page_title: History of George Town, Penang
section_title: Straits Settlements
hierarchical_section_title: History of George Town, Penang / Straits Settlements
caption_attribution_description: English: Penang Peranakan Mansion, stately mansion built at the end of the 19th century, residence and office of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee. Church Street, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia Bahasa Indonesia: Penang Peranakan Mansion, rumah megah yang dibangun pada akhir abad ke-19, tempat tinggal dan kantor Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee. Church Street, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia Deutsch: Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Herrenhaus erbaut Ende 19. Jahrhundert, Büro und Wohnhaus von Kapitän Cina Chung Keng Kwee
context_page_description: George Town, the capital city of the State of Penang, is the second largest city in Malaysia and the economic centre of the country's northern region. The history of George Town began with its establishment by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786. Founded as a free port, George Town became the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and prospered in the 19th century as one of the vital British entrepôts within the region. It briefly became the capital of the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony which also consisted of Singapore and Malacca.
  During World War II, George Town was militarily occupied by the Japanese Empire between 1941 and 1945. At the war's end, it became the first city in British Malaya to be liberated, under Operation Jurist. Following the dissolution of the Straits Settlements in 1946, Penang was merged into the Federation of Malaya. Despite a secessionist movement that originated from the city, the merger with Malaya went ahead and the federation attained independence from the British Empire in 1957.
context_section_description: In 1826, the British East India Company consolidated its territories of Penang, Singapore and Malacca into a single political entity, the Straits Settlements. George Town was made the capital of this new entity. However, owing to Singapore's more strategic geographical position between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, the Port of Singapore rapidly surpassed the Port of Penang as the preeminent harbour in the region. Prompted by this development, in 1832, Singapore replaced George Town as the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1832. Even so, George Town remained the seat of the Straits Settlements judiciary until 1855.
  Although its importance became secondary to Singapore's, George Town remained a vital British entrepôt within Southeast Asia, funneling the exports meant for global shipping lines which had bypassed other regional harbours. In the latter half of the 19th century, the tin mining boom in the neighbouring Sultanate of Perak and southern Siam brought more prosperity to the city. Tin from the Kinta Valley and Siam were shipped to George Town for smelting, before being exported via the Port of Penang to European and American industries. The Port of Penang subsequently became a major conduit for the export of tin from British Malaya, directly challenging the Port of Singapore. The launch of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of steamships further cemented the Port of Penang's importance. These factors were crucial, as it established the Malacca Strait as part of the main sea route between Europe and Asia, with George Town as the first port-of-call east of the Indian subcontinent and a vital link in the international telegraph lines.
  In 1857, the George Town Municipal Commission, which consisted of five members and led by the Resident-Councillor of Penang, was formed. Three of the Municipal Commissioners were to be elected by expatriate ratepayers and Straits-born British citizens, making the Municipal Commission the first, albeit partially, elected local government within British Malaya. However, the local elections were abolished by 1913.
  By then, Penang became home to a myriad of ethnicities and religious affinities. Aside from the sizeable Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, Eurasian and Siamese communities, there were significant minorities of Burmese, British, Javanese, Japanese, Sinhalese, Jewish, German and Armenian origin. At the time, each ethnic community had a tendency to specialise in particular trades and economic sectors. While the Europeans predominated in the various professional fields, and ran mercantile and shipping firms, the Peranakans and the Eurasians tended to enter the nascent civil service as lawyers, engineers, architects and clerks. Some of the newer Chinese arrivals, labelled derisively by the Peranakans as 'Sinkheh' (Chinese: 新客; new guests), were coolies and agricultural farmers, although many eventually entered into commercial, trading and real estate enterprises within the city; certain dialect communities, such as the Cantonese and the Hakka, found employment as artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters and cooks. The Indians were first brought in as convict workers for public works, such as public buildings, roads and drains, although a substantial Indian Muslim community also competed with the Chinese in commercial, trading and shipping stevedore activities. The Malays, meanwhile, were primarily engaged in agricultural occupations, including rice farming and fishing. Other ethnic groups, such as the Jews and the Armenians, were mainly active in mercantile, commercial and hospitality ventures, such as the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.
  Due to the influx of Chinese immigrants, the Chinese became the largest ethnic community within George Town by the 1850s, and remains so to this day. The ethnic enclaves within the city shifted with the gradual change in demographics. For instance, Chulia Street, which had been home to significant numbers of ethnic Indians, became dominated by Chinese immigrants by the turn of the century. Meanwhile, the Europeans, including British officials, p
caption: The city's Pinang Peranakan Mansion is an exquisite example of Peranakan architecture and interior design.
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