Melaka

Melaka, town and port, Peninsular (West) Malaysia, on the Strait of Malacca, at the mouth of the sluggish Melaka River. The city was founded about 1400, when Paramesvara, the ruler of Tumasik (now Singapore), fled from the forces of the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit and found refuge at the site, then a small fishing village. There he founded a Malay kingdom, the kings of which—aided by the Chinese—extended their power over the peninsula. The port became a major stopping place for traders to replenish their food supplies and obtain fresh water from the hill springs. Malay rule ended in 1511, when Alfonso d’Albuquerque, viceroy of the Portuguese Indies, conquered Malacca. During the 16th century Malacca developed into the most important trading port in Southeast Asia. Indian, Arab, and European merchants regularly visited there, and the Portuguese realized enormous profits from the especially lucrative spice trade that passed through the port.

A period of Dutch rule, which began in 1641, was interrupted by the British in 1795. The rivalry was settled in favour of the British by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London (1824), and Malacca became one of the original Straits Settlements (with Penang and Singapore) in 1826.

Heavy silting of the Malacca estuary, combined with the rise of Singapore, led to Malacca’s decline. Modern harbour facilities are limited to offshore anchorage. The river’s mouth is protected against silting by two groynes (low walls) projecting outward for 0.5 mile (0.8 km). Melaka remains significant, however, as an exporter of rubber from its hinterland and as an importer of general cargo (sugar and rice).

The surrounding region has a number of fruit and coconut small holdings, but rubber is its primary export. Rubber has come under highly commercialized production because of Malacca’s early overseas-trading economy. Malaccan Chinese were the first to venture into commercial rubber production (1898), and there are now large Chinese estates and smallholdings in the region.

The town of Melaka presents a sleepy, unhurried atmosphere; its single-storied houses include many dating from the Dutch and Portuguese colonial periods. Its residents are mostly Chinese, many of whom have, through intermarriage, adopted the dress and speech of the Malays. This mixed ethnicity, known as Baba Chinese, together with Malay-Portuguese-Dutch admixtures, is unique in Malaysian ethnography.

A low hill on the river’s southern bank is occupied by the ruins of the Old Fort, designed by Albuquerque. The Portuguese also built St. Paul’s Church (1521), now a ruin, which held the body of St. Francis Xavier until its removal in 1553 to Goa, India. The Stadthuys (Town Hall) is an example of mid-17th century Dutch architecture. Christ Church, St. John’s Fort, a cultural museum, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, and a Chinese cemetery with graves dating from the Ming dynasty are also there. The town has an airport and road links to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Melaka’s unique cultural and architectural history was recognized in 2008 when it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pop. (2000 prelim.) urban agglom., 149,518.