About Malaqa

Malaqa (Malacca, Melaka) is a historic Chinese-majority trading port in South-east Asia first colonized by the Portuguese, later ruled by the Dutch and then the British who administered it among the other Straits Settlements until 1957. The name Malaqa first applied to the entire region, and then to the protected stretch of water between the Malay peninsula and Sumatra. The Chinese just called the city ‘Old Town’. 

Once a bustling spice hub that grew prosperous from rubber and tin mining, and famous as a crossroads of east and west, it went into decline after the Industrial Revolution because its waters were too shallow for modern shipping. It had once been the fabled ‘pearl of the orient’: it became a sleepy, forgotten remnant of a former era. That is now its charm.

Today it is a city of striking old Sino-Portuguese architecture and museums, street art and cafes, and was recently World Heritage Listed by UNESCO. It retains a rich historical legacy and a diverse population with several unique ethnic communities who have preserved their customs, languages and cuisine into the modern era.

Note that the old spelling of Malaqa with a Q, used here as an affectation, is the old Portuguese spelling. The English spelling is Malacca. The modern Malaysians prefer Melaka.