History of Bintan: From an Ancient Kingdom to the Riau Islands Province

Bintan may look like a quiet resort island today, but for centuries it sat at the heart of the Malay world. Its story runs from legendary kings to colonial treaties and, finally, to a modern Indonesian province.

Early kingdom and legends

Malay tradition remembers an early kingdom of Bintan ruled by a queen. According to legend, a prince from Palembang known as Sri Tri Buana (Sang Nila Utama) came to Bintan in the late 13th century, won the queen's support and later sailed on to found Singapura. During the period of Srivijaya's influence, the waters around Bintan were an important stop on the sea routes between China and the Indian Ocean.

Refuge of the Malacca sultan

When the Portuguese captured Malacca in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah fled, first to Pahang and then to Bintan. From here he launched several attacks on Portuguese Malacca. In 1526 the Portuguese destroyed his capital on Bintan, and the sultan withdrew to Kampar in Sumatra, where he died in 1528. His descendants founded the Johor sultanate, which kept close ties with the Riau islands.

Johor-Riau and Hulu Riau

In 1673 a new royal settlement was founded on the Sungai Carang, in the area now known as Hulu Riau near Tanjung Pinang. For more than a century it served as a centre of the Johor-Riau realm and grew into a busy trading port. In the 18th century, Bugis nobles held the powerful office of Yang Dipertuan Muda, a kind of viceroy. In 1787 the royal seat moved to Lingga.

Riau-Lingga and the Dutch

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 split the old realm: the Malay Peninsula and Singapore came under British influence, the Riau archipelago under Dutch. The Riau-Lingga Sultanate had its royal seat at Daik on Lingga, while the viceroy resided on Pulau Penyengat off Tanjung Pinang, which became a lively centre of Malay learning. On 11 February 1911 the Dutch deposed Sultan Abdul Rahman Muazzam Syah, who went into exile in Singapore; direct colonial rule followed from 1913.

A province of its own

After Indonesian independence the islands belonged to Riau province. In 2002 Kepulauan Riau became a separate province by law, with Tanjung Pinang on Bintan as its capital. Today, a short boat trip to Pulau Penyengat is the easiest way to feel this layered past.