Klang

History

The Klang area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeological finds from the region include bronze drums, axes and iron implements. The Klang Bell, a bronze bell dated to approximately the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, was discovered in the area and is now held by the British Museum. Klang's position near the mouth of a river leading into the tin-rich interior gave the settlement strategic importance. The name was recorded in the 14th-century Javanese poem Nagarakretagama, while the Klang River estuary also appeared on maps associated with the voyages of Zheng He. During the 15th century, Klang was under the Malacca Sultanate. Tun Perak, one of Malacca's most prominent Bendahara, was associated with Klang before his appointment to senior office in Malacca. Following the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511, Klang remained under Malay control and was subsequently associated with the Johor Sultanate. Bugis migration into the western coast of the Malay Peninsula during the 17th and 18th centuries contributed to the formation of the Selangor Sultanate, which came to control Klang. During the 19th century, expanding tin mining in the Klang Valley increased the economic and political importance of Klang. Rivalry over control of the district was a major factor in the Klang War, or Selangor Civil War, between 1867 and 1874. After Selangor accepted a British Resident in 1874, Klang became the centre of the colonial administration. The administrative capital was moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1880 as the latter grew into the principal tin-mining settlement of the interior. Klang nevertheless remained Selangor's main outlet for tin until the development of Port Swettenham, now Port Klang, at the river mouth. A railway from Kuala Lumpur reached Bukit Kuda in…