Editing George Town, Penang (section)

=== British rule ===
[[File:KITLV - 80020 - Kleingrothe, C.J. - Medan - Quay in Penang - circa 1910.tif|left|thumb|The [[Port of Penang]] at [[Weld Quay, George Town|Weld Quay]] {{Circa|1910}}, photo by [[C.J. Kleingrothe]]. Port functions were eventually relocated to mainland [[Seberang Perai]] in 1974.<ref name="TaiwanU" />|alt=Vessels docked along a seafronting street in the city circa 1910.]]

As Light intended, George Town grew rapidly as a [[Free economic zone|free port]] and a conduit for [[spice trade]], taking maritime commerce from [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch]] posts in the region.<ref name="Jackson201322">{{cite book |author=Ashley Jackson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rv7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=Buildings of Empire |date=November 2013 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-958938-8 |pages=7 |access-date=21 February 2016 |archive-date=16 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316153055/https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rv7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ooi |first=Kee Beng |date=2014 |title=When Penang Became a Spice Island |url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=4394&name=when_penang_became_a_spice_island |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529215436/http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=4394&name=when_penang_became_a_spice_island |archive-date=29 May 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |website=Penang Monthly}}</ref><ref name="Khoo-2007">{{Cite book |last=Khoo |first=Su Nin |url=https://archive.org/details/streetsofgeorget00khoo |title=Streets of George Town, Penang |publisher=Areca Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-983-9886-00-9 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The spice trade allowed the EIC to cover the administrative costs of Penang.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ludher |first=Swaran |title=They Came to Malaya |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |year=2015 |isbn=9781503500365}}</ref> The threat of French invasion in the midst of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] forced the British to enlarge and reinforce [[Fort Cornwallis]] as the garrison for the settlement.<ref name="Langdon-2014" />

Local governance committees were formed from 1796 to resolve specific matters of administration.<ref name="Koay-2014">{{Cite web |last=Koay Su Lin |first=Steven Sim |date=2014 |title=A History of Local Elections in Penang Part I: Democracy Comes Early |url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=4390&name=a_history_of_local_elections_in_penangpart_i_democracy_comes_early |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918154421/http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=4390&name=a_history_of_local_elections_in_penangpart_i_democracy_comes_early |archive-date=18 September 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |website=Penang Monthly}}</ref> However, there were no unified legal systems in place to maintain order in the settlement. Light, who believed that feudal laws instituted by the newly-immigrated settlers were incompatible with [[Law of the United Kingdom|British law]], initially implemented a system in 1792 whereby matters of justice were partially delegated to local leaders.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tan |first=Soo Chye |date=1950 |title=A Note on Early Legislation in Penang |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41559485 |journal=[[Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society]] |volume=1 |issue=151 |pages=100–107 |jstor=41559485 |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227154156/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41559485 |url-status=live }}</ref> This decision was ratified by [[George Alexander William Leith|Lieutenant-Governor George Leith]] in 1800. However, further legal disputes meant that under the directives of the [[Bengal Presidency]], this system was replaced by a set of regulations in 1805, drafted by Leith and revised by John Dickens, the presidency's appointed judge and magistrate for Penang.{{Sfn|Tan|1950|pp=104{{ndash}}105}}

In 1807, a Charter of Justice was granted which mandated the establishment of a "Court of Judicature" composed of the Governor, a [[List of recorders of Penang, Singapore, and Malacca|recorder]] and three councillors.<ref name="Keat Gin-2015">{{Cite journal |last=Keat Gin |first=Ooi |date=2015 |title=Disparate Identities: Penang from a Historical Perspective, 1780–1941 |url=http://web.usm.my/km/33(Supp.2)2015/km33s22015_03.pdf |journal=Kajian Malaysia – Journal of Malaysian Studies |publisher=[[Universiti Sains Malaysia]] |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=27–52 |access-date=22 December 2023 |archive-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031500/http://web.usm.my/km/33%28Supp.2%292015/km33s22015_03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The high court was inaugurated at Fort Cornwallis in the following year, with [[Edmond Stanley]] as recorder.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kyshe |first=Norton |url=https://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/flipviewer/data/booksg_publish/1/1d705815-ea3f-4bd3-be62-038443bb230f/web/html5/index.html?opf=tablet/BOOKSG.xml&launchlogo=tablet/BOOKSG_BrandingLogo_.png&pn=49 |title=Cases Heard and Determined in Her Majesty's Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements, 1808–1884. Vol. I, Civil Cases |publisher=Singapore and Straits Print |year=1885 |volume=1 |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=16 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316153049/https://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/flipviewer/data/booksg_publish/1/1d705815-ea3f-4bd3-be62-038443bb230f/web/html5/index.html?opf=tablet/BOOKSG.xml&launchlogo=tablet/BOOKSG_BrandingLogo_.png&pn=49 |url-status=live }}</ref> With the establishment of the court, George Town became the first settlement in [[British Malaya]] to possess a modern judicial system.<ref name="Federal Court of Malaysia-2016">{{Cite book |url=https://www.kehakiman.gov.my/sites/default/files/documents/Laporan_Tahunan/YearBook2016.pdf |title=The Malaysian Judiciary: Yearbook 2016 |publisher=[[Federal Court of Malaysia]] |year=2016 |page=XV |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230082715/https://www.kehakiman.gov.my/sites/default/files/documents/Laporan_Tahunan/YearBook2016.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1826, George Town was made the capital of the [[Straits Settlements]], which also comprised [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]] and [[Malacca]]. In 1832, the administrative centre was relocated to Singapore, as it surpassed George Town in commercial and strategic prominence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Singapore Becomes Admin Centre of the Straits Settlements |url=https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=e9600931-19db-4a18-8366-8ae5aea35464 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=[[National Library Board]] |archive-date=13 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113125241/https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=e9600931-19db-4a18-8366-8ae5aea35464 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jaime Koh" /> Despite its secondary importance to Singapore, George Town continued to play a crucial role as a British entrepôt. Following the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869 and a tin mining boom in the [[Malay Peninsula]], the [[Port of Penang]] became a leading exporter of tin.<ref name="Langdon-2014" /><ref name="Wong-2015">{{Cite book |last=Wong |first=Yee Tuan |title=Penang Chinese Commerce in the 19th Century: The Rise and Fall of the Big Five |publisher=ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute |year=2015 |isbn=978-981-4515-02-3}}</ref> By the end of the 19th century, George Town emerged as the foremost financial centre of British Malaya, as mercantile firms and international banks were established.<ref name="Langdon-2014" /><ref name="Hockton-2012">{{Cite book |last=Hockton |first=Keith |title=Penang: An Inside Guide to Its Historic Homes, Buildings, Monuments and Parks. |publisher=[[MPH Group]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-967-415-303-8 }}</ref><ref name="Wong-2015" />

Throughout the century, George Town's population grew rapidly in tandem with economic prosperity. Between 1797 and 1830, an influx of immigrants from all over Asia quadrupled its population.<ref name="Lewis-2016" /><ref name="Keat Gin-2015" /> A cosmopolitan population emerged, comprising [[Penangite Chinese|Chinese]], [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]], [[Malaysians of Indian descent in Penang|Indian]], [[Peranakan Chinese|Peranakan]], [[Malaysian Siamese|Siamese]] and migrants of mixed European-Asian lineage referred to as "Eurasians". The population growth also created social problems, such as inadequate health facilities and rampant crime, with the latter culminating in [[1867 Penang riots|rioting in 1867]].<ref name="Ooi-19912">{{Cite journal |last=Ooi |first=Giok Ling |date=2 September 1991 |title=British Colonial Health Care Development and the Persistence of Ethnic Medicine in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore |url=https://kyoto-seas.org/pdf/29/2/290202.pdf |journal=[[National University of Singapore]] |via=[[Kyoto University]] |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214024559/https://kyoto-seas.org/pdf/29/2/290202.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 September 1867 |title=The Disturbances at Penang |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28607543 |access-date=25 May 2017 |via=Trove |archive-date=16 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316153058/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28607543 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Chun Wai |date=20 April 2013 |title=A cowboy town that was old Penang |work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/04/20/a-cowboy-town-that-was-old-penang_1/ |access-date=30 December 2017 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920001924/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/04/20/a-cowboy-town-that-was-old-penang_1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

George Town came under direct British rule when the Straits Settlements [[Transfer of the Straits Settlements|became a British crown colony]] in 1867.<ref name="Jaime Koh">{{Cite web |last=Jaime Koh |title=Straits Settlements |url=https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=b0d91ecc-3de3-4e79-a132-b2d0d886bb98#:~:text=The%20Straits%20Settlements%2C%20comprising%20Penang,East%20India%20Company%20in%20India. |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=[[National Library Board]] |archive-date=13 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113125242/https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=b0d91ecc-3de3-4e79-a132-b2d0d886bb98#:~:text=The%20Straits%20Settlements%2C%20comprising%20Penang,East%20India%20Company%20in%20India. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Straits Settlements |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-07-30_084623.html |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=[[National Library Board]] |archive-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044501/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-07-30_084623.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Law enforcement and immigration control were gradually strengthened to suppress [[Triad (organized crime)|organised crime]].<ref name="Turnbull">{{Cite journal |last=Turnbull |first=C. M. |author-link=Mary Turnbull |title=The Penang Story |url=https://tsnra.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/the-pg-story.pdf |journal=Penang's Changing Role in the Straits Settlements, 1826–1946 |access-date=6 February 2024 |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206142055/https://tsnra.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/the-pg-story.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Asian Studies |journal=Government Legislation for Chinese Secret Societies in the Straits Settlements in the Late 19th. Century}}</ref> More investments were also made on the settlement's health care and public transportation.<ref name="Lewis-2016" /><ref name="Ooi-19912" /><ref name="Francis-2006" />

Advances in education and living standards gave rise to a non-European gentry and middle class, which in turn fostered nascent intellectual activities and political movements.<ref name="Turnbull" /><ref name="Daniel Goh-2014" /> George Town, according to historian [[Mary Turnbull]], emerged as "a Mecca for Asian intellectuals", who perceived it to be more intellectually receptive than Singapore.<ref name="Lewis-2016" /><ref name="Turnbull" /><ref name="Daniel Goh-2014">{{Cite journal |last=Daniel Goh |first=P. S. |date=2014 |title=Between History and Heritage: Post-Colonialism, Globalisation, and the Remaking of Malacca, Penang and Singapore |url=http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/socgohd/trans_2.1.pdf |journal=Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia |volume=2 |access-date=13 October 2016 |archive-date=21 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021051627/http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/socgohd/trans_2.1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The settlement was a centre for reformist newspapers, and attracted political and intellectual figures such as [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[W. Somerset Maugham]] and [[Sun Yat-sen]].<ref name="Langdon-2014" /><ref name="Turnbull" /><ref name="Reuters-2007" /> However, political turmoil in [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]] and the influx of Chinese migrants posed security concerns among the British authorities. Sun chose George Town as the headquarters for revolutionary activities by the [[Tongmenghui]] in Southeast Asia that eventually launched the [[Wuchang Uprising]], a precursor to the [[1911 Revolution|Xinhai Revolution]] that ushered in the beginning of [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republican China]].<ref name="Reuters-2007">{{Cite news |date=21 January 2007 |title=Chinese Hero's Memory Burns Bright in Penang House |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-china-revolutionary-idUSKLR3439920070103 |access-date=13 October 2023 |work=Reuters |language=en |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015020205/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-china-revolutionary-idUSKLR3439920070103 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sun Yat Sen |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_845__2009-01-07.html |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=[[National Library Board]] |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710105618/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_845__2009-01-07.html |url-status=live }}</ref>