Heritage fort in UNESCO town
George Town on the island of Penang was established as a trading port in 1786. Fort Cornwallis marks the spot where Captain Francis Light and his crew from the British East India company landed on the 17th of July 1786.
The original fort was a wooden one, work began to replace it with bricks in 1793 and it was given a major upgrade in 1804 to what can be seen now. Throughout its history the fort never engaged in any battle even when the Japanese took control of Penang during World War II. The fort is named for the Governor General of Bengal at the time, Charles Marquis Cornwallis.
Fort Cornwallis was built as a star shaped fort so it could be easily defended from all sides.
Statue of Francis Light in the grounds of Fort Cornwallis. There are no images of Francis so his statue is based on images of his son Captain William Light who established the city of Adelaide in Australia. As well as being a surveyor William was also an artist who painted some self portraits so there is a record of his appearance.
Francis lobbied the East India Company for many years to establish a trading post on Penang Island. He was eventually successful, he leased Penang Island from the local sultan for 6,000 Spanish dollars per annum. He named the colony George Town after the British King George III. The trading post was successful and Francis was named the superintendent, George Town became a multicultural town, which by Francis' death had a population of 20,000. Francis died in George Town from Malaria in October 1794 and is buried in the Old Protestant cemetery there.
The fort isn't very big but still worth visiting to experience what early colonial life was like.
The Seri Rambai cannon predates the fort, it was presented by the Dutch the Sultan of Johor in 1606. Seven years later the Portuguese took possession of the cannon and it was taken to Java, where it stayed for nearly 200 years. It then got moved to Aceh and Kuala Selangor before the British seized the cannon in 1871 and brought it to Penang and it was installed on the Esplanade. It finally made it into the grounds of the fort after World War II. It is a very well travelled cannon!
The fort as seen from the Esplanade, with the cannons pointing out to sea. In the distance can be seen the flagstaff in the shape of a ship's mast. It was used to warn approaching ships. The flagstaff was replaced by a lighthouse, the top of which can just be seen. This was a newer version of the lighthouse built in 1914.
The trading post at George Town marks the beginning of British Malaysia and George Town has a variety of landmarks that display that part of its history.
Comments
Post a Comment