<![CDATA[The purpose of this study is to analyse the reasons why the British East India Company (EIC) maintained its power in Bengkulu during the period 1685-1824. The research question in this study is: what were the main factors that encouraged the British to remain in Bengkulu? This study employs historical methods, including topic selection, heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography. The results of this study indicate that the main factor behind the EIC's persistence in Bengkulu was not solely due to the economic benefits of the pepper trade but also to maintain hegemony and prestige in competition with the Dutch in the Indonesian archipelago. Pepper in Bengkulu became a political symbol and an extension of the EIC in the region. The EIC remained in Bengkulu until the London Agreement of 1824, which marked the end of its rule in Bengkulu. The conclusion of this study is that political dimensions and colonial prestige can be strategic factors as powerful as economic motives in maintaining colonial territories.]]>
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