History of the Kingdom of Johor

The Sultanate of Johor can be considered a continuation of the Sultanate of Malacca. But while the kingdom of Johor was established as a result of the Portuguese's take over of Malacca, there was a change in dynasty in 1855 which made the Temenggong the de facto ruler of Johor. Subsequent Sultans of Johor trace their ancestry to the Temenggong, while the dynastic line that goes back to Malacca came to an end there.

After Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca was ousted from his kingdom by the Portuguese in 1511, he first fled to Pahang, where he stayed for a while as a guest of the local ruler. From Pahang, he moved south to live for also a short period of time by the banks of the Johor River. From there he moved again to settle in the island of Bintan, where he had hoped to establish a new trading port similar to Malacca. He chose Bintan because it was geographically ideal for him to launch attacks on ships that pass on their way out of Malacca, as well as ships heading towards Malacca. Severing Malacca's trade artery was his planned counter-attack on the Portuguese.

It was at Bintan that the Kingdom of Johor was established. The surrounding islands of Riau and Lingga quickly became part of the kingdom, which was often called the Sultanate of Johor-Riau or Johor-Riau-Lingga, as well as the Johor Empire. From here, Sultan Mahmud launched attacks on the Portuguese, once between 1515 and 1519, and again between 1523 and 1524. Each time, the Portuguese easily repulsed the attacks, and earned the young Johor sultanate reprisal attacks from Malacca. A major offensive by the Portuguese in 1526 led to the total destruction of Sultan Mahmud's settlement on Bintan. Sultan Mahmud fled with his life, searching for another place to establish his base. He eventually arrived at the court of the Prince of Kampar, in Sumatra, where he stayed until his death in 1528.

Meanwhile, Mahmud's son Alauddin returned to the Malay peninsula, and reestablished the Johor kingdom. He chosed a site by the banks of the Johor River. That site is known today as Johor Lama - although it is not exactly sure what it was called by Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah. He continued what his father left off, attempting to start a trading port, collecting tribute from local chieftains, and at the same time, being a menace to the Portuguese in Malacca. This led to a raid by the Portuguese in 1536, which forced him to sign a peace treaty. Around this time, Sultan Alauddin had to confront a new and powerful threat.

The Sultanate of Acheh was becoming powerful rival to Johor. Acheh had a powerful naval fleet, and an ambition to pry Malacca from the Portuguese as well. From 1536 to 1636, both Malacca and Johor suffered repeated attacks from Acheh. As a result of the Acehnese threat, Johor found itself at times even aligned with the Portuguese to fight a common enemy. But it was an alliance of convenience. Both the Portuguese and Johor expected that once they got Acheh out of the picture, they would be fighting each other for regional control.

In 1564, a massive offensive by Acheh destroyed Johor Lama. Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah was himself captured and brought back to Acheh as a prisoner of war. He died in captivity. Nonetheless the kingdom of Johor survived, because Alauddin's son managed to elude the Acehnese, and proceeded to rebuilt the capital. It lasted 23 years until 1587, when the capital of Alauddin's son was also destroyed, this time by the Portuguese, in retaliation on the sultan's frequent attacks on ships heading towards and coming from Malacca.

Still, the kingdom of Johor survived. The ruler (I am not sure whether it is Alauddin's son or someone else) moved the capital upriver to Batu Sawar, near Kota Tinggi. It was at Batu Sawar that the sultan of Johor negotiated an alliance with the Dutch to fight the Portuguese, their common enemy. In the treaty, signed in 1606, the two forces will jointly fight to subdue Malacca, and in the resulting victory, the Dutch will take control of the Portuguese walled city while Johor will get the rest of the territory. When the actual attack on Malacca took place in 1606, it was only the Dutch that fought. Johor did not join in the fight, maybe due to a family feud between Johor and the kingdom of Pattani distracted Johor, and also, perhaps the Sultan of Johor had second thoughts on the advantages of the deal. Due to this half-hearted reception from Johor, the attack on Malacca of 1606 was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile Acheh was getting stronger again. The ruler of Acheh from 1607-36, Sultan Iskandar Shah, titled himself Mahkota Alam, which means "crown of the universe". In 1613, he attacked and destroyed Batu Sawar. Soon Pahang, Kedah and Perak all fell under Acehnese control. Johor itself was in disarray, but miraculously, the kingdom survived. A ruler from the Johor dynasty reestablished the kingdom, with the capital at Makam Tauhid, also around Kota Tinggi.

The death of Sultan Iskandar Shah in 1636 saw an ebbing in Acehnese aggression. Meanwhile the Dutch, which had been playing a low profile in the confrontations between Acheh, Malacca and Johor for the past thirty years, had built up a strong position in Java. They had also ousted the Portuguese as well as a newcomer, the British, from the Moluccas. Now they set their eyes on Malacca again.

In 1637 the Dutch signed a new treaty with Johor to capture Malacca. In return for helping the Dutch capture Malacca, Johor would be free to build up their own trading port along the Johor River. Johor craved some peace to rebuilt itself, and appreciate having the threat of Malacca erased. Thus they agreed to the deal.

The fall of Malacca in 1641 ushered in a period of prosperity for Johor. Neighbouring kingdoms of Pahang, along with Siak and Indragiri in Sumatra came under the control of the Johor Empire. Friendly alliance was established with the Kingdom of Pattani (in present-day southern Thailand) and with Jambi, in Sumatra.

Johor and the establishment of Singapore

I shall fast-forward to the early 19th century, to describe another interesting chapter in Johor's history. It was over one hundred years since the fall of Malacca, but the Dutch and Johor were still in good terms. However, a lot had happened on each side.

The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century saw a drastic weakening in Dutch forces. This was due to their own country, the Netherlands, being attacked and taken over by Napoleon of France in late 1794. It forced the ruler, Prince William of Orange, to flee to England, where he sought the English to help him safeguard his overseas territory from falling into the French. This allowed the British, which had just established their first trading port along the Malay peninsula on the island of Penang, to enter Malacca and took over its administration.

Although the British tried their best to prop up their base in Penang, even to the extend of demolishing Malacca. In 1807, the Lieutenant Governor of Penang, Robert Townsend Farquhar, gave the orders to pull down the Dutch fortifications in Malacca. This is to ensure that when Malacca was returned to the Dutch, it would not pose a threat to Penang. The British Resident of Malacca, William Farquhar (no relation to the lieutenant governor) was given the task. The total destruction of the fort was stopped with the intervention of Stamford Raffles who happened to be in Malacca recovering from an illness. He wrote to his superior, the British Governor General in Calcutta, Lord Minto. Nevertheless, only a gate - the Porta de Santiago - was saved.

By 1812, it had become apparent to the British that Penang was too far north to be a strategic trading location, and the search was on for a superior base. This was a task given to Stamford Raffles and William Farquhar. They searched different locations in Riau, and eventually settled upon the island of Temasek, or present-day Singapore.

The sultanate of Johor was at a weak point. The previous sultan, Sultan Mahmud, had died in 1812. His eldest son and supposed successor, Tunku Long, also known as Tengku Hussein, was away in Pahang. Influential Bugis nobleman installed Sultan Mahmud's younger son Tunku Abdul Rahman, as the new sultan. Tunku Long, unable to get his rightful place on the throne, retreated to the island of Bulong.

Learning about the family feud in Johor, Stamford Raffles engineered the return of Tunku Long from Bulong. A ship was sent to Bulong to invite Tunku Long, who was brought to Singapore. There, he was installed as the rightful Sultan of Johor. Subsequently, Raffles signed a treaty with the newly installed sultan. In return for allowing the British to establish Singapore, the Sultan and the Temenggong were given annual pensions of $5,000 and $3,000 respectively.

Naturally the installation of Tunku Long as sultan did not come without protest. It didn't come from Sultan Abdul Rahman, who had the crown taken from him. He had little authority and no real desire to be ruler. Protests came rather from the Bugis noblemen, who had installed Abdul Rahman. They complained to the Dutch on the British intrusion to Johor, infringing on their rights. This resulted in a Dutch demand that the British withdrew from Singapore. The Governor of Penang at that time, John Alexander Bannerman, sided with the Dutch. He wanted Singapore abandoned - partly because it posed a threat to his position in Penang. There was a furry of letters written and sent between Batavia, Malacca, Penang, Bencoolen, Calcutta, London and The Hague arguing over the establishment of Singapore. But considering the war of words were relayed by sailing ships, it did not allow actions to be taken according to the sequence that the letters were written.

Eventually Raffles' superior, Lord Hasting, argued that although Raffles exceeded his authority by establishing Singapore, the British could not withdraw from Singapore, because doing that would mean that the Dutch had rights there. To ensure that Singapore was safe from an attack, Hasting reluctantly ordered Bannerman to send troops to defend it.

The establishment of Singapore came about through because of British intervention in Johor.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap