Protectorates were established in each area of the Settlements, namely Singapore, Penang and Malacca.
The institution was established in 1877 to handle all matters related to the Straits Settlements' Chinese residents.
In particular, it sought to mitigate the human rights violations of the coolie trade, which had expanded to notorious levels by the 1850s in the region.
As a result of this improvement in conditions, the number of Chinese arrivals increased dramatically from the 1880s onwards.
Likewise, agents of the Chinese Protectorate often visited domestic servants.