Malaysia: A map of the Fortaleza de Malaca (Malacca Fort), mid-17th century, from the Asia Portuguesa, Lisbon, 1666 - 75

In April 1511, Portuguese conquistador Afonso de Albuquerque set sail from Goa to Malacca with a force of some 1,200 men on a fleet of 17 or 18 ships. They conquered the city on August 24, 1511, and Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Sultan of Malacca, had to take refuge in the hinterland. Malacca became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies where they could exploit the spice trade.

In 1641, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese with the help of the Sultan of Johore. The Dutch ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1798, but they were not interested in developing it as a trading centre, placing greater importance in Batavia (Jakarta) on Java as their administrative centre.

Malacca was ceded to the British in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra. From 1826 to 1946, Malacca was governed by Britain, first by the British East India Company and then as a Crown Colony.

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