When the British East India Company sent Raffles to Southeast Asia, the company already had two ports, Penang and Bencoolen. However, these ports were far from the main trading area, the Straits of Malacca. Dutch ports, Malacca and Java, were closer to the trading area, which made them able to control the trade. They cut off the trade between Penang and the important trading centres at the Malay Archipelago.