the straits settlements were originally an outlier of the british east india company. the spanish dollar had already taken hold in the straits settlements by the time the british arrived in the nineteenth century, however, the east india company tried to introduce the rupee in its place. these attempts were resisted by the locals, and by 1867 when the british government took over direct control of the straits settlements from the east india company, attempts to introduce the rupee were finally abandoned.