The History of Malacca
Historical Melaka(Malacca) is indeed the soul of the nation. It is here where we link our past to the present, on how we have grown and changed along the centuries. The highlight is the historic port city, also called Melaka. In the 14th century, Melaka was just a fishing village until it attracted Parameswara, a Hindu prince from Sumatra. He had fled Majapahit Empire in Sumatra and went to Temasik(Singapore) before finally settling in Melaka in 1396. Under Parameswara, Melaka soon became a favoured port for merchants resupplying their ships or waiting out the monsoons. Halfway between China and India, Melaka attracted merchants from all over the East. In 1405 Admiral Cheng Ho of China arrived in Melaka bearing gifts from the Ming emperor and protection from Siamese enemies. Chinese settlers followed and intermingled with the locals, married them and adopted Malay customs. They came to be known as the Peranakan or Straits Chinese. The husband is called Baba and the wife Nyonya and speaks the Baba Malay, a mix of Malay and Chinese Hokkien. Like the Chinese Peranakan, Indians traders from Panai, Tamil Nadu India also settled, married the locals and adopted Malay customs. These Indian peranakans are called Chitty and most are unable to communicate in Tamil fluently. By the time of Parameswara’s death in 1414, Melaka was already a bustling trading state. Islam was introduced here through traders from India. The third ruler of Melaka, Maharaja Mohammed Shah, converted to Islam, and his son, Mudzaffar Shah, took the title of sultan and made Islam the state religion. Soon the religion spread to most of the peninsula.
In 1509 the Portuguese arrived at Melaka seeking the wealth of the spice and China trades, but after an initially friendly reception, they were attacked by Melakans and some were captured. This prompted an outright assault by the Portuguese, and in 1511 Alfonso de Albuquerque took the city, forcing the Sultan to flee to Johor, where he re-established his kingdom. The period of Portuguese strength in the East was short-lived, as Melaka suffered harrying attacks from rulers of neighbouring Johor and Negeri Sembilan, as well as from the Islamic power of Aceh in Sumatra. Melaka passed into Dutch hands after an eight-month siege in 1641 and was ruled for about 150 years. In Melaka they built fine public buildings and churches, which remain the most solid reminders of European presence. When the French occupied Holland in 1795, the British, allies of the Dutch, temporarily took over administration of the Dutch colonies, which include Melaka. In 1824 Melaka was permanently ceded to the British. Melaka, together with Penang and Singapore, formed the Straits Settlements, the three British centres for later expansion into the peninsula. Melaka eventually decline in the wake of a rapidly growing Singapore and became a quiet backwater.
