Formerly part of Kedah, Pulau Pinang (island of the Betel nut) which was known then, was acquired on behalf of the English East India Company as a naval and trading base by Francis Light, a private trader in 1786, from the Sultan of Kedah.

The false undertaking of Penang which was supposedly to protect the sultan from his enemies, was not recoverable from the British after the latter’s control over this island.

The British then named the island after the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales, as its acquisition fell on his birthday, and the island’s new capital, Georgetown after the reigning British monarch, George III.

In 1832, Penang formed part of the Straits Settlement with Malacca and Singapore as a Crown Colony, until the conquest of the Japanese in 1941.

During the mid-nineteen century, the island gained the reputation as a major trading post dealing in tea, spices, china and cloth. Penang's fortune also rose from exporting the produce of the mainland, rich with tin, rubber and crops which consequently encouraged the influx of immigrants.

For more than a hundred years, Penang remained under the British Colonial rule. Its independence in 1957 joined the making of the newly formed Federation of Malaya, and then later in 1963 became one of the 13 states of Malaysia.