My ability to retain historical dates and figures is limited, which is why I made a fairly poor history student. That said, I'm pretty sure we learned little or nothing about the colonising activities of the British during the period between the 16-19th centuries, specifically the activities of the East India Company (EIC) and the establishment of the British Empire. Much of my knowledge from this period comes from Blackadder, and a little reading around the edges. It's almost as though we are ashamed of our conduct, which is deemed fit for satire only.
The legacy of the British on Penang is lasting. Even the name of the original settlement and capital, George Town, is in honour of King George III. Places named after figures of British significance - Light Street, Victoria Street, Weld Quay, Macalister Road, not to mention King and Queen Street - have persisted beyond independence. Only the island's colonial monicker, Prince of Wales Island - named after Hugh Laurie - has been reverted.
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| By George! |
Fittingly, the Penang Museum is situated on Farquhar Street, so named after Robert Townsend Farquhar, Lieutenant-Governor of the island for a brief spell in the early 19th century, and employee of the East India Company, who is not to be mistaken with William Farquhar, the "Raja of Malacca". It seems that to work for the EIC, one had to have a grandiose surname (preferably Farquhar) and an indomitable sense of self-righteousness and entitlement.
Beginning as a group of British gentlemen adventurers sailing east into little-known waters, the East India Company sought to establish, with backing from the monarchy, a set of trading posts. How the establishment of commercial trading routes and mutually beneficial agreements with eastern economies turned into years of colonisation, local rule, and exploitation is one for the history books. Needless to say that vying with European competition - principally Dutch, Portugese and French - to
Royal backing allowed the Company to acquire territory, to fortify and defend said territory, and to administer it, including in matters of crime and punishment, and to control the economy, even going so far as to mint money. With governors in place to rule over the acquired territory and armies ready to see off the competition, the Empire took shape.
In the late 18th century, an enterprising captain of the EIC, Francis Light, managed to gain Penang island under the false pretences of providing protection from the invading forces of Siam. Light acted unilaterally in his discussions with the Sultan of Kedah, overstepping his authority and influence, as there was no such agreement from the EIC 'back home'. Light occupied the island, raising the British flag on the tallest hill (Bukit Bendera, meaning 'flag hill'). This 'agreement' was later made barely legitimate by forcing the Sultan to accept a small compensation for trade lost, while also adding more land (Seberang Prai on the neighbouring mainland, which the British renamed Province Wellesley) into the bargain, after his forces failed to recapture the island.
After learning of the dubious shenanigans of the British in the history of Penang, I came to the museum by way of understanding and apologising for the marauding of my ancestors in this area of the world. I approached the museum much as I expect any right-thinking American approaches the war museums of Vietnam - albeit these are more recent atrocities - and expected the British to be vilified.
Actual the British legacy seems to be well respected - indeed many of the older generation are anglophile and hark back to the 'good old days' - and I found little (documented) evidence of tyrannical rule, especially in contrast to the brutal Japanese occupation during WWII.
Whether you understand or excuse Light's underhand tactics in acquiring Penang, he and the British built up the island, brought in trade, and made it prosperous. Light cleared the jungle and made the area habitable - although there was already a small indigenous population which had been there for many hundreds of years. The conduct of the British, while not cruel, was probably not exemplary. Some of the workers on the island were convicts, rather than paid labourers, and to expedite the clearing, Light apparently even went so far as to have cannons fire silver coins into the trees - a morally bankrupt, but no less devilishly ingenious solution.
Over the years, the British improved the infrastructure, building roads, a water supply and better communications. Largely this was in their own self-interest, as the EIC suddenly took an interest in Light's acquisition owing to its strategic location, but the newly developed settlement was attractive to many immigrants from China, India, and mainland Malaya.
The ground floor of the Penang Museum is given over to these myriad communities of the island's melting pot. The most fascinating of these cultures was the mélange that arose out of marriages between Straits Chinese and Malays, creating a culture called Peranakan, or Baba-Nyonya (nyonya for short). The fascinating extravagance of this culture is apparent from the 'wedding furniture' collected at the museum, including an opulent dowry chest, a wedding wardrobe, and a bridal bed. Nyonya weddings can last thirty days with a different set of bridal party outfits for each day.
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| Wedding fatigue sets in |
For lunch we headed to The Leaf Healthy Café. To our delight, this offered a few nyonya dishes.
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| Popiah and otak otak |
A special of otak otak, usually prepared with minced fish, was instead created from sweet potato, ginger, lemongrass and other spices, thickened with tapioca flour and steamed in a banana leaf. It was deliciously spicy and by far the best thing we ate. Popiah are fresh spring rolls, wrapped in a thin crêpe, and filled with tofu, turnip, lettuce leaf and a savoury chilli sauce.
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| Nasi ulam and pasembur |
In Langkawi we had been excited to try pasembur, but had not managed to find a vegetarian version of the Malaysian salad, which normally contains a selection of frittered seafood. However, this version was disappointing. My understanding is that the dish is supposed to be a salad, akin to the Indonesian gado gado, i.e. vegetables with a dressing. This was a soupy consistency with chunks of potatoes, shredded cucumber, and turnips swimming in a sweet bland tomato sauce. K noted that we both had colds, and therefore our sense of taste was impaired. I countered that I'm sure Malaysian cuisine evolved its spicy flavours for the dulled palates of the opium-smoking workers, so a bunged up nose should be no impediment.
Fortunately, the nasi ulam (herb rice) did not disappoint, containing lots of herbs, including betel (daun kaduk, not the kind you chew), kaffir lime leaves, fried garlic and chilli. If prepared with blue rice, this is known as nasi kerabu, which we had enjoyed in Langkawi and found, as this dish, particularly moreish.
In the afternoon, we repaired to Kaffa Espresso Bar for coffee. While eating out is eminently affordable in Penang, drinking coffee is a relative luxury, often costing well over the price of a meal. This café was the kind of place where the coffee comes in hipster tin mugs and the drinks in jars. But the coffee was good. Oh, and so was the cake.
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| Carrot cake |
To save money after the extravagance of a latte, we went for 'economy rice' at Ee Beng.
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| Vegetarian buffet |
Ee Beng is a vegetarian place for a style of economy rice - a buffet selection of dishes that the diner serves on top of rice. This is not 'all you can eat' dining, as the price of the plate depends on the quantity and variety of toppings.
Overwhelmed by the variety of food, predominantly mock meats, on display at Ee Beng, we took a little of just about everything. Even given this, our two plates combined only amounted to 17RM (about £3.40) and a more restrained hand would be able to eat much more frugally.
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| A little of everything |
With little clue as to what things were (or, technically, were pretending to be), I went with what looked tasty. I later found a handy guide pinned to the wall, which I had missed in my initial gluttonously frenzied attack on the buffet. Smoked roast duck, sweet-and-sour pork, mutton balls, and something that seems to translate as 'vegetarian terrier (dog)' (素梗) but which was rendered (perhaps euphemistically) as "tender meat", were some of the tasty and bizarrely authentic textures. Fried kangkung, soft green aubergine, and green beans gave the plate a vegetarian legitimacy.
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