How Penang’s Early Prominence was Lost
By Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
May 2018 WINDOW INTO HISTORY
The early decades in the life of Prince of Wales Island did not see it live up to the expectations of its administrators, especially as a ship-building port. But as a trading station at the northern end of the Straits of Malacca, the port of Penang did succeed very well, which was what prompted the East India Company to make it its Fourth Presidency (alongside Calcutta, Bombay and Madras) in 1805.The following abstract is an attempt to understand why Penang,...
Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
is the Executive Director of Penang Institute. His latest book is Signals in the Noise: Notes on Penang, Malaysia and the World (Singapore: Faction Press) Homepage: wikibeng.com.
