British Colonialism (History of Perak Part 2 ! )

British Colonialism 
In this segment, we're going to discuss about the British colonialism during the 1820's and so on. So sit back, relax, and prepare to get bored!

The Sultan of Abdullah of Perak
Introduction

In the 19th century, the Bugis, Acehnese, and the Siamese were all attempted to invade Perak, and only British intervention in 1820 prevented Siam from annexing Perak. Although the British were initially reluctant to establish a colonial presence in Malaya, increasing investment in the tin mines brought a great influx of Chinese immigrants, including Foo Ming, who formed rival clan groups allied with Malay chiefs and local gangsters which all fought for control of the mines. The Perak Sultanate was unable to maintain order as it was embroiled in a protracted succession crisis, .

In her book The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither, Victorian traveller and adventurer Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904) describes how Raja Muda Abdullah (as he then was) turned to his friend in Singapore,Tan Kim Ching. Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore, drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." In 1874, the Straits Settlements governor Sir Andrew Clarke convened a meeting on Pulau Pangkor, at which Sultan Abdullah was installed on the throne of Perak in preference to his rival, Sultan Ismail. This Pangkor Treaty also required that the Sultan of Perak accept a British Resident, a post granted wide administrative powers.

In 1875, various Perak chiefs assassinated the British Resident James W. W. Birch, resulting in the short-livedPerak War of 1876. Sultan Abdullah was exiled to the Seychelles, and the British installed a new ruler. The new resident, Sir Hugh Low, was well-versed in the Malay language and local customs, and proved to be a more capable administrator. He also introduced the first rubber trees in Malaya. Perak joined Selangor, Negeri Sembilanand Pahang to form the Federated Malay States in 1896. However, the British Resident system persisted until the Malayan Union was established in 1948. Perak (as a component of the Federation of Malaya) gained its independence from the British on 31 August 1957.