What is British Malaya?
[[File:Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg|thumb|Flag of the [[British Empire]]]] [[File:LocationBritishMalaya.png|thumb|The location of British Malaya]] '''British Malaya''' is an area around the [[Malay Peninsula]] and [[Singapore Strait]] that was [[colony|colonized]] by the [[British]]. It was the world's largest maker of [[tin]] and [[rubber]]. There were three parts to the British Malaya; Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States. It was replaced with the [[Federation of Malaya]] in 1947 and given [[independence]] in 1957. It was formed into [[Malaysia]] in 1963. The British started [[trade]] in this area around 1800. It became more of a British colony by the later 1800s. Malaya was an important source of [[rubber]] and other plant products. The [[Empire of Japan]] invaded and conquered Malaya and Singapore in December 1941. Malaya remained under Japanese control for the rest of [[World War II]], with [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Occupied Singapore]] as the capital. {{history-stub}} [[Category:British Malaya| ]]