In 1787, a few months after Francis Light settled in Penang on behalf of the East India Company, Captain Robert Kyd of the Bengal Engineers arrived to study the island’s harbour capabilities, the soil and the flora it supported, as well as the possible advantages the British could gain from the settlement in general. Kyd was a passionate horticulturalist and would become well known in India as General Kyd. There, he is best remembered as the man behind the famous...
Subscribe to our e-archive to read our older articles.
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.