Malacca

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Malacca was ceded to the British in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra. From 1826 to 1946 Malacca was governed, first by the British East India Company and then as a Crown Colony. It formed part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Penang (also known as Prince of Wales Island).

History

Malacca and the Spice Islands details military actions between the British and Dutch East India Companies at the end of the eighteenth century.

Battle of Soongei Pattye 1831
Battle of Kalama to Taboo 1832

Records

  • BACSA have published the book Malacca: Christian Cemeteries and Memorials by Alan Harfield, 2002 (revised edn). "From the Portuguese time in 1511, through the Dutch occupation 1641-1795 and from 1819-25 to the British period. Includes a short history with lists of churches and MIs; also an account of the local wars with lists of casualties in the Malayan Emergency. 214pp, 70 illustrations, 8 maps and plans". The 2002 edition is available online, refer below.
(Previously published 1979 and 1984. 1979 title includes and Rasak New Village. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01010549113 1979; UIN: BLL01007448766 1984).
BACSA have put indexes to the majority of their cemetery books online and these indexes are free to search and browse, see the Fibiwiki page BACSA.
  • Ecclesiastical Returns: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials at the British Library. Prince of Wales Island [Penang], Malacca and Singapore 1799-1829 in IOR N/8. These records are included in the digitised records available on the commercial site findmypast
The LDS film number for these records is 498606, item 2.
Returns are continued in the Bengal returns 1830-1868, N/1. For Malacca marriages 1820-1824, see also IOR: R/9/39/3.
  • Malay documents in the Melaka Records in the British Library by Annabel Gallop
  • The National Archives of Malaysia (Arkib Negara Malaysia) in Kuala Lumpur holds the following records from Melaka (Malacca), held on microfilm at the National Archives.
    • Baptismal registers 1642-1825 of the Dutch Reformed Church.
      • These records are also available on FamilySearch microfilm, but most are only available at the main FamilySearch Library, known as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. (Kerkelijke registers, 1642-1825: catalogue entry which also includes limited marriage and death records from Arkib Negra Malaysia). The Family History Library is understood to have access to a complete microfilm collection, even though microfilms can no longer be ordered, so these microfilms should still be available there. (These microfilms have been digitised, but are not available to view online and must be viewed as microfilms). Note however there is one film listed which has been digitised (DGS 8864996) and is viewable on your home computer, but you must be signed in to FamilySearch (including when viewing the catalogue entry). This film appears to be records from an archive in the Netherlands.
      If you are able to visit the Family History Library in person, there are specialists available to assist, see Family History Library Research Specialists
      Should you wish to hire a researcher to access these records at the Family History Library, you may wish to discuss this, preferably by telephone, with the Family History Library, noting they are early Dutch records, (see FamilySearch Centres for details) or try contact through the Family History Library Facebook page.
      For aids to assist you in reading Dutch handwritten records, see Dutch.
    • Marriage registers 1768-1838 and burial registers 1787-1827 from St Peter’s Roman Catholic Church[1]
  • Search the FamilySearch Catalog for FamilySearch records additional to those mentioned above. Be sure you are signed in to FamilySearch before you search, as currently (2020/09/16) you get different results depending on whether you are signed in or not.
  • Important Books and Internet Sources About Cemeteries in Malaysia and Singapore FamilySearch Wiki page.
  • The booklet An introduction to Christ Church Malacca, published by the Malacca Historical Society, is for sale at the church and contains details of the memorials in the church (2 examples [2] of memorials, one being the wife of a member of the Madras Medical Service). Possibly the same book, (so it may, or may not contain the memorials information) a book with the same title but a different publisher is available at the British Library with notes "Consists of material extracted from a pamphlet originally published in 1917 and reprinted in 1937" UIN: BLL01016033188. The book by MHS is also available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, catalogue entry. Note, memorial inscriptions also appear in the book by Alan Harfield Malacca: Christian Cemeteries and Memorials, available online, see below.
  • The BACSA archive at the British Library contains some references to Malacca.
    • Mss Eur F370/829 "Malacca, Malaysia Fort Cemetery, Malacca: 1670-1682, 1816-1838 St Paul's Cemetery, Malacca: 1843-1860 St Paul's Hill, Malacca: 1568-1712 Christ Church, Malacca: 1774-1955 Sungei Ujong, Rasah New Village: 1875-6"
    • Mss Eur F370/1547 A History of Christ Church, Melaka of the Diocese of West Malaysia, by S Batumalai (Melaka, 2003)
  • Also see Dutch.

External links

Historical books online

"Inscriptions in St. Paul's Church, Malacca" by E M Merewether, page 1 (digital page 287) Journal of The Straits Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society Volume 34 1900. Same article, missing Plan both Archive.org
Historical tombstones of Malacca, mostly of Portuguese origin, with the inscriptions in detail and illustrated by numerous photographs by Robert Norman Bland 1905 Archive.org
Sample pages Historical Tombstones and Graves at St. Paul's Hill Malacca by Dennis De Witt 2nd edition 2016 Google Books. Appears to have been published in Malaysia.
  • Straits Settlements Blue Book for the year… . See Singapore- Historical books online for a range 1870-1938 from various sources. Very informative official government publications.
  • "Barretto de Resende's Account of Malacca" by W George Maxwell page 1 Journal of The Straits Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society Volume 60, 1911. Archive.org.
  • Journal of a Voyage from India to Siam and Malacca in 1779 by Dr J G Koenig. Journal Of The Straits Branch Of The Royal Asiatic Society No. 26, January 1894 and No.27, October 1894. Archive.org (in one digital volume). Translated from his manuscripts in German and Danish in nineteen volumes at the British Museum. Koenig came to India in 1768 where he acted as doctor to the Danish Missionaries at Tranquebar and afterwards was appointed Naturalist to the Nabob of Arcot.
Pages 58-192 No.26 January 1894 which ends "Here ends the first part of Vol.2"; "Continuation Vol 13, from page 43" pages 193-201, No.26 January 1894; "Continuation Vol 2, from page 1" page 57-133 No.27, October 1894.

References

  1. "Records in a Rival’s Repository: Archives of the Dutch East India Company" by Lennart Bes Itinerario, 31:3 (2007) pages 16-38, specifically page 31. Also see Arkib Negara Malaysia TANAP website.
  2. "Melaka’s World Heritage" rogersouthernresearch
  3. History of the Dutch in Malaysia by Dennis De Witt. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01015564894