Penang and Its Region: The Story of an Asian EntrepôtSeng Guan Yeoh From its beginnings in the late eighteenth century, the vibrant colonial port of Penang attracted a diverse range of peoples, enabled pioneering commercial enterprises, and fomented inter-ethnic collaboration and inter-cultural borrowings. The island came to be known as the "Pearl of the Orient", and for many travellers it was their first port of call in Southeast Asia. In the early nineteenth century, Singapore displaced Penang in international trade, but the island remained a major focus of regional trade. For this reason, the story of Penang's relations with the Malay Peninsula and other parts of Southeast Asia reveal a great deal about conditions within the region. This collection discusses the personal networks that have linked prominent individuals in Penang with neighbouring areas, and then considers the position of the island as a whole within the Southeast Asian region. Specifically, the authors write about local entrepreneurs, mutual help associations, and cross border trading and political networks, and aspects of how the cosmopolitan population of the island negotiated the transition from British colony to Malaysian state. |
Contents
Penangs Changing Role in the Straits Settlements | 30 |
Penangs Trade and Shipping in the Imperial Age | 83 |
Views from across | 150 |
Copyright | |
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Acehnese Asian became British Malaya centre China Chinese community Choong Cheng Kean Choong family colonial commercial communist cultural Dutch early twentieth century East economic English-educated entrepôt European export feng shui Georgetown harbour Hoey Hokkien Hong Kong Ibid immigrant important IMT-GT Indian Indonesia Ipoh island Isma'il JMBRAS kapitan Kean's Kedah Khoo Kay Kim Kinta Koh Seang Kuala Lumpur KWYP Labour Party Larut leaders Lim Kean Siew LPMP Malaysia Melaka mercantile community merchants Muda National networks nineteenth century opium opium farm organizations Oxford University Press Parada Party of Malaya Patani Penang Chinese Penang Free School Penang's trade Perak peranakan Chinese political population port Province Wellesley railway regional revenue farming role route rubber School Seang Tat secret societies Selangor Siam Siamese Singapore Singapore's social Songkhla Southeast Asia Straits Settlements struggle sultan Sumatra Taiping Tan Malaka Teluk Anson Thailand tin mining Tong towkay Western