Selangor Sultanate

Sultanate of Selangor
كسلطانن سلاڠور
Kesultanan Selangor
Sultanate of Selangor كسلطانن سلاڠور; Kesultanan Selangor
1743-1784; 1785-1942; 1945-Present
	Flag
	Selangor in present-day Malaysia
Status	Vassal of Johor Sultanate (1743-1766); Independent (1766-1874); Dutch Conquest (1784-1785); Protectorate of the United Kingdom (1874-1957); Part of Federated Malay States (1896-1942); Japanese Occupation (1942-1945)
Capital	Kuala Selangor 1743-1857; Langat 1857-1898; Klang 1898-1977; Shah Alam 1977-Present day
Common languages	Bahasa Melayu; English; Chinese; Tamil; Aslian;
Religion	Sunni Islam
Sultan
• 1743-1778	Salehuddin Shah (first)
• 2001–present	Sharafuddin Idris Shah
Chief Minister
• 1947-1949	Dato' Hamzah bin Abdullah
Historical era	Late modern period
Currency	Pitis Selangor; Straits dollar (until 1939); Malayan dollar (until 1953)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Johor Sultanate
Japanese occupation of Malaya
Federated Malay States
Selangor
Today part of	Malaysia

The Sultanate of Selangor is a Malay and Muslim monarchy located in the Malay Peninsula. It was formed in 1743 and federated into Malaya in 1948.

History

The Selangor Sultanate was formed by Raja Lumu, son of Daeng Chelak. Daeng Chelak was one of the five Bugis princes who established political dominance over the royal houses of Peninsular Malaysia.

Independence from the Johor Sultanate

The first Sultan of Selangor (Raja Lumu) is from Bugis Malay descent, who descend from the ruler of Luwu in the southern part of Sulawesi. Nobles of this lineage were involved in the Johor-Riau Sultanate dispute in the early 18th century, eventually placing their full support on Sultan Abdul Jalil of the Bendahara dynasty against a claimant of Malacca-Johor descent, the Raja Kecil. For this reason, the Johor-Riau Treasurer authorities forged close ties with the Bugis nobles, giving them titles and control over many districts in the government, including Selangor. Prince Daeng Chelak, Raja Lumu arrived in Selangor and established a new government in Kuala Selangor in 1766. He was crowned by the Sultan of Perak as Sultan Salehuddin Shah and became the first Sultan of Selangor.

Dutch-Selangor Relation

Since the reign of the first Sultan of Selangor (Raja Lumu/Sultan Salehuddin), Kuala Selangor has been the focus of merchants, especially for buying tin. Indeed, since the 1760s, Kuala Selangor has begun to show an active role as a tin collection site. Although Perak had established tin trade with the Netherlands, traders who were dissatisfied with the price moved to Selangor. In Kuala Selangor, a tin 'bahara' can be sold for 38 rials. When the Netherlands offered a price of 36 rials per tin in Selangor, the current price increased to 39 rials. The disgruntled Dutch had blamed the Sultan of Selangor for being responsible for influencing tin operators in Perak, Rembau, and Linggi to sell tin to Selangor. In 1757, the Dutch once defeated the Bugis who controlled the Linggi area. Linggi is indeed important in terms of tin production. In fact, Linggi is also a strategic control over Sungai Linggi which is the route to Sungai Ujong, and Rembau which is also a tin production area. In the battle, the Dutch managed to defeat the Bugis. An agreement was made between the Dutch and the Bugis in 1758 that the districts of Klang, Linggi, and Rembau must sell all their tin products to Melaka at a price set by the Dutch. Dutch concerns were heightened when Kuala Selangor began to be visited by British merchant ships. British traders who initially traded in cloth and opium later began to buy the produce of the tin trade here. Among the British ships that frequently sail to Kuala Selangor are Junk Selangor (James Scott) and The Bloome (Francis Light). In the 1770s, Sultan Ibrahim (1778-1826) is said to have played two important roles in the economy of Selangor, namely:

1. As a supplier of all tin products from Selangor to the British by offering better and higher prices than the Netherlands.

2. Establish good relations with the British to avoid Dutch military threats from Malacca

Sultan Ibrahim also cleverly manipulated the situation in good faith with the British. from the beginning, he realized that the Dutch were not comfortable with him and accused him of being responsible for influencing tin-producing provinces such as Rembau and Perak to sell tin through Kuala Selangor. Therefore, a good relationship with the British was seen as very significant because not only solves the problems that it faces political and trades with the Dutch power of Melaka, can even protect itself from the threat of regional powers such as the Kedah Malay, Minangkabau, and Siak. Such economic competitions coupled with the political problems that erupted between Johor and the Netherlands involving Selangor in 1782-1786, finally forced Sultan Ibrahim and the Netherlands to sign an agreement on July 29, 1786. This agreement was to ensure that trade activities in Selangor could continue, Sultan Ibrahim had to give the monopoly of tin trade in Selangor to the Netherlands. This agreement was renewed in 1790, until then the Dutch out of the island of Malay. In 1795, through the Kew Letters, the Dutch temporarily ceded Melaka and all its colonies in the East to the British to prevent these lands from falling into French hands as a result of the outbreak of the Napoleonic War in Europe. When the war ended, the British had to hand Melaka back to the Dutch. Thus, the British attempted to return the Malay states. Competition between these two powers (Dutch and British) forced them to sign the Anglo-Dutch Treaty (Treaty of London) in 1824 and eventually Melaka became an official territory of British rule.

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