puteri was reported to have written a letter to Van Der Capellen, the Dutch Governor in Batavia, about this issue. With the royal regalia in Dutch hands, Abdul Rahman was invited from Terengganu and proclaimed as the Sultan of Johor, Riau-Lingga and Pahang on 27 November 1822. Hence, the legitimate ruler of the Johor-Riau Empire was now Abdul Rahman, rather than the British-backed Hussein.
This led to the partition of Johor-Riau under the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, by which the region north of the Singapore Strait including the island of Singapore and Johor were to be under British influence, while the south of the strait along with Riau and Lingga were to be controlled by the Dutch. By installing two sultans from the same kingdom, both the British and the Dutch effectively destroyed the Johor-Riau polity and satisfied their colonial ambitions.
Under the treaty, Tengku Abdul Rahman was crowned as the Sultan of Riau-Lingga, bearing the name of Sultan Abdul Rahman, with the royal seat in Daik, Lingga. Tengku Hussein, backed by the British, was installed as the Sultan of Johore and ruled over Singapore and the Peninsular Johor. He later ceded Singapore to the British in return for their support during the dispute. Both sultans of Johor and Riau acted mainly as puppet monarchs under the guidance of the colonial powers.
Sultan Mahmud IV and the crisis of 1857
During the reign of Mahmud IV, increasing tensions developed with Dutch administrators. The Sultan felt that his kingdom was being heavily manipulated by the Dutch and the Yang di-Pertuan Muda, and wanted to throw off their yoke. He frequently traveled to Singapore, Terengganu and Pahang to gain recognition for his rule by the British, and support from his circle of kin in other Malay Royal Houses against the viceregal house of Riau, who came from Bugis stock. He also asserted his claim to be the rightful heir of the preceding Johor-Riau throne, rather than Hussein Shah of Johor. The sultan's actions were met with suspicion by the British, who warned the Dutch that as their vassal, he was in breach of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Angered and embarrassed by the Sultan, the Dutch then prohibited him from travelling without their consent. He ignored this prohibition.The crisis reached its peak in 1857 when, following the death of the Yang di-Pertuan, the Sultan delayed in naming his successor. This was due to the fact that the Sultan do not approve of any of the candidates offered by the Yang di-Pertuan's family. The Sultan then tried to name a candidate from Singapore and claimed that the revenues gained by the Yang di-Pertuan ought to be paid to him. The final blow came when he decided to sail to Singapore without naming a viceroy, despite the Dutch travel prohibition. The Dutch therefore deposed him on 7 October 1857 while he was in Singapore. He then remained in Singapore and sought mediation with the Dutch, but the British decided not to interfere in the issue.