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The Malay Peninsula; A Record of British Progress in the Middle East
The Malay Peninsula A Record of British Progress in the Middle East Author:Arnold Wright General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1912 Original Publisher: Scribner Subjects: Great Britain Malaysia, Semenanjung Malay Peninsula Malaysia Federated Malay States Malay peninsula Malay states, Federated Malay States, Federated History / Asia / General History / Asia / Southeast Asia T... more »ravel / Asia / General Travel / Asia / China Travel / Asia / India Travel / Asia / Southeast Travel / Middle East / General Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER II THE DAWN OF BKITISH POWEK Occupation of Bencoolen -- Dire straits of the early settlers -- Social life -- The pepper trade. A CYNIC has said that the British Empire was created in a fit of absence of mind. There is more of point in the self-directed shaft than the average Briton is prepared to admit. Foresight, in the supreme direction at all events, was oftentimes singularly lacking in the early work of " pegging out claims for posterity." Conspicuously was this so in the case of British Malaya. Though to-day a compact and self-contained possession of the Crown, occupying a position of extraordinary advantage regarded from the standpoint of trade as well as of political influence, its component parts were brought together in the most casual way, in certain instances in the face of the direct opposition of those who sat in the seats of the mighty at the particular period. The first venture was a marked example of haphazard selection. The orders sent out by the Court of Directors were that a Settlement should be made at Priaman, which had been a place of resort of the Com ' pany's ships for decades, and was considered to occupy a favourable position for the staple commerce. But Mr. Ord, the official who was entr...« less