The clock tower in Malacca was built by a Chinese “to fulfill the desires of his father”. The fountain was built to commemorate Queen Victoria of the British Empire. The Christ Church and the Stadthuys (Town Hall) were built by the Dutch. We visited St. Paul’s Church and Porta de Santiago that were originally built by the Portuguese in the 1500s. The gate (Porta de Santiago) is the only remaining part of a fort called A Famosa.

In 1511, the Portuguese defeated Sultan Mahmud Shah’s army and ruled Malacca for 130 years. It fell into the hands of the Dutch in 1641. In 1790 (149 years later), when the Dutch had to concentrate on fighting Napoleon in Europe, they gave Malacca to the British for sort of a safekeeping. Knowing that this important port would eventually have to be returned to the Dutch, the British started sabotaging Malacca because the British had begun developing Penang (another important port on the Strait of Malacca).

By the time Malacca was returned to the Dutch in 1819 (29 years later), the city was neglected and in disrepair. Since the “British-owned” Bencoolen, on the island of Jawa (now part of Indonesia), was surrounded by “Dutch-owned” territories, the two empires decided to swap their spoils in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. “Malaya” later gained its independence from the British in 1957.

Kenric and I will be visiting the Melaka Sultanate Museum before we leave. It will be a refresher to the history lessons I had when I was ten. After that, I shall share with you the glorious history of Malacca before the arrival of Europeans.

Map of Places Visited