Penang Island

Penang Island (Malay: Pulau Pinang; Chinese: 檳榔嶼) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coat of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British East India Company on 12 August 1786, in honour of the birthday of the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. The capital George Town, was named after the reigning King George III.

Malaysia has another island called "Pulau Pinang", which is a diving site located in South China Sea and part of the Johor Marine Park, which consists a group of islands: Pulau Aur, Pulau Dayang, Pulau Lang, and Pulau Pinang itself.

History

Penang was originally part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah. On 11 August 1786, Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company landed in Penang and renamed it Prince of Wales Island in honour of heir to the British throne. Light then received it as a portion on his marriage to the daughter of the Sultan of Kedah. Light ceded Penang to the Government of India and promised the Sultan military protection from Siamese and Burmese armies who were threatening Kedah. Light is now credited as the founder of Penang.

Many early settlers succumbed to malaria, earning Penang the epithet "the White Man's Grave".

Unbeknownst to the Sultan, Light had acted without the approval of the East India Company when he promised military protection. When the Company failed to aid Kedah when Siam attacked it, the Sultan tried to retake the island in 1790. The...
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