The Riau Archipelago is a ''geographic'' term (as opposed to administrative region) for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and located south of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and east of

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

on Sumatra. Before the province of Riau Islands was formed, there was no ambiguity in term; however, in Indonesian language, both the archipelago and administrative province are referred to simply as "Kepulauan Riau". The province may have the word "Provinsi" preceding it for clarity. Additionally, the term BBK for ''Batam Bintan Karimun'' may refer to the archipelago.

History

The name of this archipelago predates the creation of the Indonesian province, and historically did not include the

Lingga Islands The Lingga Regency () is a group of 600 islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore and along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Province on Sumatra island. They are due south of the populated Riau Archipelago, known ...

Natuna Islands Natuna Regency is an islands regency located in the northernmost part of the Province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. It contains at least 154 islands, of which 127 of them are reported as uninhabited. This archipelago, with a land area of 1,978.4 ...

, which now belong to that province. On the other hand, Singapore was considered a part of the islands, at least in the Islamic eras.

Srivijaya and Jambi

From 650 CE–1377 CE are accepted dates for the

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

empire, when the area seemed to be well within the bounds of their control. The Jambi Kingdom sacked the Srivijaya capital in 1088, allowing that empire to grow and spread Malay (language) as a ''lingua franca'', ostensibly as a successor or part of the Srivijaya empire itself. The

Pamalayu expedition The Pamalayu campaign was a diplomatic and military expeditionary force sent by the Javanese King Kertanegara of Singhasari to conquer the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom. It was decreed in 1275, though perhaps not undertaken until later. Little is known ...

force of the

Singhasari Singhasari ( or , ), also known as Tumapel, was a Javanese people, Javanese Hindu-Buddist empires, Hindu-Buddhist Monarchy, kingdom located in east Java (island), Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as th ...

empire in 1275 sacked the Jambi/Srivijaya forces. Bintan was a staging ground in the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: ), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanat ...

for the foundation of a state at Temasek (Singapore).

Singapura era

The Kingdom of Singapura dated from 1299 to 1398 but it not known how much influence it wielded on the nearby Riau archipelago.

Islamic era

When exactly control passed to the

Malacca Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...

is unknown, but that sultanate dates from 1400 until 1511, when the Portuguese conquered and sacked Malacca (Melaka). Some time after, the

Johor Sultanate The Johor Sultanate ( or ; also called the Sultanate of Johor, Johor-Pahang-Riau-Lingga, or the Johor Empire) was founded by Sultan of Malacca Mahmud Shah of Malacca, Mahmud Shah's son, Alauddin Riayat Shah II of Johor, Alauddin Riayat Shah ...

, once itself part of the Malacca Sultanate, took control of the area until Sultan Mahmud III's death in 1811, and Singapore's purchase in 1819, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, along with Temasek (now Singapore). The islands then became part of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, created after the succession dispute following the death of Mahmud III of Johor, when Abdul Rahman was crowned as the first Sultan of Riau-Lingga in 1812.

Colonial era

The

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London (), was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Angl ...

established the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

between Dutch and British interests and awarded the islands to the Dutch sector of influence. Henceforth, Singapore was no longer co-administered. The remaining archipelago became a part of the Residency of Riau and Dependencies (Residentie Riouw en Onderhoorigheden Riouw).

Modern

* In 1989, the Sijori Growth Triangle was formed to speed up development, especially in Batam. * In 2002, Riau Islands Province was carved out of Riau Province. * In 2009, the area was formally included in a free-trade zone, though it had already been operating as such.

Social change

A number of studies and books have detailed the growing violence and concern about identity and social change in the archipelago. As the Malay, who were once the dominant ethnic group in the islands, have been reduced to about a third of the population, primarily as a result of immigration from elsewhere in Indonesia, they feel that their traditional rights are threatened. Similarly, the immigrants have felt politically and financially suppressed. Both of these causes have led to increased violence.

Piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

in the archipelago is also an issue.

Islands

The main islands are Batam, Rempang, Galang, Bintan, Combol, Kundur, and Karimun. Tanjung Pinang located in the south of Bintan Island is the provincial capital. Tanjung Balai Karimun is an international port along with Tanjung Pinang.

Transport

High speed ferry services exist to the archipelago of the south, the

(Kepulauan Lingga).

Notes and references

External links

Singapore's southern islands: a shared heritage with Indonesia , The Islands That Made Us
- a documentary about Singapore's southern islands' historical ties with the Riau Archipelago, produced by Channel News Asia in 2019. {{authority control Archipelagoes of Indonesia Islands of Sumatra Islands of the South China Sea Maritime Southeast Asia * Populated places in Indonesia