The founding of Perak
The modern state of Perak was established by Raja Muzaffar Shah, one of the sons of Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last sultan of Malacca, following the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511.
Tin mining has been carried out in Perak on a small scale for centuries. In the 17th century, the Dutch attempted unsuccessfully to monopolise the Perak tin trade by constructing forts at the mouth of the Perak River and on Pangkor Island. The Dutch Fort, also known as Kota Kayu, built by the Dutch in 1670 on Pangkor Island can still be seen today.
Perak is the first state in Malaysia to enjoy development due to tin mining. The town of Taiping got a head start in development, being the early recipient of the prosperity from tin.
Large scale tin mining began following the discovery of rich tin deposits in 1848 by Long Jaafar, the headman of the area. The district was eventually named after Long Jaafar's elephant, Larut, on whose feet the initial tin ore was found. Two years later, in 1850, Long Jaafer was made the Menteri, or chief, of the Larut district. He was succeeded by his son, Ngah Ibrahim, in 1857.
Large numbers of Chinese coolies were brought in to work the mines. They formed two rival clan associations, the Hakka-based Goh Kuan or "5 Associations", which is controlled by the Hai San Secret Society, and the Cantonese-based Si Kuan or "4 Associations", controlled by the Ghee Hin Secret Society. The friction between the Hai San and the Ghee Hin led to open warfare, called Larut Wars.
There were four Larut Wars fought between the two camps, in 1861-62, 1865, 1871 and 1873. Alarmed by the erosion of their profit, the Chinese traders in Penang who had financed the tin mining activities of Larut, urged the British to intervene. The British intervention brought about the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 which was signed aboard The Pluto, a ship anchor at the mouth of the Perak River off Pangkor Island, and signed by Straits Settlement Governor Sir Andrew Clarke, Hai San leader Chung Keng Kwee, Captain S. Dunlop, Frank Swettenham and William A. Pickering. J.W.W. Birch was appointed the first British Resident of Perak on 4 November 1874. Captain Speedy, who was brought in by Ngah Ibrahim to keep order, was appointed Assistant to the British Resident.
From the start, JWW Birch was extremely unpopular with the Malay rulers and nobles. They regarded him as haughty and unjust. Among their grievances included his outlawing of slavery, and yet continued to use slaves within his own household. Dato Maharajalela was personally affected, as his income was derived from capturing Orang Asli as slaves. Within a year of Birch's administration, the nobles were already plotting to liquidate him. The murder took place at Pasir Salak.
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