After the defeat of the Yang Dipertuan Muda Riau Raja Haji in 1784, which was followed by the one-sided Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1824, the sultanate became divided, placed Riau and Lingga under Dutch authority while Johor and Pahang under British domination. With this separatiom, Riau-Lingga Sultanate was born and Tengku Abdul Rahman was crowned as the first Sultan of Riau-Lingga.
Since 1868, the Riau Resident who acted as the Dutch East Indies government’s representative in Riau-Lingga, began to appoint Assistant Residents in Tanjung Buton to control the Sultan of Riau-Lingga who resided in Daik-Lingga, as well as officers as government representatives in Karimun, Buru Island, and Pengujan and Kijang Mountain on Bintan Island.
Historically, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate (1824-1911), is renowned for its significant economic, political, and cultural contributions to the Malay world.
Sultanate of Riau-Lingga was officially ended by the Dutch in 1911 when Sultan Abdul Rahman Muazzam Syah refused to sign a treaty of total submission to the colonial government of the Netherlands East Indies, and was obliged to leave the Riau-Lingga area and live-in exile in Singapore until his death in 1930.
Sultanate of Riau-Lingga
