According to localcollegeexplorer, the ancestors of modern Malaysian aborigines moved from the territories of the modern Indochinese peninsula and East Sumatra. As a result, they belong to two linguistic-ethnic groups. The ancestors of modern Malays began to move to the Malay Peninsula from the east coast of Sumatra in the early Middle Ages. This migration was especially intensive in the 7th-12th centuries. The indigenous people of the country, who inhabited it before the arrival of the Malays, were pushed back to the hard-to-reach areas of the peninsula. Somewhat later, part of the Malays from the Malay Peninsula rushed to Kalimantan.
For the first time, a written mention of the Malacca Peninsula is found in the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy under the name “Golden Chersonese”. It was believed that these lands are rich in this noble metal.
In the initial period of history in the northern part of the peninsula, there were a number of small city-states located on the banks of rivers or on the coast. All of them lived at the expense of trade and were in vassal dependence on the powerful empire of Srivijaya with its center in Palembang in Sumatra. With the fall of the latter, the territory of the peninsula became the scene of intense rivalry between Siam and the Javanese state of Majapahit.
In the beginning. 15th c. Sumatran prince Parameshvara founded the city of Malacca on the shores of the Strait of Malacca, which became one of the largest trading centers on the way from India to China. The rulers of Malacca gradually united the entire Malacca Peninsula, the Riau archipelago and part of the eastern coast of Sumatra under their rule. Malacca became the center of the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. The Malacca Sultanate lasted almost 100 years. This period is considered the “golden age” of Malaysian history.
In the beginning. 16th century the Portuguese appeared off the coast of the peninsula. In 1511, Portuguese expeditionary forces under the command of Alphonse de Albuquerque captured Malacca. The rest of the possessions of the Sultanate broke up into small principalities or was captured by Siam. The colonial period of history began.
In 1641 the Portuguese were driven out of Malacca by the Dutch. In the future, the British began to claim dominance over the city. The dispute over Malacca between the Netherlands and Great Britain was finally settled in 1824, when the powers signed an agreement on the division of spheres of influence in Southeast Asia. Previously, the British established themselves on the island of Penang and Singapore. These three strongholds were later merged into one colony, the Straits Settlements. The rest of the peninsula remained under the nominal rule of the Malay sultans. Four of them formed a federation of protectorates with an administrative center in Kuala Lumpur. The rest, also turned into protectorates, received the status of non-federal principalities. Both were subordinate to the British governor of the Straits Settlements. To con. 19th century Great Britain asserted its authority over the territories of North Kalimantan.
During the hostilities during the 2nd World War, British troops (including military personnel of the dominions – India and Australia) lost approx. 9 thousand people killed and ok. 80 thousand prisoners. Japanese losses were much smaller. In the initial period of the occupation, the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army was formed, which acted in contact with British intelligence officers left in the occupied territory. The army acted under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya and local branches of the Kuomintang Party.
In 1946, the British colonial possessions on the Malay Peninsula were united into the Union of Malaya, renamed in 1948 into the Federation of Malaya, while Singapore was withdrawn into a separate colony.
From con. 1948 outlawed the Communist Party of Malaya launched a guerrilla struggle that lasted until ser. 1980s A state of emergency was introduced, officially lasting until ser. 1960.
In the beginning. In 1956, the London Conference was held, the result of which was an agreement on the granting of independence to Malaya. On August 31, 1957 independence was proclaimed. The Federation of Malaya became a sovereign state within the British Commonwealth of Nations.
In May 1961, the concept of establishing Malaysia, a state uniting the territories of Malaya and North Kalimantan, was promulgated and approved a year later. In September 1963 the new state was proclaimed. Its creation initially met with strong opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines, which eventually recognized it.
One of the main turning points in the recent history of Malaysia was the tragic events of May 13, 1969, when several hundred people died as a result of interethnic clashes. The events became the starting point for major changes in the country’s domestic policy, the proclamation of the so-called. new economic policy providing for the granting of special rights to the indigenous Malaysian population.
