Straits Settlements, in southeastern Asia, were part of colonial British Malaya. The British East India Company formed the settlements in 1826. They became a colony in 1867. The Straits Settlements included Singapore, Melaka, Penang-Wellesley, and the islands of the Dindings district. The mainland of the Dindings district was added to the settlements in 1874. Christmas Island joined the settlements in 1900. The Cocos Islands joined in 1903, and Labuan Island joined in 1907. During World War II (1939-1945), the settlements and Malaya were occupied by the Japanese.
The Straits Settlements colony was dissolved in 1946. Singapore, with Cocos and Christmas islands, became a separate colony, and Labuan Island was added to North Borneo. In 1957, the British ceded Penang and Melaka to the Federation of Malaya. In 1963, the former Straits Settlements, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah (formerly North Borneo) merged to form Malaysia. Singapore became an independent country in 1965.
