History of Malaysia

Colonial era in Malaya

Introduction

• When Europe first started discovering and exploring new lands, the Malay Peninsula was the focus of these Western powers.

• During the 15th and 16th century, Portugal and Spain was the most influential Western powers which were expanding their territorial influence.

• Portuguese defeated the Malacca kingdom in 1511.

• From 1511 until the time when Malaya achieved independence on 31st August 1957, historical records show that the country was occupied by foreign powers for 446 years.

• It started with the • Portuguese ( 1511 – 1641 ), followed by the• Dutch ( 1641 – 1824 ), and finally the• British ( 1824 – 1957 )

• Malaya was also briefly occupied by Japan during the Second World War ( 1941 – 1945 )

• The northern states of Malaya were also once protectorates of the Siamese Kingdom.

Occupying forces

Portugal Holland British Japan

ANCIENT MALAYA

• The first people to live in Malaya were Stone Age hunter-gatherers.

• Later Stone Age farmers came to Malaya and displaced them.

• The farmers practiced slash and burn agriculture.• the old area would become covered in

vegetation and would become fertile again.

MALACCA

• In the 7th and 8th centuries the state of Srivijaya of Sumatra rose to dominate much of Malaya.

• by the 13th century Srivijaya had lost control completely.

• Later Melaka rose to dominate Malaya. A man named Parameswara founded it at the end of the 14th century.

• According to legend when he was hunting a mouse deer turned and kicked one of his dogs. Parameswara took this as an omen and decided to found a settlement there. Since he was standing under a Melaka tree at the time he named it Melaka. Parameswara converted to Islam.

• The wealth and power of Melaka was based on trade with Arab, Chinese and Indian ships sailing there.

• The great wealth of the city-state of Melaka came to the notice of the Portuguese.

• In 1511 they sent an expedition led by Alfonso de Albuquerque to capture it.

• Melaka soon fell to the Portuguese artillery.

• However the son of the Sultan of Melaka founded Johor.

Portuguese

• Asia was the source of spices, which were very expensive in Europe.

• Huge profits could be made by importing spices by sea.

• At first the Portuguese dominated the spice trade. • In 1510 the Portuguese annexed Goa in India. • In 1511 they took Malacca in Indonesia. • In 1514 they reached China and • in 1557 they established a trading post at Macao.

Johor And The Dutch

• Johor grew to be one of several powerful trading states in what is now Malaya.

• In the early 16th century Johor made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture Melaka.

• Then in the early 17th century they made an alliance with the Dutch.

• The Dutch made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Melaka in 1606 and 1608.

• Finally in 1641 the Dutch laid siege to Melaka again. Johor assisted them.

• After a terrible siege, in which many people died, Melaka finally fell to the Dutch.

• At the end of the 17th century Johor was still the most powerful state in Malaya.

• However in 1699 Sultan Mahud was assassinated. • That event marked the beginning of the end of Johor

power.

Johor And The Dutch

British Colonialism In Malaya

• In the late 18th century the British East India Company traded with, and partly controlled India.

• At that time they began looking for a base in Malaya.

• In 1786 the British under Francis Light occupied Penang and found Georgetown.

• By the treaty of London, 1824, the British and Dutch divided the region between them.

• The Dutch surrendered Melaka to the British.

• The Dutch were given control of Sumatra and all the area below the Malay Peninsula.

• British control of Sarawak began in 1841. In 1840 a man named James Brooke helped the Sultan of Brunei to crush a rebellion.

• As a reward he was given territory to rule and in 1841 he was granted the title of Raja of Sarawak.

• Meanwhile Siam (modern day Thailand) invaded Kedah in 1821.

• They deposed the Sultan.

• The Sultan was restored in 1841 but Kedah remained a vassal state of Siam.

British Colonialism In Malaya

The Treaty Of Pangkor 1874

• One man who claimed he was the rightful heir to the Sultan, Raja Abdulla, made an agreement with the British. It was known as the Pangkor Agreement.

• The British recognized Abdulla as Sultan of Perak.

• In return he agreed to accept a British 'adviser' at his court who would 'advise' him on all matters except those concerning Malayan religion and customs.

• The treaty of Pangkor marked the beginning of British political control of Malaya.

British Malaya

• The British gradually increased their influence over Malaya. • Selangor, Pahang, Sungei, Ujong, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Jelebu were

forced to accept British ‘Protection’.

• In 1895, the ‘protected’ states were persuaded to form a federation.

• In 1888 Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo became British protectorates.

• In the first years of the 20th Century the British extended their influence over the Northern Malay sates ( Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) were formally absorbed into British Malaya.

• In 1914, Johor also came under British rule.

Cont..

• In the early 20th century, rubber industry grew up in Malaya.

• The Malayan rubber industry boomed.

• The Malayan tin industry also prospered and an oil industry began in Singapore.

• During the 1920s the Malayan economy was prosperous.

• While the economy was booming, many Chinese and Indian people were brought in Malaya.

The Japanese Occupation of Malaya 1942- 1945

• On December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded Malay Peninsula and they quickly overran it.

• The Japanese commander for the attack on Malaya was General Yamashita.

• The Japanese moved easily from Thailand to Kedah and on down the Peninsula; on February 15, 1942, the British surrendered.

Malaya becomes independent• In 1944, when the Japanese faced defeat, the British

government decided to join all the Malayan states (except Singapore) into a single unified state called the Malayan Union.

• However, there was so much opposition to this plan – it was scrapped.

• 1st February 1948, the Federation of Malaya was formed.

• Malayan nationalism was growing.

• The first Malay organization was the Singapore Malay Union (Kesatuan Melayu Singapuru.)

• It was formed in 1926.

• In 1946, Malay organizations joined together to form the United Malays National Organization.

• The Malayan Communist Party ( MCP) was founded in 1930.

• Communist activity declined after 1949 when the British parliament promised independence.

Malaya becomes independent

Cont…

• In 1955, the Reid Commission was formed to prepare a constitution for Malaya.

• Malaya became independent on 31st August 1957.

• The first prime minister of Malaya was Tunku Abdul Rahman (1903 – 1976 )

• He held office from 1957 to 1970.

• In 1963, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia.

• In 1965, Singapore became a separate state.