| The history of Penang began in 1786, when Captain Francis Light struck a deal with the Sultan of Kedah. He acquired Pulau Pinang (Penang Island) from the Sultan on behalf of the East India Company, which in return promised Kedah protection against its powerful neighbours. | |
By 1800, Light had also managed to negotiate for a strip of land next to the island. The place was named Province Wellesley (after the Governor of India) and is now the present Seberang Prai, which is linked by a bridge to the island.
The early Malays had referred to the island as Pulau Kasatu (one island). It later appeared on sailing charts as Pulau Pinang (island of the betel-nut tree). The British name never really caught on and the island?s name was reverted to Pulau Pinang (Penang) after it achieved independence with Malaysia.
The first settlement was at the site of the present Esplanade, then a swampy, malaria-infested area. To clear the place, Light loaded the ship?s cannons with silver dollars and fired them into the jungle to spur a faster clearing of the thick undergrowth by the labourers.
When Francis Light took possession of the island, there were less than 1,000 Malay fishermen in scattered seaside villages. To encourage settlers, new arrivals were allowed to claim as much land as they could clear. Penang was also made a free port to attract trade away from Dutch trading posts.
Eight
years later, the population had increased to 8,000 made up of immigrants
from China, India and Bugis. Over the next century, Penang became the entry
point for immigrant communities who eventually settled in other parts of
the peninsula Malaysia.
Light
first laid out the township of Georgetown (named after the Prince of Wales)
with two streets, Beach Street and Light Street.
Penang went on to become a busy port with ocean liners and coastal steamers docking at Swettenham Pier or anchoring in the waters of the Channel. In 1832, Penang formed part of the Straits Settlement with Melacca and Singapore, served as a trading post for peppers, gambier, nutmeg, tea, china textiles, teakwood and others.
Penang
remained under the British Colonial rule until 1957, when it gained independence
under the Federation of Malaya, except for a brief occupation by the Japanese
from 1941 to 1945. In 1963, it became one of the thirteen states that make
up of the country.
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