By virtue of its large size and location, and being located aside the China- India maritime trading route; Bintan has had its fair share of history. Pulau Bintan has been recorded in the Chinese maritime records in the first half of the 14th century as one of the islands in the Riau archipelago, including Temasek. (olden- day Singapore) as a bastion of Malay 'pirates'. Wang Ta-yuan wrote in the 13th century that these islands were resided by inhabitants who habitually brought into action two to three hundred ships to force ships of Quanzhou, returning from trading voyages in the Indian Ocean to call at their harbours and attack those who did not.

Evidence of this early trading relationship between China and Riau- Bintan is found in the large quantity of Chinese ceramics unearthed in Bintan and Singkep. Some of these items date back to the early Sung Dynasty (960- 1127). In the days of wind- powered navigation, Chinese vessels would leave the ports of Guangdong and Shantou in early December to sail southwards with the aid of the Northeast monsoon winds. By three weeks, they would have reached the northern or north eastern coast of Bintan. They would likely have made used of the twin mountains of Gunung Bintan Besar and Gunung Bintan kechil as their sailing landmarks.

Pulau Bintan has also been mentioned by the Arabian 'Marco Polo' Ibn Battuta, in the 13th century:

"Here there are little islands, from which armed black pirates with poised arrows emerged, possessing armed warships; they plunder people but do not enslave them."

Pulau Bintan and the Srivijaya Kingdom (The early years- 12th to 13th century)
Hence, in the 12th and 13th centuries, Pulau Bintan and Singapura (Singapore) were already well- known islands in the Riau Archipelago, and the Orang Laut provided many ships and skilled seaman for the ancient Malay Majapahit kingdom. Naval forces and power were vital for the Srivijaya kings to control the Malacca Straits and hence maritime commerce which was their greatest source of income.

Toward the late 1200s, Pulau Bintan was still a prominent dominion of the fledging Srivijaya Empire. According to the Malay Annals or Sejarah Melayu, sometime in 1290, a member of the royal family of Palembang named Sri Tri Buana (aka Sang Nila Utama) visited the Riau Archipelago. His fleet was met by the ruler of Bintan, the Permaisuri Bintan or Queen of Bintan off Pulau Singkep and Pulau Lingga. Both flotillas of some 800 vessels sailed for BIntan Island where Sri Tri Buana was welcomed by the Queen and installed as her heir apparent.

Sri Tri Buana or Sang Nila Utama also proclaimed himself king of Singapore when he chanced upon the island while picnicking off Tanjung Bemban. (Present day Batam). It was said that he caught sight of the long white beaches of Temasek (old name for Singapore) and decided to investigate. Upon landing on Temasek, he spotted an animal which described as a lion and renamed Temasek as Singapur (Lion City).

Archaeological evidence now confirms that there may be some truth to the Malay Annals chronology of the old Kings of Singapore and that the chronology of the Singapore kings started by Sri Tri Buana is as follows:

-Sri Tri Buana, reigned A.D. 1299- 1347
-Paduka Sri Pikrama, reigned A.D. 1347- 1362
-Sri Rana Wikerma, reigned A.D. 1362- 1375
-Paduka Sri Maharaja, Reigned A.D. 1375- 1388
-Sri Sultan Iskandah Shah (also known as Parameswara) reigned Singapore A.D. 1388- 1391 and then in Malacca A.D. 1393-   1413.

In the ensuing "War Triangle" between the Portuguese, the Malacca Sultanate and the Achehnese of northern Sumatra, it is possible that Pulau Bintan could have seen frequent changes in rulers as each of the 3 warring parties ascended and decline in military- political power. At this time, Pulau Bintan and especially its fishing communities in Tanjung Pinang Uban were already established coastal towns.

The Bugis as rulers of Riau (Early 18th century)
At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a struggle for power among the descendants of the Sultan and the Regent of Johor, who asked for assistance from a number of Bugis aristocrats from Luwuk, Sulawesi. The Bugis then came into power after the internal struggle between the members of the Johore Empire allowed them to install a puppet ruler to rule with Bugis instruction. Bugis power in Riau was based on the numerical superiority of Bugis traders and warriors that had been drawn to Riau from the Celebes.

The Bugis were, like the Malays, great traders and made Bintan a majoy trading centre since Riau was emerging as an international trading centre. Riau attracted not only enterprising Bugis merchants but also British, Chinese, Dutch, Arabis and Indian traders.

However, the economic success and rise of Riau- Pulau Bintan as a military- political power brought fear and animosity of the Dutch based in Malacca.

The Dutch were concerned about the Bugis and the Riaus drawing away trade from rival Dutch entreports in Malacca and Batavia (present day Jakarta)

The Dutch (Late 18th century)
Thus in 1784, a Dutch fleet of 13 ships and 1,594 men attacked and laid siege to Riau for about three month's but failed. On 6 January 1784, another direct assault on Riau- Tanjung Pinang also failed when the commanding officer's ship blew up. The retreating Dutch then found themselves under attack by a combined Selangor- Riau force in Malacca.

Subsequently, on 1 June 1784, a battle fleet from Batavia comprising 6 ships, 326 guns and 2,130 men reached Malacca and broke the Bugis blockade of Malacca. The famous Bugis commander, Raja Haji was killed in action and the remnant Bugis units retreated. It was a strategic victory for the Dutch as the best Bugis combat units had been smashed and the way now lay open for a Dutch counter- attack on Riau. (It is worthwhile to note the importance and honour bestowed by the locals upon their war hero Raja Haji Fisabililah. Visitors to Tanjung Pinang today can visit the impressive "Movement of struggle" marking Raja Haji's to bravery and influence during his reign.

In October 1784, a Dutch commander, J.P Van Braam, exepelled the Bugis from Tanjung Pinang Riau and together with the Malay Sultan, dictated a treaty whereby the sultan, the Bendahara and the Temenggong acknowledged that the pos kingdow were Dutch property and that they must entertain a Dutch resident and garrison. A similar treaty restricting Malay- Bugis rights were also reached in 1787.

The Return of Bugis- Malay Rivalry
The new treaty signed with the Dutch in 1787 caused much bitterness among the Malay rulers. They thus invited a group of Ilanun sea rovers from Tempasuk (Present day Sabah) to drive out the Dutch. On 2 May 1787, a fleet of 40 sails were spotted enroute to Tanjung Pinang and was offered refuge by Sultan Mahmud. They managed to drive out the Dutch on May 13.

Upon the defeat of the Dutch in Riau, the Malays realized that the Dutch would return to seek vengeance and hence left Lingga with the exception of Engku Muda who was later conferred control of Riau and acted as de facto Temenggong until his removal from power by the returning Bugis officers of state- Yamtuan Muda, Raja Ali and Engku Kraing Talibak, son- in- law of the famous Bugis warrior, Raja Haji.

The whole Bugis- Maly conflict erupted again and Engku Muda was driven and thus returned to Pulau Bulan. But his defeat did not imply a loss of de facto powers so Sultan Mahmud had to reach a compromise agreement between Engku Muda and the Yamtuan Muda. On 3 December 1803, Sultan Mahmud sailed from Lingga to Pulau Bulan and met Engku Muda, kraing Talibak and the Yamtuan where peace was made between all Malay and Bugis parties.

It was at around this time that Sultan Mahmud gave Penyengat Island as a wedding gift to his bride, Raja Hamidah (aka Engku Putri), daughter of Raja Ali Haji. Penyengat Island thus developed from a centre of deference to a state, which became the seat of the Yandipertuan Muda of the Riau- Lingga Kingdom. Since then, Penyengat Island becomes the centre of government, tradition, Islamic religion and the Malay culture. The significant role of Penyengat ended when the last Sultan of the Riau- Lingga - Abdul Rahman Muazzan Shah- left the island for Singapore because he was not willing to sign the contract that terminated the rights and authority of the traditional king and officers of Riau.

In Singapore, the Sultan and his followers were informed by the Dutch that their properties, including palaces, buildings, land, etc. would be confiscated. Thus to prevent these properties from falling into Dutch hands, the Sultan ordered the people living on Penyengat to destroy the buildings or whatever the Dutch might take possession of.

This is the reason why today there is nothing left from the Riau- Lingga Sultanate that shows its former glory; only a few ruins as the Sultan's Mosque, several royal tombs, and a couple of old palaces and other old buildings remain as reminders of Bintan's glorious past.

The Search for a British Port
In discussing the Riau economy from 1784 till 1819, an important issue was the founding of the English East India Company settlement at Penang by Sir Francis Light, which was dictated by motives of naval strategies to counter the French influence in the Bay of Bengal. In 1763, the directors of the company issued orders for the search of a suitable port on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal that could combine a naval repair station with those of a trading centre for the Malay Archipelago, and the same would lie on the main sea route to China. In 1769, six years after launching the search, Sir Francis Light suggested Bintan was the most ideal location for such a settlement.

However, since the Dutch had attacked and captured Bintan in 1784, the English were left to concentrate on Penang Island instead. By 1812, the English realized that Penang was unsuitable as a naval station since dockyards could not be built there and the local timber was unsuitable for ship building. Furthermore, Penang lay outside the main trading sphere of Malay trade within the Dutch Empire. Stamford Raffles was convinced of the company's mistake in choosing Penang. The English tried unsuccessfully to conclude treaties to make Riau an English protectorate but the Dutch beat them to it.

It was then that the Temenggong (headman) who lived on St John's Island met Raffles in Singapore and told him that Singapore did not have any Dutch settlements. On 30th January 1819, the historic agreement was signed to allow the English to set up a trading post on the island of Singapore. Thus the search for a British port in the Malay Archipelago which had originally favored Riau/ Bintan had ended and thus also began the history of Singapore and the Kingdom of Johor.

The division of Singapore and Johor as British territories and Riau- Lingga Archipelago as Dutch was firmly agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of London on 17 March 1824. Holland ceded Malacca to Britain and agreed never to establish a Dutch settlement on the Malayan peninsula or make treaties with any of its Malay chiefs; the English agreed never to establish settlement on the Karimum Islands, Batam, Bintan, Lingga or other islands south of the Singapore Straits.

The Bugis continued to reside on Penyengat Island and made it into a centre of Bugis and Malay culture, while the Dutch and Chinese developed Tanjung Pinang as a commercial town.

The following is a chronology of events that occurs thereafter:

1911- Bintan becomes a Dutch colony
            End of sultanate in Bintan when the last sultan, Abdul Rahman goes into exile in Singapore.

1942- Bintan occupied by the Japanese during World War II

1945- Bintan becomes part of the Riau Province of the Republic of Indonesia.

1990- Bintan becomes a part of the 'SIJORI' growth triangle of development
            involving Singapore, Johor and Riau.

1996- Grand Opening of Bintan Resorts.