LibGuides: Singapore Primary Sources: Executive government (before 1867)

East India Company and India Office Records (IOR)

1819-1858: Singapore (and later as part of the Straits Settlements) was governed by the East India Company (EIC) on behalf of the British government.
1858-1867: the Straits Settlements came under direct British rule and were administered by the India Office in London.

The records of the EIC and India Office are preserved in the British Library and are called all together “India Office records” (reference code: IOR). NUS Libraries has acquired copies of some records pertaining to Singapore. These records are only available in microform format.

Main sources:

Straits Settlements Factory records [microform] : IOR/G34. Contents: IOR/G34/153-62, Singapore diary, 1827-1829 (9 reels) --IOR/G34/163-4, Singapore political & secret consultations, 1827-1828 (1 reel) --IOR/G/34/182A, Letters received from Prince of Wales Island, 4 Mar.-Jul. 1819, with enclosures (1 reel).
Straits Settlement Factory Records [Online from National Library of Australia]: IOR/G34. Contents: Factory records: Straits Settlements, 1769-1830 includes: Lengthy reports, letters and despatches relating to the British East India Company's interests in the Straits Settlements.
Straits Settlements Factory records [microform]. Contents: Reproduction of manuscripts, 1769-1830, 69 reels (incomplete holdings).
Board of Control records [microform]: Board's collections: IOR/F/4. Contents: 1784-1858, 8 reels (incomplete holdings)
Political and Secret Department records [microform]: Political and Secret Library : IOR/L/P&S/20. Contents: IOR/L/P&S/20/CA3-5, Abstracts of secret letters received from the Governor of the Straits Settlements, 1863-1865. IOR/L/P&S/20/G59, Military report on the Straits Settlements.
East India Company Records by Adam Matthews. Contents: Offers access to a unique collection of India Office Records from the British Library, London. Containing royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types, this resource charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1600 to 1947.

More information:

guide available online on India Office records (timeline, organisation of records, descriptions), by British Library.

Records of the Government of India

Reproduction of manuscripts kept in the National Archives of India, New Delhi. Those records contains documents created or received by the Governor General of India and related to the Straits Settlements.

Records [relating to the Straits Settlements] [microform]. 1786?-1860? 14 reels.

Straits Settlements Records (SSR), 1800-1867

Reproduction of manuscripts preserved at the National Archives of Singapore. Each series is numbered from A to HH. Those records consist of documents created or received by the administrative entities located in the Straits Settlements (e.g. Governor of the Straits Settlements).

Flag of the Governor of the Straits Settlements

Main sources:

Straits Settlements records : 1800-1867. [microform] : 174 reels (incomplete holdings).
Letters from Bengal to the Resident, Singapore, January 1831 - December 1831 [microform]. M.6.: 1 reel

Index and finding aids:

Index to the Straits Settlements records 1800-1867 / Tan Soo Chye.
You can also consult Guide to the sources of history in Singapore, vol. 1 (a book published by the National Archives of Singapore which includes a description of the content of the different series).

Other sources:

The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) and the National Library Board (NLB) also have Straits Settlements Records. Search the NAS catalogue under "Straits Settlements Records" or the NLB catalogue under “Straits Settlements Records microform”