History of Malaysia

Malaysia has long been the meeting place for traders and sailors from Europe, the Middle East and the Far East due to its strategic location between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Therefore, it has always been interacting with foreign powers. During the 5th to 7th centuries, Hindu-Buddist influence was strong due to the influence of Srivijaya. However, by 1402, during the Golden Age of the Malacca Sultanate, Islam had become a major influence. In 1511, the Portuguese conquered Malacca. During the same period, the Dutch had been establishing their authority in Java. By 1641, the Dutch had also seized Malacca.

Following the arrival of Francis Light to Penang in 1786, the British began extending their influence over the Malay peninsular. By 1815 Malacca was in British hands, and in 1819, Stamford Raffles had founded Singapore.

Thereafter, through treaties and gunboat diplomacy, the British slowly controlled all the states of the Malay Peninsula. In East Malaysia, Sarawak had been ruled by a British adventurer named James Brooke and his descendants since 1841. In 1888, Sarawak and North Borneo (now called Sabah) became British protectorates.

By the 1920’s all the states that today comprise Malaysia were under British rule. Malaysian nationalism first surfaced in the 1930’s, and after the end of World War II it became a major force that culminated in independence for the Federation of Malaya in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

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