Colonization for the British first began in 1591 when the merchant Sir James Lancaster had been commissioned to set sail by Commander Sir Francis Duke towards the East Indies. Sir James would continue to sail until in September 1592, he would land in Penang remaining there for two years pillaging any rival European ships that were to harbor there. Returning to Britain in 1594 and relaying the news of this newly found area, the British would not become a major participant in Penang’s history until 1786 with the Malay Sultanate of Kedah. During this time, the Burmese and the Siamese armies had increasingly threatened the Sultan of Penang forcing him to cut a deal with then Captain of the British Navy in the Southeast Asia region Francis Light.
Captain Francis Light, while in Penang, acted directly under command of the British East India Trading Company. The British East India company, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth 1st, began trading operations in Southeast Asia in 1600 primarily focusing on the acquisition and trade of cotton, silk, opium, and spices which were all extremely valuable commodities throughout Europe. Because the European countries were such impending rivals for the British, the British East India Company had created a sizeable English army who would protect the trading routes and lands operated by the Company. This was the foundation for the deal the Sultan of Kedah sought to make with Captain Light. In return for English military protection from the Siamese and Burmese, the sultan would cede Penang to the British. Upon the deal being made, Penang would formally be renamed as The Prince of Wales Island until it was renamed in 1867. Penang would be extremely advantageous to the British in the future in the ...
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...defeating the Japanese, the British agreed in 1947 to grant the Burmese complete independence within a year. On January 4th of 1948, Burma would become an independent country.
Works Cited
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7. "The Biography Of Francis Light - Founder Of Penang." The Biography Of Francis Light - Founder Of Penang. Penang Vacations, Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
8. "Strait of Malacca (strait, Asia)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, Nov. 2005. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
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Pugh, C.L. (2013) 'Is Citizenship the Answer? Constructions of belonging and exclusion for the stateless Rohingya of Burma.', p. 3.