Kuala Lumpur has its origins in the 1850s, when the Malay Chief of Klang sent some Chinese upriver to open new and larger tin mines. They landed at the confluence of Sungai Gombak (previously known as Sungai Lumpur, which means muddy river) and Sungai Klang (Klang river) to open mines at Ampang. Later, tin mines were opened at Pudu and Batu.
This trading post was a wild frontier town plagued by floods, fires, disease and the Selangor Civil War. During this time, Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy emerged as a leader, responsible for the survival and growth of the town. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.
After the fire and subsequent flood of 1881 destroyed the town's structures of wood and atap (thatch), Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, required that buildings be constructed of brick and tile. A railway increased accessibility. Development intensified in the 1890s, leading to the creation of a Sanitary Board. In 1896, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States.
A multiracial community settled in various sections of town. The Chinese congregated around the commercial centre of Market Square, east of Sungai Klang, and south into Chinatown. To the north, across Java Street (now Jalan Tun Perak) were the Malays. Nearby, a number of Indian Chettiars (money-lenders), and in later years Indian Muslim traders, set up business. West of the river, the Padang (now Merdeka Square) was the focal point of the British administration.
Kuala Lumpur grew through two world wars, the rubber and tin commodity crash and the State of Emergency, during which Malaya was preoccupied with the communist insurgency. In 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained its independence from British rule. Kuala Lumpur remained the capital through the formation of Malaysia, achieving city status in 1972, and was established as the Federal Territory in 1974.
This trading post was a wild frontier town plagued by floods, fires, disease and the Selangor Civil War. During this time, Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy emerged as a leader, responsible for the survival and growth of the town. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.
After the fire and subsequent flood of 1881 destroyed the town's structures of wood and atap (thatch), Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, required that buildings be constructed of brick and tile. A railway increased accessibility. Development intensified in the 1890s, leading to the creation of a Sanitary Board. In 1896, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States.
A multiracial community settled in various sections of town. The Chinese congregated around the commercial centre of Market Square, east of Sungai Klang, and south into Chinatown. To the north, across Java Street (now Jalan Tun Perak) were the Malays. Nearby, a number of Indian Chettiars (money-lenders), and in later years Indian Muslim traders, set up business. West of the river, the Padang (now Merdeka Square) was the focal point of the British administration.
Kuala Lumpur grew through two world wars, the rubber and tin commodity crash and the State of Emergency, during which Malaya was preoccupied with the communist insurgency. In 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained its independence from British rule. Kuala Lumpur remained the capital through the formation of Malaysia, achieving city status in 1972, and was established as the Federal Territory in 1974.
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