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In 1786, Captain Francis Light established an English East India Company (EIC) settlement in Penang, a largely uninhabited island that belonged to the Sultan of Kedah and located in the northern passage of the Straits of Melaka. The Company acquired the island from Kedah’s ruler for the twin purposes of serving as a naval base and for procuring goods for the Company’s trade with China. While Penang did not live up to its promise as a naval base and dockyard, it emerged as a regional entrepôt and attracted migrants from India, China, and the neighbouring Malay states.
This paper focuses on Tamil-speaking Muslims, who were one of the earliest migrants to Penang. Several differences existed among this broad category of migrants. Some came from South India, whereas others came from Malay states in Penang’s neighbourhood, where they had already settled. Some Tamil Muslims came to Penang for trade and returned to their homeports, whereas others settled in Penang and became part of a diverse society of migrant communities from other regions in the Indian Ocean world. In discussing this migrant community, I will focus on the impact of Penang’s status as an island entrepôt on the pattern of migration of Tamil Muslims to Penang.
Sundara Vadlamudi is an Assistant Professor of History at the American University of Sharjah (UAE). Before joining AUS, Sundara was ASIANetwork-Luce Foundation Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Asian History at Wabash College (USA). He is a historian of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. His teaching and scholarship are guided by two objectives: to examine the connections between South Asia and the Indian Ocean World and to situate events in South Asia within broader developments in World History during the early modern and modern periods. His current book project examines the impact of colonial transition in India on the maritime trade of Tamil-speaking Muslims in South India.
