Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 - History

History

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, designed to solve many of the issues that had arisen due to the British occupation of Dutch properties during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as issues regarding the rights to trade that existed for hundreds of years in the Spice Islands between the two nations, was a treaty that addressed a wide array of issues and did not clearly describe the limitations of expansion by either side in the Malay world. The British establishment of Singapore on the Malaya Peninsula in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles exacerbated the tension between the two nations, especially as the Dutch claimed that the treaty signed between Raffles and the Sultan of Johore was invalid, and that the Sultanate of Johore was under the Dutch sphere of influence. The questions surrounding the fate of Dutch trading rights in British India and formerly Dutch possessions in the area also became a point of contention between Calcutta and Batavia. In 1820, under pressures from British merchants with interests in the Far East, negotiations to clarify the situation in Southeast Asia started.

Negotiations between Canning and Fagel started on 20 July 1820. The Dutch were adamant on the British abandonment of Singapore. Indeed, Canning was unsure of the exact circumstances under which Singapore was acquired, and at first, only non-controversial issues such as free-navigation rights and the elimination of piracy were agreed upon. Discussions on the subject were suspended on 5 August 1820, and did not resume until 1823, by which time the commercial value of Singapore was well-recognized by the British. The negotiations resumed on 15 December 1823, by which time the discussion became centered around the establishment of clear spheres of influence in the region. The Dutch, realizing that the growth of Singapore could not be curbed, pressed for an exchange in which they abandoned their claims north of the Strait of Malacca and its Indian colonies in exchange for the confirmation of their claims south of the strait, as well as the British colony of Bencoolen. The final treaty was signed on 23 March 1824.