OLD MALACCA AND THE FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CONVICTS THERE
Authorities differ very considerably as to the origin of the name of
this place. Some attribute it to the Malay name for a shrub which
largely abounded near the shore, a sort of "Phyllanthus emblica" of the
spurge order; others, again, ascribe it to a plant called the "Jumbosa
Malaccensis," or "Malay apple tree" of the myrtle bloom order; others,
again, say that the Javanese were the first to colonize the place about
the year 1160 of our time, and that they gave it the name "Malaka,"
which in that language means "an exile," in memory of one "Paramisura"
who came there as a fugitive from the kingdom of Palembang.
In the original manuscript of Godinho de Eredia, of date 1613,
reproduced by Janssen in 1882, he says that "Paramisura," the first king
of the Malays, settled on the coast near to the Bukit China River, which
is close to the present town, and called it "Malaka," after the fruit of
a tree which grew there. (See sketch from that old work, Plate IV.)
Anyway, like all Malay history, it is full of obscurity, and it really
does not concern us very much just now as to what it is really derived
from, though it would be no doubt interesting to Malay scholars to
pursue the inquiry.
We know, however, on the best authority, that it was the first
settlement formed by a European power in those seas. The Portuguese, in
their palmy days under Albuquerque, took it from a Malay Sultan, named
Mahomed Shah, in 1511. They kept quiet possession of it for 134 years,
when it fell into the hands of the Dutch, who held it for seventy-four
years; then the British took possession in 1795, restored it to the
Dutch in 1818, who gave it back in 1824, and we have held it ever since.
In size it is forty-two miles long and from eight to twenty-five miles
broad, and contains 659 square miles.
In the old Portuguese days it was a very important place of trade, so
much so that De Barros, their famous historian, wrote of it that, "the
native town was a good league in length along the shore, and that there
were many merchant vessels there from Calicut, Aden, Mecca, Java, and
Pegu, and other places." This splendid trade, however, began to decline
in the time of the Dutch, and shortly after we had opened Penang in 1785
it had almost entirely vanished.
[Illustration: OLD MALACCA
(From Godinho de Eredia's Work).
_Plate IV._]
[Illustration: ALBUQUERQUE
(From Godinho de Eredia's Work).
_Plate V._]
The Portuguese must have attached great value to this their first
settlement in what was then known as the "Golden Chersonese," for they
spent vast sums of money in fortifying it, and enclosed a considerable
enceinte by a wall of great height and thickness, and crowned the small
hill of St. Paul's within by the erection of a fine cathedral dedicated
to our Lady Del-Monte, with a monastery annexed to it. These
fortifications were afterwards razed to the ground, and some of the old
foundations may still be seen; but we left the buildings standing and
the greater part of the cathedral to go to ruins. Some of the tombstones
in the old nave bear the date 1515, and there is a tomb to the two
Bishops of Japan, but there is nothing to indicate that the saintly St.
Francis Xavier laboured here beyond a small tablet; but the memory of
his deeds is yet fresh amongst the traditions of the Portuguese
descendants still resident there.
Seen from the sea in these days, Malacca looks an antiquated old place,
with all the signs of desertion about it. The old ruins on the hill form
the most prominent feature in the landscape, and the once busy river
(see Plate VI.) is now almost closed even to boat traffic by the silt
which has been brought down from the interior. It is difficult indeed to
realize that this strange, dim old place was once the centre of a
thriving trade from so many distant countries, though it still carries
on its cultivation of rice and other grain, and this is yearly being
more developed.
As far as we can gather, the first batch of convicts were sent to this
place from Penang shortly after we took possession, and that they were
employed in filling up the moat to suit it and the glacis for a parade
ground. These convicts were confined first of all in the town jail,
which was situated on the steep or eastern side of St. Paul's Hill, and
was in point of fact the old Portuguese soldiers' barrack, and was
constructed on a terrace excavated from the hillside; and, together with
a hospital, warders' quarters, store rooms and other necessary
buildings, was surrounded by a high wall built from the stone from the
old fort ramparts. The few local prisoners were put into the old Dutch
prison, and both these prisoners and the convicts were placed under the
charge of half-blood Portuguese warders. For some years few convicts
were sent into the interior, their labour being required for the public
works in and near the town; but about the year 1840, as fresh arrivals
came from Penang, which is about 250 miles north of it, gangs were made
up to keep in repair about 100 miles of the public roads that were left
to us, and to open up new communications near the frontier; so that we
now have nearly 300 miles to keep in order. They were located in
temporary huts surrounded by a palisading, and warders were raised from
amongst the best behaved to be responsible for their work and general
supervision. This practice was continued with satisfactory results, and
gradually was introduced into the town jail, and the half-bred
Portuguese warders were dismissed.
[Illustration: MALACCA RIVER IN 1870.
(From Godinho de Eredia's Work).
_Plate VI._]
[Illustration: ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
(From Godinho de Eredia's Work).
_Plate VII._]
Prior to the appointment to Malacca of Captain Man as Resident
Councillor, but little had been done in the way of training the convicts
in industrial occupation, but he established a few workshops and started
them in various trades. It was not, however, until 1860 that anything
approaching to really skilled labour could be got out of them. They were
then supplied with good tools and an instructor, also a convict, was
sent down from Singapore. After this, carts for the roads, iron and wood
work for bridges, roofing timbers for public works, and other necessary
requirements for the erection of minor works were satisfactorily
accomplished. For some classes of work the convicts were superior to the
Chinese workmen in the town, especially in metal turning and fitting.
One Cingalese convict became so expert at this trade that upon his
release from confinement he established himself in Ceylon, and has been
doing a very profitable business, and occupies now a respectable
position in life.
As far as can be gathered from the records, the convicts were, as a
rule, well behaved, though in the early Sixties, owing to their
maltreatment by an overseer who had the supervision of a gang for
clearing the jungle and making roads upon Cape Rachado for the erection
of a lighthouse, an _emeute_ took place, and some life was lost, and
many escaped inland, but were subsequently returned by the native Malay
chiefs.
Some of the Indian convicts here on ticket of leave were expert
shikarries, and frequently with their trained dogs would hunt the deer
and wild boar, and dispose of the flesh to Chinese in the town at some
profit to themselves.
In 1873, when the convict establishments in the Straits Settlements were
finally broken up, those convicts still wanting time to complete their
sentences were transferred to Singapore for transmission to the
Andamans, those upon ticket of leave being permitted to merge into the
population.
[Illustration: TOWN AND ENVIRONS OF SINGAPORE IN 1878.
_Plate VIII._]