Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Francis Light Essay Example

to Noel Francis Light Purdon, the 6-times great-grandson of Francis Light, Negus was paid to look after him and be his guardian throughout his schooling.

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, Siam, 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 repel the Burmese invasion.

On behalf of the British East India Company, he leased the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah, where many others had failed by promising military aid to Sultan Abdullah from Kedah. In addition, he was supposedly given a 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.

Downing Street

Downing Street, or Lebuh Downing, is the street within the Central Business District of George Town. It was named after the famous Downing Street in London, but while the British Prime Minister has his official residence at 10 Downing Street, the British built their government offices on Penang's Downing Street. The land on which Downing Street is located was reclaimed in the early 1880s,

and from then on the block of land bordered by Downing Street, Beach Street, the future King Edward Place and the future Weld Quay was developed in stages.

Due to its civic nature, the site was called the Government Quadrangle. Beach Street Beach Street, or Lebuh Pantai, is one of the oldest streets in George Town, Penang. It was built as early as 1786 or 1787, subsequent to Light Street, to be the main commercial street of the newly established George Town. Beach Street is older and has been around longer than many of the towns on the Malayan Peninsula including Singapore, Taiping, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. Unlike arrow-straight Light Street, Beach Street was built to follow the curve of the beach, which was then right beside it.

The result, as can be seen to this day, is a meandering street as it makes its way towards the southern hinterland. Today both streets meet at the Light Street Roundabout. Bakau street Lebuh Bakau is a minor road in Jelutong, George Town. It presently forms an "L" connecting Jalan Sungai Pinang with Jalan Jelutong. It also forms a junction with Lorong Bakau. The name Lebuh Bakau means "Mangrove Street". In the early part of the 20th century, Lebuh Bakau was the centre for the making of firewood and charcoal. These were made from the logs of mangrove trees growing along the coast immediately behind Lebuh Bakau.

There are a few types of bakau trees, perhaps the most common being the Api-api (Avicennia species) and the bakau Kurap (Rhizophora species). Bishop Street Bishop Street, or Lebuh Bishop, is a street in the inner city

of George Town and within the core zone of the Unesco World Heritage Site. It derives its name from the presbytery of the Catholic bishop which was located there. Bishop Garnault had arrived on Penang Island at the invitation of Captain Francis Light, who sent a ship, the Speedwell to fetch him and a group of Eurasians.

The Catholics had settled in Kuala Kedah after escaping Siamese religious persecution in Ligor and Phuket. The Catholics arrived on the eve of the Catholic feast of the Assumption. So when they built their church, it was given the name Church of the Assumption. It was originally sited on a piece of land given to them by Francis Light, and was located on what is today known as Church Street. The makeshift church moved out of Church Street as early as 1802, and settled at the junction of Farquhar Street and Love Lane, where eventually the present Church of the Assumption was built (much later on).

Chulia lane Chulia Street, or Lebuh Chulia, is one of the major roads in George Town, Penang. Due to its length, part of it is within the core zone of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site, until the junctions of Carnavon Street and Love Lane, while the rest is within the buffer zone. Chulia Street is one of the oldest streets in George Town. It was laid out during the time of Captain Francis Light, and is one of the four main streets of his newly developed settlement, along with Light Street, Beach Street and Pitt Street.

In its earliest incarnation, it was known as Malabar Street, after

the Malabari Indians. By 1798, it had already acquired the name Chulia Street, or rather, Chulier Street, as it was then written. Until 1803, Chulier Street reached only till Love Lane. 5 monuments of Penang Clock tower The Clock Tower was Presented to Penang by local millionaire Cheah Chen Eok in 1897, the clock tower is a prominent Penang landmark and commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It stands 18 metres / 60 feet in height, with each foot representing one year of the Queen's reign.

Sadly, Queen Victoria died before the clock tower was finally finished, in 1920. Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion This stately mansion featuring 18th and 19th century Chinese architecture is the former home of Cheong Fatt Tze, a powerful industrialist and first-class Mandarin in the Manchu government, who migrated to Java in the 1850s and later moved to Penang in the early 1890s. He was Consul-General in Singapore and the Empress Dowager's economic advisor, had eight wives and owned many homes throughout his trading empire, but made this particular island his base.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion was constructed from 1896 to 1904 by master craftsmen from China. Today it is used as a hotel, and tours are conducted regularly. Fort Cornwallis Penang Island, as of today, is synonymous with its delectable hawker fare and its trails of heritage buildings and walkway. Among the many infamous historical landmarks of Penang Island - the Fort Cornwallis, which has a rich history of more than two centuries, stands out in the forefront. It is today, the largest and most intact fort that can be found in Malaysia.

Fort Cornwallis’ history

dated back to the starting point when Sir Captain Francis Light from the British East India Company, first landed on the island with his crew in the year 1786. He was to take possession of the island from the Sultan of Kedah back then, to serve as a base or stop-over for the British company’s spice and silk trading route. In order to protect the base from any foreign military forces, pirates and even Kedah itself, Francis Light decided to build a fort on the cape of the island’s north eastern coast, overlooking the sea -where he first set foot.

The initial simple fort was made out of only ‘nibong’ palm trunks as stockades, without any concrete structures. Francis Light named the fort after the Governor General in Bengal at that time – Charles Cornwallis. The fort was only reinforced with bricks years later again by Francis Light but under a different Governor, designing it as a star-shape, covering approximately 418 square feet. And though, the intention of the fort was built to withhold and defend attacks from enemy invasions, apparently no battles ever occurred throughout the headship of the British company at the fort. In the end, it is used more for administrative and storage base rather than a combat ground.

Sir Francis Light Monument

When visiting the fort, the five major must-see artefacts are, first and foremost, the statue of the legendary Sir Captain Francis Light. In fact, no visitors would be able to miss the statue of Francis Light as its positioned overlooking the fort entrance, greeting visitors. The bronze statue was sculpted by F. J.

Wilcoxson in the

year 1936 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Francis Light’s historic landing. Today, this statue, even though was sculptured based on his son, William Light’s picture, it is undeniably one of the famous icons associated with the history of the colonial era of Penang Island.

Sri Rambai Cannon

The second must-see artefact would be the infamous Sri Rambai cannon, which has a history and folklore of its own standing. The cannon were originally a gift from the Dutch to the Sultan of Johor in 1606. The cannon was then seized by the Portuguese, taken to Java, then Acheh, before being seized by British in Kuala Selangor and brought to Penang to be placed in Fort Cornwallis. As for the folklore, it is believed that infertile women would be able to conceive if they were to place flowers on the barrel of the Sri Rambai cannon, as the cannon is believed to possess superior powers that can grant the wishes of the women asking. As present, there are a total of seventeen cannons, the largest being Sri Rambai, alongside the fort’s northwest surrounding perimeters facing the sea.