Riau Islands (province)
Encyclopedia
Riau Islands Province ( (Kepri or Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia
, consisting of the Riau Archipelago
, the Tudjuh Archipelago
, and the Lingga Islands
.
Originally part of the Riau Province, the Riau Islands were split off as a separate province
in July 2004, with Tanjung Pinang
as its capital, located at south of Bintan
island.
, located between mainland Malaysia and Borneo
, were attached to the new province, although they were not geographically part of the Riau Archipelago
. The major island groups are the Riau Archipelago south of Singapore
, the Lingga Islands
extending southward of the Riau Arch., parallel the Sumatran Coast, and the Tudjuh Archipelago.
Batam
has a majority of the province's population. Other populated major islands include Bintan
and Karimun
. Sizewise, however, the sparsely populated Natuna Islands
are larger. There are around 3,200 islands in the province.
Since Batam is part of a booming special economic region, it has experienced high population growth rates. The province's population is at 1,685,698 as of 2010, with more than 2/3 of the population under 30.
. It is the official standard for Malay, as agreed upon by Indonesia
, Malaysia and Brunei
.
n times until the 16th century, Riau was a natural part of greater Malay kingdoms or sultanates, in the heart of what is often called the Malay World, which stretches from eastern Sumatra to Borneo. The Malay-related Orang Laut
tribes inhabited the islands and formed the backbone of most Malay kingdoms from Srivijaya to the Sultanate of Johor for the control of trade routes going through the straits
.
After the fall of Melaka in 1511, the Riau islands became the center of political power of the mighty Sultanate of Johor or Johor-Riau, based on Bintan
island, and were for long considered the center of Malay culture.
But history changed the fate of Riau as a political, cultural or economic center when European powers struggled to control the regional trade routes and took advantage of political weaknesses within the sultanate. Singapore
island, that had been for centuries part of the same greater Malay kingdoms and sultanates, and under direct control of the Sultan of Johor
, came under control of the British.
The creation of a European-controlled territory in the heart of the Johor-Riau natural boundaries broke the sultanate into two parts, destroying the cultural and political unity that had existed for centuries. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
consolidated this separation, with the British controlling all territories north of the Singapore strait and the Dutch
controlling territories from Riau to Java.
After the European powers withdrew from the region, the new independent governments had to reorganize and find balance after inheriting 100 years of colonial boundaries. Before finding their current status, the territories of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Borneo struggled and even came into military conflict against each other, and the Riau islands once again found themselves in the middle of a regional struggle
.
The strong cultural unity of the region with Riau in the heart of this region never returned, and the line drawn by the British in 1819 remained, dividing the area into three new countries in 1965: Singapore, the Malaysian federation in the north, and Indonesia in the south.
Some level of unity returned in the Riau region for the first time after 150 years, with the creation of the Sijori Growth Triangle
in 1989. But while bringing back some economical wealth to Riau, the Sijori Growth Triangle somewhat further broke the cultural unity within the islands. With Batam
island receiving most of the industrial investments and dramatically developing into a regional industrial center, it attracted hundreds of thousands of non-Malay Indonesian migrants, changing forever the demographic balance in the archipelago.
Today the name of Riau merely refers to this administrative region of Indonesia, a free trade zone heavily supported by Indonesian, Singaporean and international investments.
There have been various attempts at both independence and autonomy for this part of Indonesia since the founding of Indonesia in 1945.
and 2 cities:
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, consisting of the Riau Archipelago
Riau Archipelago
Not to be confused with Riau Islands Province, a province of Indonesia.The Riau Archipelago is the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore...
, the Tudjuh Archipelago
Tudjuh Archipelago
The Tudjuh Archipelago is a large group of islands in northwestern Indonesia, off of the west and northwest coast of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. Administratively the islands belong to the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. The Tudjuh Archipelago consists of four island groups,...
, and the Lingga Islands
Lingga Islands
Not to be confused with "Linga", a common Scottish island name, see Linga The Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago are a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Islands province on Sumatra island...
.
Originally part of the Riau Province, the Riau Islands were split off as a separate province
Provinces of Indonesia
The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...
in July 2004, with Tanjung Pinang
Tanjung Pinang
Tanjung Pinang or Tanjungpinang is the capital and second largest city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands after Batam. A city with about 200,000 residents) it is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago...
as its capital, located at south of Bintan
Bintan
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....
island.
Geography
The islands of the Tudjuh ArchipelagoTudjuh Archipelago
The Tudjuh Archipelago is a large group of islands in northwestern Indonesia, off of the west and northwest coast of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. Administratively the islands belong to the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. The Tudjuh Archipelago consists of four island groups,...
, located between mainland Malaysia and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, were attached to the new province, although they were not geographically part of the Riau Archipelago
Riau Archipelago
Not to be confused with Riau Islands Province, a province of Indonesia.The Riau Archipelago is the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore...
. The major island groups are the Riau Archipelago south of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the Lingga Islands
Lingga Islands
Not to be confused with "Linga", a common Scottish island name, see Linga The Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago are a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Islands province on Sumatra island...
extending southward of the Riau Arch., parallel the Sumatran Coast, and the Tudjuh Archipelago.
Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
has a majority of the province's population. Other populated major islands include Bintan
Bintan
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....
and Karimun
Karimun
For the car, see Suzuki KarimunKarimun is one of the islands in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is southwest of Singapore and west of Batam. The island's main city is Tanjung Balai Karimun. As of 1997, the island had a population of 155,000.In the past, Karimun was the destination of...
. Sizewise, however, the sparsely populated Natuna Islands
Natuna Islands
The Natuna Islands archipelago is located in the Natuna Sea in the larger Tudjuh Archipelago, off the northwest coast of Borneo. The islands are administratively part of the Riau Islands province of Indonesia and are the northernmost non-disputed island group of Indonesia...
are larger. There are around 3,200 islands in the province.
Since Batam is part of a booming special economic region, it has experienced high population growth rates. The province's population is at 1,685,698 as of 2010, with more than 2/3 of the population under 30.
Language
The official language of the Riau Islands is Riau. The Riau Islands are considered the birthplace of the modern Malay languageMalay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. It is the official standard for Malay, as agreed upon by Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
.
History
From SrivijayaSrivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
n times until the 16th century, Riau was a natural part of greater Malay kingdoms or sultanates, in the heart of what is often called the Malay World, which stretches from eastern Sumatra to Borneo. The Malay-related Orang Laut
Orang Laut
The Orang Laut, or Bajau Laut are a group of Malay people living in the Riau Islands of Indonesia. It also may refer to any Malay origin people living on coastal islands, including those of Andaman Sea islands in Thailand and Burma, commonly known as Moken.-Etymology:The Malay term orang laut...
tribes inhabited the islands and formed the backbone of most Malay kingdoms from Srivijaya to the Sultanate of Johor for the control of trade routes going through the straits
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca Sultanate that ruled over the archipelago between 1414 to 1511.-Extent:...
.
After the fall of Melaka in 1511, the Riau islands became the center of political power of the mighty Sultanate of Johor or Johor-Riau, based on Bintan
Bintan
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....
island, and were for long considered the center of Malay culture.
But history changed the fate of Riau as a political, cultural or economic center when European powers struggled to control the regional trade routes and took advantage of political weaknesses within the sultanate. Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
island, that had been for centuries part of the same greater Malay kingdoms and sultanates, and under direct control of the Sultan of Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
, came under control of the British.
The creation of a European-controlled territory in the heart of the Johor-Riau natural boundaries broke the sultanate into two parts, destroying the cultural and political unity that had existed for centuries. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
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 Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814...
consolidated this separation, with the British controlling all territories north of the Singapore strait and the Dutch
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
controlling territories from Riau to Java.
After the European powers withdrew from the region, the new independent governments had to reorganize and find balance after inheriting 100 years of colonial boundaries. Before finding their current status, the territories of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Borneo struggled and even came into military conflict against each other, and the Riau islands once again found themselves in the middle of a regional struggle
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia’s political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi...
.
The strong cultural unity of the region with Riau in the heart of this region never returned, and the line drawn by the British in 1819 remained, dividing the area into three new countries in 1965: Singapore, the Malaysian federation in the north, and Indonesia in the south.
Some level of unity returned in the Riau region for the first time after 150 years, with the creation of the Sijori Growth Triangle
Sijori Growth Triangle
The Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle was established in 1994 between three countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, to strengthen economic links in the region and optimise the complementarity between the three countries...
in 1989. But while bringing back some economical wealth to Riau, the Sijori Growth Triangle somewhat further broke the cultural unity within the islands. With Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
island receiving most of the industrial investments and dramatically developing into a regional industrial center, it attracted hundreds of thousands of non-Malay Indonesian migrants, changing forever the demographic balance in the archipelago.
Today the name of Riau merely refers to this administrative region of Indonesia, a free trade zone heavily supported by Indonesian, Singaporean and international investments.
There have been various attempts at both independence and autonomy for this part of Indonesia since the founding of Indonesia in 1945.
Administrative division
This province is divided into 4 regencies:- Karimun (Tanjung Balai KarimunTanjung Balai KarimunSee Tanjung Balai for its many meaningsTanjung Balai, Karimun or simply Tanjung Balai or Tg. Balai is the main town in Karimun island of Riau Islands province....
) - BintanBintan RegencyBintan Regency is the administrative centre of the island of Bintan in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. Bintan Regency includes Bintan, except for the city of Tanjung Pinang which is an autonomous area of the island.-Location:...
(Bandar Seri Bentan) - Lingga (DaikDaikDaik is the main town on the island of Lingga of Lingga Regency, in the Riau archipelago in Indonesia. It is located at .-History:Daik was the capital of the Lingga sultanate for almost 100 years, from 1819 to 1911....
) - Natuna (Ranai)
- Anambas Islands (Tarempa)
and 2 cities:
- BatamBatamBatam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
- Tanjung PinangTanjung PinangTanjung Pinang or Tanjungpinang is the capital and second largest city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands after Batam. A city with about 200,000 residents) it is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago...