11 Fun and Interesting Facts About Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Discovered by the Portuguese in 1511 and occupied by the Dutch in 1641, it is the British who eventually got the upper hand and took over part of today’s Malaysia in 1824, back then referred to as Malaya. Or at least, this is focusing on the colonial claims. Centuries before, Arabs, Indians, and Chinese had been trading with the indigenous locals. While Indian Muslim merchants had introduced Islam during the 13th century, Chinese immigrants flocked in to exploit the raw materials the locals were not too interested in leveraging, benefiting from an abundant nature.

This is how Kuala Lumpur initially developed: its tin was in high demand at a time when food in tin boxes was greatly needed to support the armies during the Crimean War (1853-1856), the American Civil War (1861-1865), and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). From small scale panning along the river surrounded by dense jungle, in 1857, the Chinese started to open up tin mines, and today’s Chinatown came out of the ground. Despite the difficulties in the malaria and dengue infested jungle, the hard work paid off and the city boomed, and soon, Indians were brought in by the British to build infrastructures and tap rubber. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).