F From the earliest of times during the dawn of Melaka as a important trade center, traders and travelers were attracted by the city's unique blend of different culture derived from a cosmopolitan society and the beauty of its land.

The most important factor in Melaka's history has been it's geographical location. The Malay Peninsula separates the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea. In ancient times, the penisula was a convenient landing point for Indian and Chinese traders. The north east monsoon (wind & rainy season) which lasts from December to March, brought sailing ships from India to the Malay Peninsula. They then waited for the southwest monsoon, which last from June to October, to continue their voyages to China and vice-versa.

Location: The city of Melaka is located on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Straits of Malacca, about 147 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between the states of Negri Sembilan and Johor. The modern city covers about an area of 658 square kilometers. It longitude and latitude are at about 2.29°N 102.30°E.

Physical Features: Melaka had the advantage of being on the narrowest part of the Straits where the deep water channel was near to the Malay Peninsula side. The river mouth formed a small harbour overlooked by the Melaka hill on which the ruler and his chiefs could build a fortified stockade protected on the land side by marshes.

The country is bordered in the west by the Straits of Malacca, and on the east and the north by high mountains and tropical rainforests. The soil along the mountains is sandy and brackish. The fields are not fertile and produce little rice for which reason its people do not occupy themselves much with agriculture.

Climate: Melaka is hot and humid throughout the year. Average daily temperatures vary from about 21° to 32°C (70° to 90°F), humidity is usually 90%. The wet rainy season are during the months of September and December. When it rains, it generally interrupts the sunshine only briefly and most of it falls in short but strong bursts.

History: The origin of the name Melaka has been long debated by historians. However most have accept that it was derived from a tree commonly called Pokok Melaka (or Phyllanthus emblica or Malacca tree) which had shaded Permaisura during the encounter of his hunting dogs with the aggressive white mousedeer. The Melaka tree has juicy fruits located at the base of the leafy twigs and once grew in great abundance along the banks of the Melaka river.

In terms of trade, the city of Melaka was certainly the centre of commerce in Southeast Asia - the largest marketplace in the world for goods from India and the West, China and the Spice islands.

But Melaka's greatest glory was not in its military prowess or its prosperity and riches - it was in the flowering of Malay culture, literature and society. It was a remarkably cosmopolitan society - Malays, Indians (both Hindus and Muslims), Chinese, Javanese, Turks, Arabs, Burmese, Siamese, all flocked to share in its peace, stability and prosperity.

At its peak, Melaka became the most important port in the East, between the Mediterranean Sea and China. Over 80 languages were spoken there, and at times there were more than 4,000 traders housed in special quarters. There was the Indian quarter, the Chinese quarter, the Javanese quarter, and others. They were treated well and warehouses were made available to store their goods. The Syahbandar or the Port Authority took care of their needs, while the Melaka fleet, comprising 40 to 100 ships, guaranteed the safety of the merchants and their goods.

Merchants from Pegu in Burma also frequented the port of Melaka. Annually, 40 to 50 ships sailed into Melaka laden with precious stones, silver and foodstuffs. The merchants would stay in Melaka for about a month to trade, sell their ships, and then return home with pottery and other items brought to Melaka by traders from India and Arabia.

Siamese merchants, too, had good trade ties with Melaka. About 30 junks carrying rice, dried fish, wine, rubies, and slaves would call upon Melaka annually. Junks from Luzon in the Philippines would bring gold, forest products and food to Melaka.

The source of food for Melaka was in Malay Archipelago, which also had an abundant supply of spices to offer the international market at that time. Ships from Melaka regularly sailed to Demak, Grisek and Japara in Eastern Java to transport these necessary items home for use and re-sale.

The entire trading activities of Melaka was controlled by the Sultan and his courtiers. They bought and sold goods, provided capital to their agents, bought and built ships, administered the port, and levied taxes. Sultan Muzaffar Shah was directly involved in ship-building activities, while another aristocrat, Bendahara (Chief Minister) Tun Mutahir became one of the richest man in Melaka via his prominent role in the market.

The Straits of Melaka provided excellent shelter from the prevailing storms raging in the open ocean. In those halcyon days, the port could handle ocean-going vessels from all over the world. The Melaka Sultanate enjoyed a good relationship with the Ming Emperors of China, namely Emperor Yung Lo. In this way, the area became safe from piracy and full of promise and prosperity.

The city and the port was governed by laws. At sea, the ships were considered nations complete with its own administration. The captain was as the Sultan, the navigator as Bendahara or Chief Minister, the discipline officer as Temenggong or police chief, and the crew as the people. The crew must perform their duties well, otherwise they would be fined by the captain.

The Melaka Laws were known as Risalah Hukum Kanun in Arabic. They were formulated in the mid-15th century for Sultan Muzaffar Shah. However, they were only said to be put in writing in the early 18th century in the Riau Islands by Sultan Sulaiman Shah.

The Melaka laws were a combination of the Islamic Syariah law and traditional Malay customs (adat). They accorded special status and privileges to the ruling class, whereby only the ruler could wear yellow clothes and carry specially-made daggers with gold infused into the blade and handle. Rebels faced capital punishment, and petty criminals from among the people were harshly punished.

The government structure of the Melaka Sultanate was like a pyramid with the Sultan at the apex as the all- powerful Head of State. Under him, there was a council of 4 Ministers, namely the Bendahara, who controlled the military, defence, and royal customs and traditions. The Temenggong, as Chief of Police, controlled internal affairs relating to peace and order. The third key post was held by the Penghulu Bendahari who was the Sultan’s Treasurer cum Secretary. The Laksamana was the Admiral who controlled the fleet.

Under the four Ministers, there were 8 senior directors, all bearing the title Sri. Under them were 16 junior directors with the title Raja. At the bottom of the hierarchy were 32 government officers whose job was to aid the Ministers in carrying out their duties. Some of them were district or regional chiefs.

This administrative system was soon implemented by all the states in the Malay Peninsula, which at that time were united under the Melaka Sultanate. This system came to be known as the traditional political system of the Malay states in the Malay Peninsula.

It was a major port along the spice-route, and its harbour bristled with the sails and masts of Chinese junks and spice-laden vessels from all over the hemisphere. Because the city was originally built of wood, currently there are no crumbling and stately reminders of the power once wielded by the Melakan Sultanate, but along shores of the Melaka River the scene has probably changed little.

The city was so coveted by the European powers that the Portuguese writer Barbarosa wrote "Whoever is Lord in Malacca (sic) has his hand on the throat of Venice."

With the coming of the Portuguese to Melaka, it marks as a special moment in history that would lead with the ultimate doom of the rule of the Malay Sultans of Melaka. In 1511, the Portuguese had captured the city and ousted its reigning sultan, Sultan Mahmud Shah.

He then fled Melaka to the eastern coast state of Pahang, and then, when his efforts to regain Melaka from the Portuguese was in vain, he moved to the Riau Islands south of Singapore. Finally he died in Sumatra about the year 1528, unable to achieve his dream of reconquering the Melaka city.

Even as the Sultan was no longer reigning in Melaka, all the Malays in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra continued to recognise the Sultan and his descendants as sovereign leaders of their race. So, one of his sons, Alauddin, who settled in Johor, became the first Sultan there, with a claim to overlordship over much of Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Another son, Muzaffar Shah, became the first Sultan of the state of Perak and in this way most of the Malay States in the Malay Peninsula came into existence as successors to the Sultanate of Melaka.

As for the Portuguese, their takeover of Melaka was essentially backfired. While they could seized the port, they couldn't force people to trade there. The Muslim traders from Arabia, India and the Malay Archipelago took their business to other ports still in Islamic hands.

Then Melaka became of little use to the Portuguese after the spice trade and the command of the sea were lost to them with the arrival of the Dutch, but they hung on to the fort (A Famosa) stubbornly. Finally the Dutch decided to capture the fort and made an alliance with the Sultan of Johor.

The siege began in 1640 and took six months before the Dutch and their allies captured the city at the beginning of 1641. After this, the Dutch ruled Melaka for more than one hundred and sixty years. From their new base in Melaka, they tried to control the trade passing through the Straits of Melaka and the export of tin from Malay Peninsula.

Trade increased somewhat under the Dutch, but never again attained the heights it achieved before the Portuguese. The British took over administration of the port when France occupied the Dutch homeland in 1795. The Dutch tried to get Melaka back once the French were expelled, but eventually traded Melaka for the Sumatran port of Bencoolen in 1824.

Although Melaka was obviously important enough for the British to keep, they already had Penang guarding the straits to the north and Singapore to the south. Melaka was definitely the least important of these three Straits Settlements. With its once-great harbour silting up, soon Melaka was superseded by Singapore’s growing opulence and commercial importance and once again became the quiet backwater one sees today.

Although six centuries of colonization, warfare, and political intrigue left behind a rich historical legacy, few impressive monuments remain aside from some colorful Dutch architecture.

This is the legacy of conquerors who successively demolished their predecessors' heritage. The Portuguese dismantled Melakan Malays Islamic tombs, mosques and royal palaces to build their military forts and churches. Then, nearly all Portuguese architecture was destroyed during subsequent Dutch/Malay assaults or pulled down when the British finally took Melaka. Still, the handful of surviving European buildings, Chinese temples, and old Melaka terrace houses makes this city a cultural heritage worthy of preservation and visit.