The Burney Treaty, so named after Henry Burney

Henry Burney

Henry Burney was a British commercial traveller and diplomat for the British East India Company. His parents were Richard Thomas Burney , headmaster of the Orphan School at Kidderpore, and Jane Burney , and he was a nephew of the English writer Frances Burney . On 30 June 1818 at St...

, head emissary from the East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

, and known in Siamese history as the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Siam–UK)

Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Siam–UK)

A Treaty of Amity and Commerce that is known in the history of Malaysia as the Burney Treaty was concluded in the latter part of 1826 by Henry Burney, an agent of British East India Company, with King Rama III of Siam. This followed from the inclusion of Siam as nominal British ally in the peace...

, was concluded with King Rama III in the latter part of 1826. This followed Dr. John Crawfurd

John Crawfurd

John Crawfurd , Scottish physician, and colonial administrator and author, was born in the island of Islay, Scotland...

's 1822 mission to the court of King Rama II

Rama II

Rama II is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1989. It recounts humankind's further interaction with the Ramans, first introduced in Rendezvous with Rama...

, the principle objective of which was to determine Siam's position on the Malay states.. The treaty acknowledged Siamese claims over the four northern Malay states of Kedah

Kedah

Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...

, Kelantan

Kelantan

Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....

, Perlis

Perlis

Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...

 and Terengganu

Terengganu

Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...

. The treaty further guaranteed British ownership of Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 and their rights to trade in Kelantan and Terengganu without Siamese interference. The four Malay states were not represented in the treaty negotiation. In 1909, the parties of the agreement signed a new treaty that superseded the 1826 treaty. The 1909 treaty, known as Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909

Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909

The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 or Bangkok Treaty of 1909 was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam signed on March 10, 1909, in Bangkok. Ratifications were exchanged in London on July 9, 1909....

, also known as the Bangkok Treaty of 1909, transferred the four Malay states from Siamese to British dominion.

See also

• Unfederated Malay States
  Unfederated Malay States
  The term Unfederated Malay States was the collective name given to five British protected states in the Malay peninsula in the first half of the twentieth century. These states were Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu...