History of Bintan Island

Bintan Island is the largest island in the Riau province.  As early as the 14th century, Bintan was part of the China-India sea trading shipping route (together with Singapore, or Temasek then).  Since the 19th century, Bintan had been the part of the sea trading routes between Indonesia, China, the Middle East and India. Traders and sea merchants brought spices from other islands. And as early as 960 AD, the Chinese were bringing tea, while the Arabs were buying nutmeg, pepper and clove and shipping them to Europe. In the 18th century, the Dutch, British and American came, trading in tin, gambier and opium.