Malacca History
THE HISTORY OF MALACCA
Malacca is a small state encompassing 1657km2 on the Western Peninsular of Malaysia. Geographically positioned along East-West trading route, at the busiest and narrowest point of Straits of Malacca, the state experienced a unique culmination of cultural and historical influences from Malay Sultanate (1400-1511), Portuguese colonial (1511-1641), Dutch colonial (1641-1795), English colonial (1795-1942, 1945-1957) and Japanese occupancy (1942-1945). Today, independent Malacca (since 1957) is a modern state that offers intriguing historical reminders of its past.
Map showing Malacca (just below Kuala Lumpur) positioned strategiccally in the middle of East-west trading route, at the narrowest part of the straits.
Malacca and its glorious starts
Sometimes in 1400, the history of Malacca began with the story of the place for which it was named, which began with the fascinating and partly legendary tale of the Hindu prince from Palembang, Parameswara who was driven out of Temasik by Siamese, founded Malacca and named
the land after the tree which he was resting under, Malaka. The land in actual, is a strategic and well protected river mouth surrounded by hills and from the prevailing monsoon. Being on the narrowest part of the Straits with the deep water near its side, the river mouth formed a small harbor overlooked by the hill on which the ruler and his chiefs could build a fortified stockade protected on the land side by marshes. Soon traders began to call and the little settlement prospered. Parameswara became the first ruler of the famed Melaka Sultanate and later embraced Islam with the name of Sultan Mansur Syah. The second Sultan of Malacca, Muzaffar Shah, led the territorial expansion of the sultanate and with it the growth of trading centre and the spread of Islam. One of the major factors contributed to the rise of Malacca as trading centre was the monsoon winds that enabled Arab and Indian traders from the west to travel to
Malacca is a small state encompassing 1657km2 on the Western Peninsular of Malaysia. Geographically positioned along East-West trading route, at the busiest and narrowest point of Straits of Malacca, the state experienced a unique culmination of cultural and historical influences from Malay Sultanate (1400-1511), Portuguese colonial (1511-1641), Dutch colonial (1641-1795), English colonial (1795-1942, 1945-1957) and Japanese occupancy (1942-1945). Today, independent Malacca (since 1957) is a modern state that offers intriguing historical reminders of its past.
Map showing Malacca (just below Kuala Lumpur) positioned strategiccally in the middle of East-west trading route, at the narrowest part of the straits.
Malacca and its glorious starts
Sometimes in 1400, the history of Malacca began with the story of the place for which it was named, which began with the fascinating and partly legendary tale of the Hindu prince from Palembang, Parameswara who was driven out of Temasik by Siamese, founded Malacca and named
the land after the tree which he was resting under, Malaka. The land in actual, is a strategic and well protected river mouth surrounded by hills and from the prevailing monsoon. Being on the narrowest part of the Straits with the deep water near its side, the river mouth formed a small harbor overlooked by the hill on which the ruler and his chiefs could build a fortified stockade protected on the land side by marshes. Soon traders began to call and the little settlement prospered. Parameswara became the first ruler of the famed Melaka Sultanate and later embraced Islam with the name of Sultan Mansur Syah. The second Sultan of Malacca, Muzaffar Shah, led the territorial expansion of the sultanate and with it the growth of trading centre and the spread of Islam. One of the major factors contributed to the rise of Malacca as trading centre was the monsoon winds that enabled Arab and Indian traders from the west to travel to