The first English trader to visit the Malay Peninsula was Ralph Fitch who arrived in the 16th century. However, the British only became formally … See more

British policy in the late 19th and the early 20th century had been the centralisation of the Federated Malay States (FMS), which was headed by the See more

The First World War did not affect Malaya directly, aside from a naval skirmish between the renegade German cruiser SMS Emden and the Russian cruiser Zhemchug off the coast of George Town, in what became known as the Battle of Penang See more

Before the late 19th century, the British largely practised a non-interventionist policy. Several factors such as the fluctuating supply of … See more

To streamline the administration of the Malay states, and especially to protect and further develop the lucrative trade in tin and rubber, Britain sought to consolidate and centralise control … See more

During the 1930s, the world economy was in a depression. Malaya was affected by the depression due to its the integration in the global supply chain. See more

Within a year after the Second World War, the loose administration of British Malaya was finally consolidated with the formation of the Malayan Union on 1 April 1946. Singapore, however, was not included and was considered a crown colony by itself. The new union was … See more