England / Malaysia / Thailand: Captain Sir Francis Light (1740-1794), founder of the British colony of Penang, now Penang State, Malaysia

Francis Light served as a Royal Navy midshipman from 1759 to 1763, but went out to seek his fortune in the colonies. From 1765, he worked as a private country trader. For about ten years he had his headquarters in Salang, Thailand, near Phuket, reviving a failed French trading post. While living there he learned to speak and write several languages, including Malay and Siamese. In 1785, he warned the Thais on Phuket Island of an imminent Burmese attack. Light's warning enabled the islanders to prepare for Phuket's defence and subsequently to repel the Burmese invasion. For the British East India Company, he leased the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah, where many others had failed, and was supposedly given the Princess of Kedah as a reward (other sources state that the Princess was sent to covet Light's aid on behalf of the Sultan). The multicultural colony of Penang became extraordinarily successful from its inception and Light served as the Superintendent of the colony until his death.

Light died from malaria on 21 October 1794 and was buried at the Catholic Cemetery on Northam Road (now Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah) in George Town. A statue which bears his name but has the facial features of his son William stands at Fort Cornwallis in George Town.

Light had four daughters and two sons with Martina Rozells, who was said to be of Portuguese and Siamese lineage. Martina is occasionally referred to in the literature as the Princess of Kedah, as above. If they were legally married, he did not declare it. However, it was against East India Company rules to marry a Catholic and, as Martina was Catholic, Light may have tried to avoid dismissal by never declaring his marriage. He did leave her his considerable property. Their son, Colonel William Light, was the founder of Adelaide in Australia.

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Pictures From History

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East India Companies