Editing Perak (section)

== History ==
{{Quote box |width=23em |align=right   |bgcolor=#B0C4DE
|title=Historical affiliations
|fontsize=90% |quote=
{{flagicon image|Flag of Perak.svg}} [[Perak Sultanate|Sultanate of Perak]] 1528–1895<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Malaya (1896–1950).svg}} [[Federated Malay States]] 1895–1942<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg}} [[Japanese occupation of Malaya|Empire of Japan]] 1942–1945<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Malaya (1896–1950).svg}} [[Malayan Union]] 1946–1948<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Malaya.svg}} [[Federation of Malaya]] 1948–1963<br />
{{flag|Malaysia}} 1963–present
}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{main|Prehistoric Malaysia}}
[[File:Gua Tambun5.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Tambun rock art]] of the [[Neolithic]] era in [[Tambun]] near [[Ipoh]]]]

Among the prehistoric sites in Malaysia where artefacts from the [[Middle Palaeolithic]] era have been found are [[Bukit Bunuh]], Bukit Gua Harimau, Bukit Jawa, Bukit Kepala Gajah, and Kota Tampan in the [[Lenggong|Lenggong Archaeological Heritage Valley]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Bagyo Prasetyo|author2=Retno Handini|title=Sangiran: Man, Culture, and Environment in Pleistocene Times|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NT1YyR9lOVEC&pg=PA189|publisher=Yayasan Obor Indonesia|pages=189–|id=GGKEY:FYGSB5XXWPX}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sanz, Nuria|title=Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3QPBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA212|date=27 October 2014|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-92-3-100043-0|pages=212–}}</ref> Of these, Bukit Bunuh and Kota Tampan are [[ancient lake]]side sites, the geology of Bukit Bunuh showing evidence of [[Impact event|meteoric impact]].<ref name="Saad2016">{{cite book|author=Rosli Saad|title=Geophysical Studies Of Bukit Bunuh Meteorite Crater Evidence (Penerbit USM)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GCeNDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|year=2016|publisher=Penerbit USM|isbn=978-967-461-004-3|pages=25–}}</ref> The 10,000-year-old skeleton known as [[Lenggong#Perak Man|Perak Man]] was found inside the Bukit Gunung Runtuh cave at Bukit Kepala Gajah.<ref>{{cite book|author=Zuraina Majid|title=The Perak man and other prehistoric skeletons of Malaysia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSuAAAAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia|isbn=978-983-3391-12-7}}<br />{{*}} {{cite book|author=Stephen Oppenheimer|title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0quSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP115|date=1 March 2012|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-78033-753-1|pages=115–}}<br />{{*}} {{cite book|author1=Vicki Cummings|author2=Peter Jordan|author3=Marek Zvelebil|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4lSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA348|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-955122-4|pages=348–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2005/07/21/prehistoric-find-in-perak-cave|title=Prehistoric find in Perak cave|work=The Star|date=21 July 2005|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref> Ancient tools discovered in the area of Kota Tampan, including [[anvil]]s, [[lithic core|cores]], [[debitage]], and [[hammerstone]]s, provide information on the migrations of ''[[Homo sapiens]]''.<ref name="Saad2016"/> Other important [[Neolithic]] sites in the country include Bukit Gua Harimau, Gua Badak, Gua Pondok, and [[Padang Rengas]], containing evidence of human presence in the [[Mesolithic]] [[Hoabinhian]] era.<ref>{{cite book|author=Abu Talib Ahmad|title=Museums, History and Culture in Malaysia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krl1BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59|date=10 October 2014|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-819-5|pages=59–}}</ref><ref name="Perak brief history">{{cite web|url=https://www.perak.gov.my/index.php/en/state-gov/about-perak/brief-history|title=Brief History of Perak State|publisher=Government of Perak|access-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907015818/https://www.perak.gov.my/index.php/en/state-gov/about-perak/brief-history|archive-date=7 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Perak Axe (BM).JPG|thumb|right|Iron socketed axe from Perak, [[British Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1880-1166|title=axe &#124; British Museum|website=The British Museum}}</ref> {{circa|100 [[Anno Domini|BC–AD]] 200}}]]

In 1959, a British artillery officer stationed at an inland army base during the [[Malayan Emergency]] discovered the [[Tambun rock art]], identified by archaeologists as the largest [[rock art]] site in the Malay Peninsula. Most of the paintings are located high above the cave floor, at an elevation of {{convert|6|-|10|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/9967/11883|title=Current Research on Rock Art at Gua Tambun, Perak, Malaysia|author1=Noel Hidalgo Tan|author2=Stephen Chia|journal=Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association|via=[[University of Washington Libraries]]|volume=17|issue=2|year=2011|pages=93–108 (1–16)|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010032242/https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/9967/11883|archive-date=10 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Dominik Bonatz|author2=Andreas Reinecke|author3=Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz|title=Crossing Borders: Selected Papers from the 13th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cq3GBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|date=1 January 2012|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-642-9|pages=181–}}</ref> [[Seashell]]s and [[coral]] fragments scattered along the cave floor are evidence that the area was once underwater.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2006/12/04/gua-tambun-rediscovered/|title=Gua Tambun rediscovered|author=Christina Koh|work=The Star|date=4 December 2006|access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref>

The significant numbers of statues of [[Hindu deities]] and of [[the Buddha]] found in [[Bidor]], Kuala Selensing, Jalong, and Pengkalan Pegoh indicate that, before the [[Islam in Southeast Asia|arrival of Islam]], the inhabitants of Perak were mainly [[Hinduism|Hindu]] or [[Buddhism|Buddhist]]. The influence of Indian culture and beliefs on society and values in the Malay Peninsula from early times is believed to have culminated in the semi-legendary [[Gangga Negara]] kingdom.<ref name="Perak brief history"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReclAAAAMAAJ&q=Gangga+Negara|year=1936|publisher=The Branch}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Monographs on Malay Subjects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCcaAQAAMAAJ&q=perak+buddhist+prehistory|year=1941}}</ref> The ''[[Malay Annals]]'' mention that Gangga Negara at one time fell under [[Thailand|Siamese]] rule, before Raja Suran of Thailand sailed further south down the Malay Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2005/02/08/lost-city-is-not-kota-gelanggi/|title=Lost city is 'not Kota Gelanggi'|author=Mazwin Nik Anis|work=The Star|date=8 February 2005|access-date=10 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114115551/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2005/02/08/lost-city-is-not-kota-gelanggi/|archive-date=14 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Sultanate of Perak ===
By the 15th century, a kingdom named Beruas had come into existence. [[Epigraphy|Inscriptions]] found on early [[tombstone]]s of the period show clear [[Islam]]ic influence, believed to have originated from the [[Malacca Sultanate|Sultanate of Malacca]], the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the rural areas of the [[Perak River]].<ref name="Perak brief history"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/eventspriortobr00peragoog/page/n68|title=Events Prior to British Ascendancy ...: Notes on Perak History ...|author1=Richard James Wilkinson|author2=Cuthbert Woodville Harrison|work=[[Harvard University]]|publisher=J. Russell at the F.M.S. gov't press, [[Internet Archive]]|year=1908|access-date=16 September 2019|page=59}}</ref> The first organised local government systems to emerge in Perak were the Manjung government and several other governments in Central and Hulu Perak (Upper Perak) under Raja Roman and Tun Saban.<ref name="Perak brief history"/> With the spread of Islam, a sultanate subsequently emerged in Perak; the second oldest Muslim kingdom in the Malay Peninsula after the neighbouring [[Kedah Sultanate]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Perak Sultanate: Ancient and Modern|author=Khoo Kay Kim|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=1986|volume=59|issue=1|pages=1–26|jstor=41493032}}</ref> Based on ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Perak'' (Perak Royal Genealogy), the Perak Sultanate was formed in the early 16th century on the banks of the Perak River by the eldest son of [[Mahmud Shah of Malacca|Mahmud Shah]], the 8th [[Malacca Sultanate|Sultan of Malacca]].<ref name="US commercial relations">{{cite book|title=Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries During the Years ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7TfcCPR9HMC&q=perak+rivers&pg=PA486|year=1904|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=486–488}}</ref><ref name="Sultanate of Perak background">{{cite news|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2018/07/388675/story-behind-malaysias-second-oldest-sultanate-uncovered|title=The story behind Malaysia's second oldest sultanate uncovered|author=Alan Teh Leam Seng|newspaper=New Straits Times|date=8 July 2018|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sultan.perak.gov.my/index.php/informasi-kesultanan/senarai-sultan-perak|title=Senarai Sultan Perak|trans-title=List of Sultans of Perak|language=ms|publisher=The Administration Office of His Majesty the Sultan of Perak|access-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907035014/http://sultan.perak.gov.my/index.php/informasi-kesultanan/senarai-sultan-perak|archive-date=7 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> He ascended to the throne as Muzaffar Shah I, first Sultan of Perak, after surviving the [[Capture of Malacca (1511)|capture of Malacca]] by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] in 1511 and living quietly for a period in [[Siak Regency|Siak]] on the island of [[Sumatra]]. He became sultan through the efforts of Tun Saban, a local leader and trader between Perak and Klang.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/> There had been no sultan in Perak when Tun Saban first arrived in the area from [[Kampar Regency|Kampar]] in Sumatra.<ref name="background of the Sultanate of Perak">{{cite web|url=http://sultan.perak.gov.my/index.php/informasi-kesultanan/sejarah/tok-temong|title=Tok Temong (Keramat Tok Temong)|language=ms|publisher=The Administration Office of His Majesty the Sultan of Perak|access-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015042530/http://sultan.perak.gov.my/index.php/informasi-kesultanan/sejarah/tok-temong|archive-date=15 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most of the area's residents were traders from Malacca and [[Selangor]], and from Siak, Kampar, and [[Jambi]] in Sumatra. Among them was an old woman, Tok Masuka from [[Daik]], who raised a Temusai child named Nakhoda Kassim.<ref name="background of the Sultanate of Perak"/> Before her death, she called on the ancestors of [[Sang Sapurba]] to take her place, to prevent the royal lineage from disappearing from the Malay Peninsula. Tun Saban and Nakhoda Kassim then travelled to Kampar, where Mahmud Shah agreed to their request and named his son the first Sultan of Perak.<ref name="background of the Sultanate of Perak"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1UliAAAAMAAJ&q=Siak++|year=1986}}</ref>

Perak's administration became more organised after the sultanate was established and adopted Malacca's form of elective monarchy.<ref name="varous theories"/> With the opening up of Perak in the 16th century, the state became a source of tin ore. It appears that anyone was free to trade in the commodity, although the tin trade did not attract significant attention until the 1610s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paulo Jorge de Sousa Pinto|title=The Portuguese and the Straits of Melaka, 1575-1619: Power, Trade, and Diplomacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9hRAQAAMAAJ|year=2012|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-967-9948-51-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mohamad Rashidi Pakri|author2=Nik Haslinda Nik Hussain|title=Klian Intan: Perlombongan Bijih Timah dan Perkembangan Sosioekonomi (Penerbit USM)|trans-title=Klian Intan: Tin Mining and Socio-Economic Development (USM Publisher)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rdw8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT35|year=2017|language=ms|publisher=Penerbit USM|isbn=978-967-461-134-7|pages=35–}}</ref>

[[File:Aceh Sultanate en.svg|thumb|left|[[Aceh Sultanate|Sultanate of Aceh]]'s influence in Perak, [[Kedah Sultanate|Kedah]], [[Sultan of Pahang|Pahang]], and [[Terengganu Sultanate|Terengganu]] on the [[Malay Peninsula]], {{circa|1570s}}]]

Throughout the 1570s, the [[Aceh Sultanate|Sultanate of Aceh]] subjected most parts of the Malay Peninsula to continual harassment.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/><ref name="Andaya1982">{{cite book |author=Barbara Watson Andaya |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-16927-6 |title=History Of Malaysia |date=11 November 1982 |publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education |isbn=978-1-349-16927-6 |pages=61–117|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-16927-6 }}</ref> The sudden disappearance of Perak's Sultan [[Mansur Shah I of Perak|Mansur Shah I]] in 1577 gave rise to rumours of abduction by Acehnese forces.<ref name="Andaya1982"/> Soon afterwards, the late sultan's widow and his 16 children were taken as captives to Sumatra.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/><ref name="Andaya1982"/> Sultan Mansur Shah I's eldest son, Raja [[Alauddin Mansur Syah]], married an Acehnese princess and subsequently became the Sultan of Aceh. The Sultanate of Perak was left without a ruling monarch, and Perak nobles went to Aceh in the same year to ask the new Sultan Alauddin for a successor.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/> The ruler sent his younger brother to become Perak's third monarch. Sultan [[Ahmad Tajuddin Shah of Perak|Ahmad Tajuddin Shah]] ruled Perak for seven years, maintaining the unbroken lineage of the Malacca dynasty.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/> Although Perak did fall under the authority of the Acehnese Sultanate, it remained entirely independent of Siamese control for over two hundred years from 1612,<ref name="Andaya1982"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76I3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA152|year=1841|publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Company|pages=152–}}</ref> in contrast with its neighbour, Kedah, and many of the Malay sultanates in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, which became [[tributary state]]s of Siam.<ref name="Blagden1925">{{cite book|author=Charles Otto Blagden|title=British Malaya, 1824-67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8QmAQAAMAAJ&q=tributary+Malays|year=1925|publisher=Methodist Publishing House}}</ref><ref name="Stearn2019">{{cite book|author=Duncan Stearn|title=Slices of Thai History: From the curious & controversial to the heroic & hardy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qX6ODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT56|date=25 March 2019|publisher=Proglen Trading Co., Ltd.|isbn=978-616-456-012-3|pages=56–}}</ref> In 1620, the Acehnese sultanate [[Acehnese conquest of Perak|invaded]] Perak and captured its sultan.

When Sultan [[Salehuddin of Perak|Sallehuddin Riayat Shah]] died without an heir in 1635, a state of uncertainty prevailed in Perak. This was exacerbated by a deadly [[cholera epidemic]] that swept through the state, killing many royal family members.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/> Perak chieftains were left with no alternative but to turn to Aceh's sultan [[Iskandar Thani]], who sent his relative, Raja Sulong, to become the new Sultan of Perak as [[Muzaffar Shah II of Perak|Muzaffar Shah II]].

Aceh's influence on Perak began to wane when the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC) arrived, in the mid-17th century.<ref name="Andaya1982"/> When Perak refused to enter into a contract with the VOC as its northern neighbours had done, a blockade of the Perak River was ordered that halted the tin trade, causing suffering among Aceh's merchants.<ref name="Prakash1998">{{cite book|author=Om Prakash|title=European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hciTRYbE27gC&pg=PA235|date=28 June 1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-25758-9|pages=235–}}</ref> In 1650, Aceh's sultana [[Taj ul-Alam]] ordered Perak to sign an agreement with the VOC, on the condition that the tin trade would be conducted exclusively with Aceh's merchants.<ref name="US commercial relations"/><ref name="Prakash1998"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Ali Hasymy|title=59 &#91;i.e. Limapuluh sembilan&#93; tahun Aceh merdeka di bawah pemerintahan ratu|trans-title=59 &#91;i.e. Fifty nine&#93; years of Aceh independence under the rule of queen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vk8bAAAAIAAJ&q=Taj+ul-Alam+perak+tin+dutch|year=1977|language=id|publisher=Bulan Bintang}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sher Banu. A Latiff Khan|title=Sovereign Women in a Muslim Kingdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ah5qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT106|date=27 April 2018|publisher=Flipside Digital Content Company Inc.|isbn=978-981-325-005-5|pages=106–}}</ref> By the following year, the VOC had secured a monopoly over the tin trade, setting up a store in Perak.<ref name="Pangkor Island Dutch Fort"/> Following long competition between Aceh and the VOC over Perak's tin trade,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/30695568.pdf|title=Rule Behind the Silk Curtain: The Sultanahs of Aceh 1641-1699|author=Sher Banu. A Latiff Khan|publisher=Centre for Editing Lives and Letters (Cell) [[Queen Mary University of London]]|via=CORE|year=2009|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912050521/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/30695568.pdf|archive-date=12 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> on 15 December 1653, the two parties jointly signed a treaty with Perak granting the Dutch exclusive rights to tin extracted from mines located in the state.<ref name="Sultanate of Perak background"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReclAAAAMAAJ&q=15+December+1653+aceh+perak+dutch+tin+treaty|year=1936|publisher=The Branch}}</ref>

[[File:Dutch Fort Pulau Pangkor 2007 020 pano.jpg|thumb|right|The 1670 [[Dutch Fort]] on [[Pangkor Island]], built as a [[tin]] ore warehouse by the [[Dutch East India Company]]<ref name="Pangkor Island Dutch Fort">{{cite web|url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/kota-belanda-pulau-pangkor|title=Kota Belanda, Pulau Pangkor|publisher=[[National Archives of Malaysia]]|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211091336/http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/kota-belanda-pulau-pangkor|archive-date=11 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

A [[Dutch Fort|fort]] was built on [[Pangkor Island]] in 1670 to act as a warehouse to store tin ore mined in Perak even though Perak nobles had destroyed an earlier store structure, on orders from the Dutch base in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]].<ref name="Pangkor Island Dutch Fort"/> This warehouse was also destroyed in further attacks in 1690, but was repaired when the Dutch returned with reinforcements.<ref name="Pangkor Island Dutch Fort"/> In 1699, when the regionally dominant [[Johor Sultanate|Sultanate of Johor]] lost its last Malaccan dynasty sultan, Sultan [[Mahmud II of Johor|Mahmud Shah II]], Perak now had the sole claim of being the final heir of the Sultanate of Malacca. However, Perak could not match the prestige and power of either the Malacca or Johor Sultanates.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Andaya |first=Barbara Watson |title=A history of Malaysia |publisher=St Martin's Press |year=1982 |pages=87}}</ref>

The early 18th century started with 40 years of civil war where rival princes were bolstered by local chiefs, the [[Bugis]] and Minang, fighting for a share of the tin revenue. The Bugis and several Perak chiefs were successful in ousting the Perak ruler, Sultan Muzaffar Riayat Shah III in 1743.<ref name=":0" /> In 1747, Sultan Muzaffar Riayat Shah III, now only holding power in the area of Upper Perak, signed a treaty with Dutch Commissioner Ary Verbrugge under which Perak's ruler recognised the Dutch monopoly over the tin trade, agreed to sell all tin ore to Dutch traders, and allowed the Dutch to build a new warehouse fort on the Perak River estuary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/sultan-muzaffar-shah-iii-perak-menandatangani-perjanjian-monopoli-belanda-belanda-ke-atas-perdagangan-bijih-timah-di-negeri-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=Sultan Muzaffar Shah III Of Perak Signed The Treaty Of Dutch Monopoly Over Trading Of Tin In Perak|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=25 June 1747|access-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915033845/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/sultan-muzaffar-shah-iii-perak-menandatangani-perjanjian-monopoli-belanda-belanda-ke-atas-perdagangan-bijih-timah-di-negeri-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=15 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> With construction of the new warehouse near the Perak River (also known as Sungai Perak), the old warehouse was abandoned permanently and left in ruins.<ref name="Pangkor Island Dutch Fort" />

The mid-18th century saw Sultan Muzaffar ruling inland Perak while the coastal region was ruled by Raja Iskandar, animosity grew between the two as Raja Iskandar was unable to reach the tin-bearing highlands while the Sultan had restricted access to the strait. Reconciliation occurred later with Iskandar's marriage to the Sultan's daughter. His{{Whose|date=January 2025}} accession in 1752 saw unprecedented peace in Perak, especially due to an alliance (which lasted until 1795) with the Dutch to protect Perak against external attacks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andaya |first=Barbara Watson |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofmalaysi0000anda |title=A History of Malaysia |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-312-38120-2 |location=New York |pages=87–88 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Image from page 833 of "Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula" (1906).jpg|thumb|Semang from [[Gerik]] or Janing, Perak, 1906]]

When repeated [[Burmese–Siamese wars|Burmese invasions]] resulted in the [[Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67)|destruction and defeat]] of the Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in 1767 by the Burmese [[Konbaung dynasty]], neighbouring Malay tributary states began to assert their independence from Siam.<ref name="Schliesinger2017">{{cite book|author=Joachim Schliesinger|title=Traditional Slavery in Southeast Asia and Beyond|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOgzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|date=5 September 2017|publisher=Booksmango|isbn=978-1-64153-020-0|pages=186–}}</ref> To further develop Perak's tin mines, the Dutch administration suggested that its 17th sultan, Alauddin Mansur Shah Iskandar Muda, should allow [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese miners]] into Perak. The sultan himself encouraged the scheme in 1776, requesting that additional Chinese workers be sent from [[Dutch Malacca]].<ref name="KhooLubis2005">{{cite book|author1=Khoo Salma Nasution|author2=Abdur-Razzaq Lubis|title=Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia's Modern Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgsZvl1zTXgC&pg=PA5|year=2005|publisher=Areca Books|isbn=978-983-42113-0-1|pages=5, 225, 228 and 310}}</ref> The [[Fourth Anglo-Dutch War]] in 1780 adversely affected the tin trade in Perak, and many Chinese miners left.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khoo Kay Kim|title=The Western Malay States, 1850-1873: the effects of commercial development on Malay politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PIXAAAAIAAJ&q=Chinese+miners+left|year=1972|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=39–}}</ref> In a move which angered the Siamese court, neighbouring Kedah's Sultan [[Abdullah Mukarram Shah of Kedah|Abdullah Mukarram Shah]] then entered into an agreement with the British [[East India Company]] (EIC), [[concession (territory)|ceding]] [[Penang Island]] to the British in 1786 in exchange for protection.<ref>{{cite book|author=Vincent Todd Harlow|title=The founding of the Second British Empire, 1763-1793|url=https://archive.org/details/foundingofsecond0002harl|url-access=registration|year=1964|publisher=Longmans}}<br />{{*}} {{cite book|author=Cheah Boon Kheng|title=New Perspectives and Research on Malaysian History: Essays on Malaysian Historiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MW6cAAAAMAAJ|year=2007|publisher=MBRAS|isbn=978-967-9948-40-0}}<br />{{*}} {{cite book|author1=Frédéric Durand|author2=Richard Curtis|title=Maps of Malaysia and Borneo: Discovery, Statehood and Progress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-BUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|date=28 February 2014|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=978-967-10617-3-2|pages=52–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=ʻUdomsombat (Lūang.)|title=Rama III and the Siamese expedition to Kedah in 1839: the Dispatches of Luang Udomsombat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yktxAAAAMAAJ&q=Fearing+a+Siamese+attack+upon+Kedah%2C+the+Sultan+agreed+to+allow+the+British+to+lease+Penang+|year=1993|publisher=Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University|isbn=978-0-7326-0521-6|pages=2–}}</ref><ref name="Wheeler2019">{{cite book|author=L. Richmond Wheeler|title=The Modern Malay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqqbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|date=19 March 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-60316-7|pages=50–70}}</ref>

[[File:Collectie NM van Wereldculturen TM-60016182 Groepsportret met lokale bestuurders in Perak Auteur Marie-Franþois-Xavier-Joseph-Jean-Honore Brau de Saint-Pol Lias (1840 - 1914).jpg|thumb|left|[[Orang Asli]] from the [[Senoi]] group, Perak, {{circa|1880–1881}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Edward Balfour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9UBAAAAYAAJ&q=perak+interior+characteristics+forest&pg=PA377 |title=Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures |publisher=Printed at the Scottish & Adelphi presses |year=1873 |pages=377–}}</ref>]]

Siam regained strength under the [[Thonburi Kingdom]], led by [[Taksin]], after freeing itself from Burmese occupation. After repelling another [[Burmese–Siamese War (1785–1786)|large-scale Burmese invasion]], the [[Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)|Rattanakosin Kingdom]] ([[Chakri dynasty]]) led by [[Rama I]], as the successor of the Thonburi Kingdom, turned its attention to its insubordinate southern Malay subjects, fearing renewed attacks from Burma along the western seaboard of the Malay Peninsula.<ref name="Blagden1925" /><ref name="Kedah-Siam relations">{{cite journal|title=A Brief Moment in Time: Kedah-Siam Relations Revisited|author=Kobkua Suwwannathat-pian|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=1999|volume=72|issue=2|pages=65–90|jstor=41493393}}</ref> Attention to the south was also needed because of disunity and rivalries among the various southern tributary sultanates, stemming from personal conflicts and a reluctance to submit to Siamese authority.<ref name="Kedah-Siam relations" /> One example of this resistance was the [[Sultanate of Pattani]] under Sultan Muhammad, who refused to aid Siam during the Siamese war of liberation. This led Rama I's younger brother, [[Boworn Maha Surasinghanat|Prince Surasi]], to attack Pattani in 1786. Many Malays were killed, and survivors were taken to the Siamese stronghold in [[History of Bangkok#Rattanakosin|Bangkok]] as [[slave]]s.<ref name="Stearn2019" /><ref name="Schliesinger2017" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Anuar Nik Mahmud (Nik.)|title=Sejarah perjuangan Melayu Patani, 1785-1954|trans-title=History of the Patani Malay struggle, 1785-1954|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMRwAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1999|language=ms|publisher=Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia|isbn=978-967-942-443-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Karl R. DeRouen|author2=Paul Bellamy|title=International Security and the United States: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpckqY51AUEC&pg=PA804|year=2008|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99255-2|pages=804–}}</ref> Siam's subjugation of Pattani served as a warning to the other Malay tributary states, particularly Kedah, they too having been forced to provide thousands of men, and food supplies, throughout the Siamese resistance campaign against the Burmese.<ref name="Stearn2019" /><ref name="Kedah-Siam encounter">{{cite web|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_059_1g_SharomAhmat_KedahSiamRelations.pdf|title=Kedah-Siam Relations, 1821-1905|author=Sharom Ahmad|via=Siamese Heritage Trust|year=1971|access-date=10 September 2019|pages=97–99|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910041655/http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_059_1g_SharomAhmat_KedahSiamRelations.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1795, the Dutch temporarily withdrew from Malacca for the duration of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe. Malacca's authority was transferred to the British [[Resident (title)|Resident]].<ref name="US commercial relations" /><ref>{{cite book|title=The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76I3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA153|year=1841|publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Company|pages=153–}}</ref> When war ended, the Dutch returned to administer Malacca in 1818.<ref name="CasparisGraaf1900">{{cite book|author1=J. G. de Casparis|author2=Hermanus Johannes de Graaf|author3=Joseph Kennedy|author4=William Henry Scott|title=Geschichte.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYQeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA137|year=1900|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-04859-6|pages=137–141}}</ref> In 1818, the Dutch monopoly over the tin trade in Perak was renewed, with the signing of a new recognition treaty.<ref name="Perak and Selangor treaty">{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-antara-negeri-selangor-dan-negeri-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=The Treaty Between The States Of Selangor And Perak|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=11 July 1823|access-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915040018/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-antara-negeri-selangor-dan-negeri-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=15 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the same year as when Perak refused to send a [[bunga mas]] tribute to the Siamese court, the king [[Rama II|Rama II of Siam]] had Kedah attack Perak. The Sultanate of Kedah knew the intention behind the order was to weaken ties between fellow Malay states,<ref name="Kedah-Siam encounter" /><ref name="BegbieBanerjee1834">{{cite book|author1=Peter James Begbie|author2=Diptendra M. Banerjee|title=The Malayan Peninsula: Embracing Its History, Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants, Politics, Natural History, Etc. from Its Earliest Records|url=https://archive.org/details/malayanpeninsul00banegoog|year=1834|publisher=Vepery Mission Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/malayanpeninsul00banegoog/page/n61 85]–}}</ref><ref name="Hall1981">{{cite book|author=Daniel George Edward Hall|title=History of South East Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD9dDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA554|date=1 May 1981|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|isbn=978-1-349-16521-6|pages=554–555}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> but complied, unable to resist Siam's further territorial expansion into inland Hulu Perak. Siam's tributary Malay state, the [[Kingdom of Reman]], then illegally operated tin mines in Klian Intan, angering the Sultan of Perak and provoking a dispute that escalated into civil war. Reman, aided by Siam, succeeded in controlling several inland districts.<ref name="Reman occupied districts">{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/penyerahan-daerah-daerah-takluk-reman-kepada-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=The Surrender of Reman Occupied Districts To Perak|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=16 July 1909|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913061651/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/penyerahan-daerah-daerah-takluk-reman-kepada-perak/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=13 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1821, Siam invaded and [[Siamese invasion of Kedah|conquered]] the Sultanate of Kedah, angered by a breach of trust.<ref name="Kedah-Siam relations" /><ref name="Kedah-Siam encounter" /><ref name="Kershaw2002">{{cite book|author=Roger Kershaw|title=Monarchy in South East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zq-EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA189|date=4 January 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-66707-9|pages=189–}}</ref> The exiled Sultan of Kedah turned to the British to help him regain his throne, despite Britain's policy of non-engagement in expensive minor wars in the Malay Peninsula at the time, which the EIC upheld through the [[Governor-General of India]].<ref name="Stearn2019" /><ref name="Hall1981" /> Siam's subsequent plan to extend its conquests to the southern territory of Perak<ref name="Andaya1982" /><ref name="CasparisGraaf1900" /><ref name="Hall1981" /> failed after Perak defeated the Siamese forces with the aid of mixed [[Bugis people|Bugis]] and Malay reinforcements from the [[Selangor Sultanate|Sultanate of Selangor]].<ref name="Andaya1982" /><ref name="Stearn2019" /><ref name="BegbieBanerjee1834" /><ref name="Kershaw2002" /> As an expression of gratitude to Selangor for assisting it to defeat Siam, Perak authorised Raja Hasan of Selangor to collect [[tax]]es and [[revenue]] in its territory. This power, however, was soon misused, causing conflict between the two sultanates.<ref>{{cite book|title=Monographs on Malay Subjects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-slAAAAMAAJ|year=1933}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Ismail Mohd. Abu Hassan|author2=Hakimah Haji Yaacob|author3=Khairatul Akmar Ab. Latif|title=Introduction to Malaysian legal history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BNKYAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Ilmiah Publishers|isbn=978-983-3074-23-5}}</ref>

=== British protectorate ===
{{main|Federated Malay States|List of British Residents of Perak}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 450
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = Peta negeri reman.jpg
| alt1              = 1899 Malay Peninsula map
| caption1          = 1899 map showing neighbouring Malay states Kedah, [[Kelantan Sultanate|Kelantan]], Perlis and Terengganu, which sent a ''[[bunga mas]]'' to the Siamese court every three years before their cession to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] under the 1909 [[Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909|Anglo-Siamese Treaty]]. Perak's interior shown under Siamese tributary the [[Reman Kingdom]], before recovery with British help in 1909.<ref name="Reman occupied districts"/><ref name="1912 Perak details">{{cite book|title=The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Sian, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c: With which are Incorporated "The China Directory" and "The Hong Kong List for the Far East" ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o4tEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1388|year=1912|publisher=Hong Kong Daily Press Office|pages=1388–1389}}</ref><ref name="British aid resulted to the regain of Hulu Perak">{{cite web|url=http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/470/2/BAB1.pdf|title=Bab 1 (Pengenalan)|trans-title=Chapter 1 (Introduction)|language=ms|author=M Hamzah|publisher=[[University of Malaya]] Students Repository|year=1995|access-date=16 September 2019|page=8 [7/31]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916115618/http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/470/2/BAB1.pdf|archive-date=16 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| image2            = British Malaya- an account of the origin and progress of British influence in Malaya; with a specially compiled map, numerous illustrations reproduced from photographs and a frontispiece in (14581039678).jpg
| alt2              = 1907 Malay Peninsula map
| caption2          = 1907 British map of the Malay Peninsula, showing Perak (green outline), the [[Straits Settlements]] including Dindings (red), northern Malay Siamese tributary states (yellow), and Sultanates of Pahang and [[Selangor Sultanate|Selangor]] (brown and orange)
}}

When the EIC established a British presence in Penang, the British already had a trading post in [[Founding years of modern Singapore|Singapore]], avoiding involvement in the affairs of the nearby Malay sultanates.<ref name="Mackay2005">{{cite book|author=Derek Mackay|title=Eastern Customs: The Customs Service in British Malaya and the Hunt for Opium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3EAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|date=24 March 2005|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85771-230-1|pages=10–}}</ref> In 1822, the British authority in [[Company rule in India|India]] sent British diplomat [[John Crawfurd]] to Siam to negotiate trade concessions and gather information with a view to restoring the Sultan of Kedah to the throne. The mission failed.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joginder Singh Jessy|title=History of Malaya, 1400-1959|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwc5AQAAIAAJ&q=anglo+burmese+war+1824+siam+ally|year=1963|publisher=Jointly published by the United Publishers and Peninsular Publications|pages=82–}}</ref> In 1823, the Sultanates of Perak and Selangor signed a joint agreement to block the Dutch tin monopoly in their territories.<ref name="Perak and Selangor treaty" /> EIC policy shifted with the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]] in 1824 with Siam becoming an important ally.<ref name="Hall1981" />

Through its governor, [[Robert Fullerton]], Penang tried to convince the main EIC authority in India to continue helping the Sultan of Kedah to regain his throne.<ref>{{cite book|author=Harry Miller|title=A short history of Malaysia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5luAAAAMAAJ&q=anglo+burmese+war+1824+siam+ally|year=1966|publisher=F.A. Praeger|pages=79–}}</ref> Throughout 1824, Siam aimed to expand its control towards Perak and Selangor.<ref>{{cite book|author=Virginia Thompson|title=Thailand, the new Siam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXTaAAAAIAAJ&q=In+1824%2C+the+year+of+Siam%27s+expansion+in+Selangor+and+Perak|year=1941|publisher=The Macmillan company|pages=150–|isbn=9780598971814}}</ref> The dispute between the British and Dutch formally ceased when Dutch Malacca in the Malay Peninsula was exchanged with [[British Bencoolen]] in Sumatra, both parties agreeing to limit their sphere of influence through the signing of the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824|1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/5005d886-9c27-421e-a22d-44fb5965350c|title=Signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty (Treaty of London) of 1824 [17 March 1824]|publisher=[[National Library Board]], Singapore|access-date=16 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916044624/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/5005d886-9c27-421e-a22d-44fb5965350c|archive-date=16 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 1825, an initial negotiation was held between Siam, represented by their tributary state the [[Nakhon Si Thammarat#History|Kingdom of Ligor]], and the EIC.<ref name="British-Siam negotiation">{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/rundingan-inggeris-siam/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=British-Siam Negotiation|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=31 July 1825|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913053751/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/rundingan-inggeris-siam/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=13 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The King of Ligor promised that Siam would not send its armada to Perak and Selangor, resolving the issue of its attacks. The British renounced any aspiration of conquering Perak or interfering in its administration, promising to prevent Raja Hasan of Selangor from making trouble in Perak, and to try to reconcile the differences between Selangor and Ligor.<ref name="British-Siam negotiation" /> A month later, in August 1825, Sultan of Selangor [[Ibrahim Shah of Selangor|Ibrahim Shah]] signed a friendship and peace treaty with the EIC, represented by John Anderson, ending the long feud between the governments of Selangor and Perak.<ref name="English peace and friendship treaty">{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-damai-dan-persahabatan-selangor-inggeris/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=Selangor-English Peace And Friendship Treaty|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=20 August 1825|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910054553/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-damai-dan-persahabatan-selangor-inggeris/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=10 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Under the treaty, Selangor gave assurances to the British that it would not interfere in the affairs of Perak; the border between Perak and Selangor was finalised; and Raja Hasan of Selangor was to be immediately exiled from Perak, paving the way for peace between the two Malay states and the resolution of the power struggle between the British and Siam.<ref name="English peace and friendship treaty" />

[[File:Pangkor Island, Perak, 1874.jpg|thumb|right|Pangkor Island within Dindings in the British Straits Settlements, {{circa|1874}}]]

In 1826, the Kingdom of Ligor broke its promise and attempted to conquer Perak. A small British expeditionary force thwarted the attack. The Sultan of Perak then ceded to the British Dindings and Pangkor (the two now constitute [[Manjung District]]) so that the British could suppress [[piracy|pirate]] activity along the Perak coast where it became part of the [[Straits Settlements]].<ref name="Wheeler2019" /> The same year, the British and Siam concluded the [[Burney Treaty]], signed by British Captain [[Henry Burney]] and the Siamese government, the British agreed not to intercede in the affairs of Kedah despite their friendly relations with Kedah's ruler, and the Siamese agreed not to attack Perak or Selangor.<ref>{{cite book|author=Daniel George Edward Hall|title=Henry Burney: A Political Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XRuAAAAMAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-713583-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Thongchai Winichakul|title=Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJEK4sHPlUsC&pg=PA62|year=1997|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-1974-3|pages=62–}}</ref>

[[File:Women_tin_miners_in_Perak,_late_19th_century.jpg|left|thumb|Women of different ethnic groups in Perak; the majority [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]], with some [[Ethnic Malays|Malay]] and [[Mandailing people|Mandailing]] employed as [[tin]] miners in the late 19th century]]

The discovery of tin in Larut and rapid growth of the tin ore trade in the 19th century saw an increasing influx of Chinese labour. Later, rivalry developed between two Chinese [[secret societies]]. This, coupled with internal political strife between two factions of Perak's local Malay rulers, escalated into the [[Larut Wars]] in 1841.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Succession to the Perak Sultanate|author=Khoo Kay Kim|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=1983|volume=56|issue=2|pages=7–29|jstor=41492955}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mervyn Llewelyn Wynne|title=Triad Societies: Western Accounts of the History, Sociology and Linguistics of Chinese Secret Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6irEoGgDrm4C&pg=PA282|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-24397-1|pages=282–}}</ref> After 21 years of wars, neighbouring Kedah freed itself from full Siamese rule in 1843, although it remained a Siamese tributary state until 1909.<ref name="Wheeler2019" /><ref name="BegbieBanerjee1834" /> By 1867, the link between the Straits Settlements on the Malay coast and the British authority in India was broken, with separate administration and the transfer of the respective territories to the [[Colonial Office]].<ref name="Mackay2005" /> The [[Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–1871]] enabled the Dutch to consolidate control over Aceh in Sumatra. This later escalated into the [[Aceh War]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Simon Groenveld|author2=Michael Joseph Wintle|author3=Anglo-Dutch Historical Conference|title=State and Trade: Government and the Economy in Britain and the Netherlands Since the Middle Ages; &#91;papers Delivered to the Tenth Anglo-Dutch Historical Conference, Nijmegen, 1988&#93;|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v360AAAAIAAJ&q=Anglo-Dutch+Treaties+of+1870%E2%80%9371+dutch+aceh|year=1992|publisher=Walburg Press|isbn=978-90-6011-794-1|pages=117–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Arthur Cotterell|title=Western Power in Asia: Its Slow Rise and Swift Fall, 1415 - 1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dY79QltL5fQC&pg=PA383|date=4 August 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-16999-5|pages=383–}}</ref>

[[File:SultanAbdullahPerak.jpg|thumb|125px|left|Raja [[Abdullah Muhammad Shah II of Perak|Abdullah Muhammad Shah II]], whose request for British intervention in Perak's affairs resulted in the 1874 [[Pangkor Treaty of 1874|Pangkor Treaty]]<ref name="1874 Pangkor Treaty">{{cite web |date=30 December 1873 |title=Raja Abdullah's Letter To The English Governor |url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/surat-raja-abdullah-kepada-gabenor-inggeris/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913052227/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/surat-raja-abdullah-kepada-gabenor-inggeris/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print |archive-date=13 September 2019 |access-date=13 September 2019 |publisher=National Library Board, Singapore}}</ref><ref name="signing of 1874 Pangkor Treaty">{{cite web |title=Pangkor Treaty is Signed [20 January 1874] |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/07f0aaea-4348-4e34-947e-69448be4407f |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913051622/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/07f0aaea-4348-4e34-947e-69448be4407f |archive-date=13 September 2019 |access-date=13 September 2019 |publisher=[[National Library Board]], Singapore}}</ref>]]

Internal conflicts ensued in Perak. In 1873, the ruler of one of Perak's two local Malay factions, Raja [[Abdullah Muhammad Shah II of Perak|Abdullah Muhammad Shah II]], wrote to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, [[Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824)|Andrew Clarke]], requesting British assistance.<ref name="1874 Pangkor Treaty" /> This resulted in the [[Pangkor Treaty of 1874|Treaty of Pangkor]], signed on Pangkor Island on 20 January 1874, under which the British recognised Abdullah as the legitimate Sultan of Perak.<ref name="signing of 1874 Pangkor Treaty" /> In return, the treaty provided for direct British intervention through the appointment of a Resident who would advise the sultan on all matters except religion and customs, and oversee revenue collection and general administration, including maintenance of peace and order.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anthony Webster|title=Gentleman Capitalists: British Imperialism in Southeast Asia, 1770-1890|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vH2ssfXKBLwC&pg=PA182|date=31 December 1998|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-171-8|pages=182–}}</ref> Britain's first priority in the region was preventing the internecine warfare among the Chinese at Larut which had been disrupting trade, and in bringing about an end to the piracy plaguing the region.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Heussler |first=Robert |title=British rule in Malaya: the Malayan civil service and its predecessors, 1867 - 1942 |date=1981 |publisher=Clio Press |isbn=978-0-903450-49-2 |location=Oxford |pages=54}}</ref>

[[File:KITLV - 3608 - Lambert & Co., G.R. - Singapore - Members of the first meeting of the Federal Conference in Kuala Kangsar in Perak - 1897-07-14.tif|thumb|right|First Federal Conference after Perak joined the [[Federated Malay States|FMS]],<ref>{{cite web |date=31 July 1825 |title=The First Federated Malay States Durbar Meeting, Kuala Kangsar, July 1897 |url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/mesyuarat-durbar-negeri-negeri-melayu-bersekutu-yang-pertama-kuala-kangsar-julai1897 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913121040/http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/mesyuarat-durbar-negeri-negeri-melayu-bersekutu-yang-pertama-kuala-kangsar-julai1897 |archive-date=13 September 2019 |access-date=10 September 2019 |publisher=National Archives of Malaysia}}</ref> held in Kuala Kangsar as a mark of British regard for Sultan [[Idris Murshidul Azzam Shah of Perak|Idris Murshidul Azzam Shah]], {{circa|1897}}<ref>{{cite news |author=Alan Teh Leam Seng |date=1 July 2018 |title=Conference of Rulers: How it all started |newspaper=New Straits Times |url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2018/07/386063/conference-rulers-how-it-all-started |access-date=13 September 2019}}</ref>]]

The treaty marked the introduction of a [[Resident minister|British residential system]], with Perak going on to become part of the [[Federated Malay States]] (FMS) in 1895. It was also a shift from the previous British policy of non-intervention in Perak's affairs.<ref name="Wheeler2019" /><ref name="1874 Pangkor Treaty" /><ref name="signing of 1874 Pangkor Treaty" /><ref name="1912 Perak details" /> [[James W. W. Birch]] was appointed as Perak's first [[List of British Residents of Perak|British Resident]], and [[Tristram Speedy|Captain Speedy]], already stationed at Larut with a number of [[Sepoy|Sepoys]], was appointed Assistant Resident.<ref name=":1" /> However, Birch's inability to understand and communicate well with the locals, ignorance of Malay customs, and disparagement of the efforts of the sultan and his dignitaries to implement British tax control and collection systems caused resentment. This was also not helped by a lack of a coherent British policy for the area, and poor understanding from the Sultanate as to the implications of a British Resident.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, local nationalist [[Lela Pandak Lam|Maharaja Lela]] and the new monarch, Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II, opposed him, and the following year, in 1875, Birch was assassinated through a conspiracy of local Malay dignitaries Seputum, Pandak Indut, Che Gondah, and Ngah Ahmad.<ref name="US commercial relations" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/residen-perak-j-w-w-birch-dibunuh/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=J.W.W. Birch, The Resident Of Perak Was Killed|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=2 November 1875|access-date=16 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916102849/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/residen-perak-j-w-w-birch-dibunuh/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=16 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The assassination angered the British authority, and following anti-British uprisings in several areas, a major military campaign was fought by the British in Perak in 1875-76. The perpetrators were arrested and executed and the sultan and his chiefs, also suspected of involvement in the plot, were [[exile|banished]] to the [[History of Seychelles#British rule|British Seychelles]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] in 1876.<ref name="Scarr2000">{{cite book|author=Deryck Scarr|title=Seychelles Since 1770: History of a Slave and Post-slavery Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_anYGvvJKU0C&pg=PA106|year=2000|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-363-9|pages=106–}}</ref><ref name="innocent Sultan of Perak">{{cite web|url=http://www.seychellesweekly.com/July%2011,%202010/top2_sultan.html|title=The Innocent Sultan of Perak in the Seychelles|author=Julien Durup|publisher=Seychelles Weekly|date=11 July 2010|access-date=16 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916105559/http://www.seychellesweekly.com/July%2011,%202010/top2_sultan.html|archive-date=16 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The swiftness of the campaign would also act as a wake-up call to the chiefs that, unlike their other rivals, the British thoroughly intended to make their mark on the country, and had the power to enforce it.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Heussler |first=Robert |title=British rule in Malaya: the Malayan civil service and its predecessors, 1867 - 1942 |date=1981 |publisher=Clio Press |isbn=978-0-903450-49-2 |location=Oxford |pages=56-57}}</ref>

[[File:The Author's first ride in Perak.png|thumb|right|British female explorer, naturalist and writer [[Isabella Bird]] led by two local men in her first ride on elephant in Perak, {{circa|1883}}]]

During his exile, the Sultan had the use of a government-owned residence at Union Vale in [[Victoria, Seychelles|Victoria]], [[Mahé, Seychelles|Mahé]]. The other exiled chiefs were given allowances but remained under strict surveillance. The sultan and his chiefs were temporarily relocated to [[Félicité Island]] for five years, before being allowed to return to Victoria in 1882 when the turmoil in Perak had subsided. The sultan led a quiet life in the Seychellois community, and had communications access to [[State House (Seychelles)|Government House]].<ref name="correspondence">{{cite journal|title=Letters From Exile — Correspondence of Sultan Abdullah of Perak from Seychelles and Mauritius, 1877—1891|author=Cheah Boon Kheng|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=1991|volume=64|issue=1|pages=33–74|jstor=41493172}}</ref> After many years, the Sultan was pardoned following petitioning by the Seychellois and correspondence between W. H. Hawley of Government House, Mauritius, and [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] [[Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford|Henry Holland]]. He was allowed to return to the Malay Peninsula, and spent most of his later life in Singapore and Penang before returning to [[Kuala Kangsar (town)|Kuala Kangsar]] in Perak in 1922.<ref name="correspondence" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/dokumen-permohonan-pengampunan-sultan-abdullah-perak|title=Pardon Application Documents Sultan Abdullah, Perak|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=31 July 1825|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206024453/http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/dokumen-permohonan-pengampunan-sultan-abdullah-perak|archive-date=6 February 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Collectie NM van Wereldculturen TM-60016187 Foto Auteur Marie-Francois-Xavier-Joseph-Jean-Honore Brau de Saint-Pol Lias (1840 - 1914).jpg|thumb|right|Group portrait of 4th British Resident [[Hugh Low]] and two Perak and Larut Malay rajas, {{circa|1880–1881}}]]

Being the only candidate to the Sultanate who could be confidently ascertained to be innocent of the plot, Abdullah's brother [[Yusuf Sharifuddin Muzaffar Shah of Perak|Yusuf]] was dully appointed Sultan, albeit one that would be considered far more of a British puppet than before. Despite this, the Malay population seemed largely to welcome the British as a source of stability compared to the often feuding chiefs.<ref name=":2" /> Initially, the now vacant role of British Resident was taken over by [[James Guthrie Davidson]], a previous resident of Selangor. However, the low pay and insecure position resulted in him disengaging from the role and leaving after only one year in office. Needing someone both local and skilled enough to handle the complicated circumstances of Perak, the Governor would subsequently appoint the more experienced Hugh Low, who had spent much of the past twenty-eight years in nearby [[Labuan]], and who was considered a safe pair of hands by both London and the Governor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heussler |first=Robert |title=British rule in Malaya: the Malayan civil service and its predecessors, 1867 - 1942 |date=1981 |publisher=Clio Press |isbn=978-0-903450-49-2 |location=Oxford |pages=58}}</ref>

British Resident in Perak [[Hugh Low]] proved an effective administrator, preferring to adopt a generous approach that avoided confrontation with local leaders. As a result, he was able to secure the co-operation of many rajas and village ''[[penghulu]]'' with his policy rather than resorting to force, despite giving transport infrastructure little attention during his term.<ref name="US commercial relations" /><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Journal of Sir Hugh Low, Perak, 1877|author=Emily Sadka|journal=Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=1954|volume=27|issue=4|pages=1–108|jstor=24249161}}</ref><ref name="Martin2004">{{cite book|author=Susan M. Martin|title=The Up Saga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtDTYPUl-yEC&pg=PA26|year=2004|publisher=NIAS Press|isbn=978-87-91114-51-9|pages=26–}}</ref> In 1882, [[Frank Swettenham]] succeeded Low for a second term as the Resident of Perak. During his mandate, Perak's rail and road infrastructure was put in place. Increasing numbers of labourers were brought from India, primarily to work as railway and municipal [[coolie]]s.<ref name="KhooLubis2005" /><ref name="Martin2004" />

[[File:Groepsportret van meisjes uit Kuala Kangsar.png|thumb|left|Perak [[Ethnic Malays|Malay]] girls in [[folk costume|traditional dress]], [[Kuala Kangsar (town)|Kuala Kangsar]], image pre-1921]]

The British introduced several changes to the local political structure, exerting influence on the appointment of the sultan and restricting the power of his chiefs to Malay local matters. The sultan and his chiefs were no longer entitled to collect taxes but received a monthly allowance from the state treasury in compensation.<ref name="transformation of Perak's political and economic structure">{{cite journal|url=http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6228/1/d.pdf|title=The Transformation of Perak's Political and Economic Structure in the British Colonial Period in Malaya (1874-1957)|author1=Azrai Abdullah|author2=Izdihar Baharin|author3=Rizal Yaakop|journal=Malaysian Journal of History, Politics & Strategy, School of History, Politics & Strategy|via=[[Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia]]|year=2012|volume=39|issue=2|pages=63–72|issn=2180-0251|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917090236/http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6228/1/d.pdf|archive-date=17 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> British intervention marked the beginning of Perak's transition from a primarily Malay society to a multi-ethnic one. The new style of government worked to promote a [[market economy|market-driven economy]], maintain law and order, and combat [[slavery]], seen by the British as an obstacle to economic development and incompatible with a [[capitalist economy]].<ref name="transformation of Perak's political and economic structure" />

Under the [[Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909|Anglo-Siamese Treaty]], signed in Bangkok in 1909, Siam ceded its northern Malay tributary states of Kedah, [[Kelantan Sultanate|Kelantan]], Perlis, and [[Terengganu Sultanate|Terengganu]] and nearby islands to [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]]. Exceptions were the [[Patani (historical region)|Patani]] region, which remained under Siamese rule, and Perak, which regained the previously lost inland territory that became the [[Hulu Perak District]].<ref name="Reman occupied districts" /><ref name="British aid resulted to the regain of Hulu Perak" /> The treaty terms stipulated that the British, through their government of the FMS, would assume responsibility for all debts owed to Siam by the four ceded Malay states, and relinquish British [[extraterritoriality|extraterritorial rights]] in Siam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-british-siam-1909/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|title=Anglo-Siamese Treaty Of 1909|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|date=10 March 1909|access-date=17 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917075317/http://hids.arkib.gov.my/en/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/perjanjian-british-siam-1909/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_WAhqbCYR9ww2_viewMode=print|archive-date=17 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Second World War ===
{{main|Malayan Campaign|Battle of Kampar|Battle of Slim River|Japanese occupation of Malaya}}
[[File:1942 Japanese World War II Map of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore - Geographicus - Kamatchka-japanese-1940.jpg|thumb|left|[[Japanese characters]] map of Malaya under the [[Japanese occupation of Malaya|occupation]] of the [[Empire of Japan]], {{circa|1942}}]]

There had been a [[Overseas Japanese|Japanese community]] in Perak since 1893, managing the bus service between the town of [[Ipoh]] and [[Batu Gajah]], and running [[brothel]]s in [[Kinta District|Kinta]].<ref name="KhooLubis2005" /> There were a number of other Japanese-run businesses in Ipoh, including [[dentist]]s, [[photo studio]]s, [[laundry|laundries]], [[tailor]]s, [[barber]]s, and hotels. Activity increased as a result of the close relationship created by the [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]].<ref name="KhooLubis2005" />

[[File:Japanese Type 97 Te-Ke tanks during the Battle of Kampar, 1941.jpg|thumb|right|Japanese [[Type 97 Te-Ke tankette|Type 97 Te-Ke]] tanks, followed by their [[bicycle infantry]], advancing during the [[Battle of Kampar]], December 1941]]

Early in July 1941, a [[Sri Lankan Malays|Ceylonese Malay]] policeman serving under the British administration in Perak raised an alert after a Japanese business owner living in the same building told him that [[Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan|Japanese troops]] were on their way, approaching not around Singapore from the sea, as expected by the British, but from [[Kota Bharu]] in Kelantan, with [[bicycle infantry]] and [[rubber boat]]s.<ref name="KhooLubis2005" /> The policeman informed the British Chief Police Officer in Ipoh, but his claim was laughed off.<ref name="KhooLubis2005" /> By 26 December 1941, the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] (IJA) had arrived in Ipoh, the capital, moving southwards from Thailand. The following day they went on to [[Taiping, Perak|Taiping]], leaving destruction and heavy casualties in their wake.<ref name="Kennedy1987">{{cite book|author=Joseph Kennedy|title=British Civilians and the Japanese War in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-45|url=https://archive.org/details/britishcivilians0000kenn|url-access=registration|date=18 June 1987|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-08691-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/britishcivilians0000kenn/page/26 26]–28}}</ref> The British forces, retreating from the north of the Malay Peninsula under Lieutenant-General [[Lewis Heath]], had moved a further {{convert|80|-|100|mi}} to the Perak River (Sungai Perak), damaging the route behind them to slow the Japanese advance.<ref name="Kennedy1987" /> With the approval of Lieutenant-General [[Arthur Percival]], the British mounted a defensive stand near the river mouth and in [[Kampar, Perak|Kampar]], leaving the towns of Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping unguarded.<ref name="Kennedy1987" />

[[File:Residents of Penang at Ipoh Station, Perak having refreshments from local residents, WWII (23916855204).jpg|thumb|right|European administrator civilians from Penang having their break in Ipoh Station before proceeding south to Singapore during the war, {{circa|1941}}]]

Most civil administrations were closed down, since the European administrators and civilians evacuated south.<ref name="Kennedy1987" /> By mid-December, the Japanese had reached [[Kroh]] in the interior of Perak, moving in from Kota Bharu in Kelantan. The Japanese arrived both from the east and by boat along the western coast.<ref name="Kennedy1987" /> Within 16 days of their first landings, they had captured the entire northern part of the Malay Peninsula. The British were left trying to blockade the main road heading south from Ipoh. While the defending troops briefly slowed the Japanese at the [[Battle of Kampar]] and at the mouth of the Perak River, the Japanese advance along the trunk road, followed up with bombing and water-borne incursions, forced the British to retreat further south.<ref name="Kennedy1987" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Japanese Land Operations (from Japanese Sources), December 8, 1941, to June 8, 1942|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TX2FRHU6BYgC&q=Although+this+attack+was+itself+a+failure%2C+it+did+succeed+in+ultimately+getting+the+Japanese+across+the+Perak+River|year=1942|publisher=Military Intelligence Service, War Department|pages=31–}}</ref>

[[File:Sikh infantry during the Battle of Kampar, taken between 1941-1942.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sikh]] infantry of the [[Indian Army during World War II|Indian Army]] serving alongside [[British Empire in World War II|British Empire]] troops during a fierce battle against the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] (IJA) in Kampar, {{circa|1941–1942}}]]

The Japanese occupied all of Malaya and Singapore. Tokugawa Yoshichika, of the [[Tokugawa clan]] whose ancestors were [[Shogun]]s who ruled Japan from the 16th to 19th centuries, proposed a plan for reform. Under its terms, [[Johor Sultanate#Modern Johore Sultanate|Johor]], Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah-Penang, and Perlis would be restored and federated. Johor would control Perak, Selangor, [[Negeri Sembilan]], and Malacca. An {{convert|800|sqmi|adj=on}} area in southern Johor would be incorporated into [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Singapore]] for defence purposes.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Yōji Akashi|author2=Mako Yoshimura|title=New Perspectives on the Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHeGUGRrdtwC&pg=PA43|date=1 December 2008|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-299-5|pages=43–}}</ref>

In the context of the military alliance between Japan and Thailand and their joint participation in the [[Burma campaign]] against the Allied forces, in 1943 the [[Empire of Japan]] gave Thailand back its former Malay tributary states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu, which had been ceded to the British under the 1909 treaty. These territories were then administered as Thailand's [[Si Rat Malai|Four Malay States]] ({{langx|th|สี่รัฐมาลัย}}), with Japanese troops maintaining a presence.<ref>{{cite book|author=United States. Army Service Forces|title=Civil Affairs Handbook: Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rIp7NV9vngC&q=japanese+northern+malay+state+thailand&pg=PA3|year=1944|publisher=Headquarters, Army Service Forces|pages=3–}}</ref><ref name="Kratoska1998">{{cite book|author=Paul H. Kratoska|title=The Japanese Occupation of Malaya: A Social and Economic History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bePxcx7BFLEC&pg=PA85|year=1998|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-284-7|pages=85–299}}</ref> Perak suffered under harsh military control, restricted movement, and tight surveillance throughout the Japanese occupation until 1945.<ref name="Perak brief history" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Hong Kuan Yap|title=Perak Under the Japanese, 1942-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PuWzAQAACAAJ|year=1957|publisher=University of Malaya, Singapore}}</ref> The press in occupied Malaya, including the English-language occupation-era newspaper ''The Perak Times'', was entirely under the control of the [[Dōmei Tsushin|Dōmei News Agency]] (''Dōmei Tsushin''), publishing [[Japanese propaganda during World War II|Japanese-related war propaganda]]. The Dōmei News Agency also printed newspapers in Malay, [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], and Japanese.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2016/05/the-perak-times-a-rare-japanese-occupation-newspaper-from-malaya.html|title=The Perak Times: a rare Japanese-occupation newspaper from Malaya|author=Annabel Teh Gallop|publisher=[[British Library]]|date=13 May 2016|access-date=20 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920071906/https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2016/05/the-perak-times-a-rare-japanese-occupation-newspaper-from-malaya.html|archive-date=20 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The indigenous [[Orang Asli]] stayed in the interior during the occupation. Much of their community was befriended by [[Malayan Communist Party#World War II|Malayan Communist Party guerrillas]], who protected them from outsiders in return for information on the Japanese and their food supplies.<ref name="Duncan2008">{{cite book|author=Christopher R. Duncan|title=Civilizing the Margins: Southeast Asian Government Policies for the Development of Minorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqZYHdOMFsEC&pg=PA27|year=2008|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-418-0|pages=27–}}</ref> Strong resistance came mainly from the ethnic Chinese community, while some Malays collaborated with the Japanese through the [[Kesatuan Melayu Muda]] (KMM) movement for Malayan independence. But Malay support waned with increasingly harsh Japanese treatment of civilians during the occupation.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Morris|author2=Naoko Shimazu|author3=Edward Vickers|title=Imagining Japan in Post-war East Asia: Identity Politics, Schooling and Popular Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_DUsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200|date=26 March 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-68490-8|pages=200–}}</ref> Two Chinese [[guerrilla]] organisations operated within Perak in northern Malaya. One, the Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Army (OCAJA), was aligned with the [[Kuomintang]]. The other, the [[Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army]] (MPAJA), was closely associated with the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. Although both opposed the Japanese, there were clashes between the two groups.<ref name="Kratoska2018">{{cite book|author=Paul H. Kratoska|title=The Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Singapore, 1941-45: A Social and Economic History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xvlqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA299|date=30 April 2018|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-638-2|pages=299–}}</ref>

[[Sybil Kathigasu]], a Eurasian nurse and member of the Perak resistance, was tortured after the Japanese ''[[Kempeitai]]'' military police discovered a clandestine [[shortwave radio]] set in her home.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/293647/forgotten-perak-town-was-backdrop-sybil-kathigasus-heroism|title=Forgotten Perak town was backdrop of Sybil Kathigasu's heroism|author=Veena Babulal|newspaper=New Straits Times|date=22 October 2017|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/07/14/memories-of-resistance-fighter-sybil-kathigasu-live-on/1652131|title=Memories of resistance fighter Sybil Kathigasu live on|author=John Bunyan|newspaper=The Malay Mail|date=14 July 2018|access-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002060643/https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/07/14/memories-of-resistance-fighter-sybil-kathigasu-live-on/1652131|archive-date=2 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> John Davis, an officer of the British commando [[Force 136]], part of the [[Special Operations Executive]] (SOE), trained local guerrillas prior to the Japanese invasion at the 101 Special Training School in Singapore, where he sought Chinese recruits for their commando teams.<ref name="Operation Gustavus in Malaya">{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_68_2005-02-02.html|title=Force 136 (Operation Gustavus in Malaya)|author=Alex Chow|publisher=National Library Board, Singapore|date=1 August 2014|access-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002065659/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_68_2005-02-02.html|archive-date=2 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Under the codename Operation Gustavus, Davis and five Chinese agents landed on the Perak coast north of Pangkor Island on 24 May 1943. They established a base camp in the Segari Hills, from which they moved to the plains to set up an intelligence network in the state.<ref name="Operation Gustavus in Malaya" /> In September 1943, they met and agreed to co-operate with the MPAJA, which then provided Force 136 with support and manpower. This first intelligence network collapsed, when many of its leaders, including [[Lim Bo Seng]], were caught, tortured and killed by the ''Kempeitai'' in June 1944.<ref name="Operation Gustavus in Malaya" /> On 16 December 1944, a second intelligence network, comprising five Malay SOE agents and two British liaison officers, Major Peter G. Dobree and Captain Clifford, was [[parachute]]d into Padang Cermin, near [[Temenggor Lake]] Dam in Hulu Perak under the codename Operation Hebrides. Its main objective was to set up wireless communications between Malaya and Force 136 headquarters in [[Kandy]], [[British Ceylon]], after the MPAJA's failure to do so.<ref name="Kratoska1998" />

=== Post-war and independence ===
{{main|Malayan Union|Federation of Malaya}}
[[File:The British Reoccupation of Malaya SE6126.jpg|thumb|left|Suspected communist collaborators, believed involved in murders of civilians in Kuala Kangsar, under guard during an operation by the [[53rd Indian Brigade]] ([[25th Infantry Division (India)|25th Indian Division]]), {{circa|1945}}]]

The Malay states became unstable following Japan's surrender to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in 1945. This was exacerbated by the emergence of nationalism and a popular demand for independence as the [[British Military Administration (Malaya)|British Military Administration]] took over from 1945 to 1946 to maintain peace and order, before the British began introducing new administrative systems under the [[Malayan Union]].<ref name="Perak brief history" /> The four Malay states held by Thailand during the war were returned to the British. This was done under a proposal by the [[United States]], offering Thailand admission to the [[United Nations]] (UN) and a substantial American aid package to support its economy after the war.<ref>{{cite book|author=Likhit Dhiravegin|title=Siam and Colonialism, 1855-1909: An Analysis of Diplomatic Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5lGAAAAMAAJ&q=malay+states+return+to+british+american+economic+aid+thai|year=1974|publisher=Thai Watana Panich}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Thak Chaloemtiarana|title=Thailand: The Politics of Despotic Paternalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6f0CMvP203wC&pg=PA20|year=2007|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=978-0-87727-742-2|pages=20–}}</ref> The MPAJA, under the [[Communist Party of Malaya]] (CPM), had fought alongside the British against the Japanese, and most of its members received awards at the end of the war. However, party policy become radicalised under the authority of Perak-born [[Chin Peng]], who took over the CPM administration after former leader [[Lai Teck]] disappeared with party funds.<ref name="Kantowicz2000">{{cite book|author=Edward R. Kantowicz|title=Coming Apart, Coming Together|url=https://archive.org/details/comingapartcomin0000kant|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4456-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/comingapartcomin0000kant/page/111 111]–}}</ref>

[[File:Outdoor portrait of Lee Min, leader of the communist Kepayang Gang in the Ipoh district in 1951 (AWM 4281801).JPG|thumb|180px|Notorious [[Malayan National Liberation Army|MLNA]] leader [[Lee Meng]] in [[Kinta District|Ipoh District]] during the [[Malayan Emergency]], {{circa|1951}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblioasia/2018/04/09/hunting-down-the-malayan-mata-hari/|title=Hunting Down the Malayan Mata Hari|author=Ronnie Tan|publisher=National Library Board, Singapore|date=9 April 2018|access-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504010100/http://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblioasia/2018/04/09/hunting-down-the-malayan-mata-hari/|archive-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

Under Chin's authority, the MPAJA killed those they considered to have been Japanese collaborators during the war, who were mainly Malays. This sparked [[ethnic conflict|racial conflict]] and Malay retaliation. Death squads were also dispatched by the CPM to murder European plantation owners in Perak, and [[Kuomintang]] leaders in [[Johor]]. The Malayan government's subsequent declaration of a [[state of emergency]] on 18 June 1948 marked the start of the [[Malayan Emergency]].<ref name="Kantowicz2000"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/darurat-angkara-komunis|title=Emergency Brought by Communist|publisher=National Archives of Malaysia|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101021336/http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/darurat-angkara-komunis|archive-date=1 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Perak and Johor became the main strongholds of the communist movement, the former through native-born figureheads like [[Abdullah CD]] and [[Rashid Maidin]].<ref name=radhub>{{cite news |author=Khoo Kay Kim |author-link=Khoo Kay Kim|title=Perak once hub of radical Malay activities |department=It's History |work=[[New Straits Times]] |date=28 March 2000 |page=12}}</ref> In the early stages their actions were not co-ordinated, and the security forces were able to counter them.<ref name="Malayan Communist Insurgency">{{cite journal|title=The Malayan Communist Insurgency|author=M. Ladd Thomas|journal=Asian Affairs: An American Review|year=1977|volume=4|issue=5|pages=306–316|jstor=30171520|doi=10.1080/00927678.1977.10554134}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Guan Heng Tan|title=100 Inspiring Rafflesians, 1823-2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elthDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|year=2008|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-277-892-5|pages=2–}}</ref> Earlier in 1947, the head of the Perak's [[Criminal investigation department#Malaysia|Criminal Investigation Department]], H. J. Barnard, negotiated an arrangement with the Kuomintang-influenced OCAJA leader [[Leong Yew Koh]]. This resulted in most OCAJA members being absorbed into the national Special Constabulary, and fighting against the MPAJA's successor, the [[Malayan Races Liberation Army|Malayan National Liberation Army]] (MNLA).<ref name="Kratoska2018"/>

[[File:Sir Gerald Templer and his assistant, Major Lord Wynford inspecting the members of Kinta Valley Home Guard in Perak.jpg|thumb|left|Sir [[Gerald Templer]] and his assistant, Major Lord Wynford, inspecting the Kinta Valley Home Guard (KVHG), Perak, {{circa|1952}}]]

The [[Kinta Valley]], one of the richest tin mining areas in Malaya, accounted for most of the country's tin exports to the United States. On 1 May 1952, the Perak Chinese Tin Mining Association established the Kinta Valley Home Guard (KVHG) to protect it from the communists. Often described as a private Chinese Army, most of the KVHG's Chinese members had links to the Kuomintang.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Malayan Emergency: General Templer and the Kinta Valley Home Guard, 1952—1954|author=Leon Comber|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|year=2012|volume=85|issue=1|pages=45–62|jstor=24894129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/templer-and-the-road-to-malayan-independence/general-sir-gerald-templer-the-mca-and-the-kinta-valley-home-guard-195254/093E3BA59735E07DFA0519006BC74A3B|title=General Sir Gerald Templer, the MCA, and the Kinta Valley Home Guard (1952–54). In Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence: The Man and His Time|author=Leon Comber|chapter=General Sir Gerald Templer, the MCA, and the Kinta Valley Home Guard (1952–54)|publisher=[[ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute]]|year=2014|volume=85|issue=1|pages=118–138|isbn=9789814620116}}</ref> Many of the Kuomintang guerrillas were absorbed from the Lenggong area, where there were also members of Chinese secret societies whose main purpose was to defend Chinese private property against the communists.<ref name="KhooLubis2005"/> Throughout the first emergency the British authorities and their Malayan collaborators fought against the communists. This continued even after the proclamation of the independence of the [[Federation of Malaya]], on 31 August 1957. As a result, most of the communist guerrillas were successfully pushed across the northern border into Thailand.<ref name="Malayan Communist Insurgency"/> Other [[Far-left politics|radical left]] nationalist movements started in Perak like those under [[Ahmad Boestamam]] and [[Burhanuddin al-Helmy]]; but were eventually overwhelmed by the [[United Malays National Organisation]]'s local mobilisation in the same decade.<ref name=radhub/>

=== Malaysia ===
{{main|Malaysia Agreement|Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation}}
In 1961, the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya, [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]], sought to unite Malaya with the British colonies of [[Crown Colony of North Borneo|North Borneo]], [[Crown Colony of Sarawak|Sarawak]], and [[Crown Colony of Singapore|Singapore]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Politics, Security and Early Ideas of 'Greater Malaysia', 1945-1961|author1=Joseph M. Fernando|author2=Shanthiah Rajagopal|journal=Archipel|year=2017|volume=94|issue=94|pages=97–119|doi=10.4000/archipel.445|s2cid=158625010 |url=http://journals.openedition.org/archipel/445}}</ref> The [[Malaysia|Federation of Malaysia]] came into being on 16 September 1963, despite growing opposition from the governments of [[Indonesia]] and the [[Philippines]], and from communist sympathisers and nationalists in Borneo.<ref>{{cite book|author1=United States. Dept. of State. International Information Administration. Documentary Studies Section|author2=United States Information Agency. Special Materials Section|author3=United States. International Communication Agency|title=Problems of Communism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AY4qAQAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Special Materials Section, United States Information Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ramses Amer|title=Conflict Management and Dispute Settlement in East Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEg3DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|date=23 May 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-16216-2|pages=52–}}</ref> The Indonesian government later initiated a "policy of [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation|confrontation]]" against the new state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/126b6b07-f796-4b4c-b658-938001e3213e|title=Indonesia announces Konfrontasi (Confrontation) [19 January 1963]|publisher=National Library Board, Singapore|access-date=4 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630081038/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/90e4ea74-e949-4269-a522-d0cca976b432|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> This prompted the British, and their allies [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], to deploy armed forces, although no skirmishes arising from the Indonesian attacks occurred around Perak.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19640907&id=MUBVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6843,1157289|title=Aggression Must be Deterred|newspaper=The Age|date=7 September 1964|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/confrontation-in-borneo|title=Confrontation in Borneo|work=NZ History|publisher=Government of New Zealand|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> A [[Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989)|second communist insurgency]] began in the Malay Peninsula in 1968. This affected Perak mainly through attacks from Hulu Perak by the communist insurgents who had previously retreated to the Thai border.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ong Weichong|title=Malaysia's Defeat of Armed Communism: The Second Emergency, 1968-1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TV-vBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|date=3 October 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-62689-3|pages=66–}}</ref> The Perak State Information Office launched two types of [[psychological warfare]] to counter the increasing [[communist propaganda]] disseminated from the insurgents' hide-out. The campaign against the second insurgency was carried out as two separate efforts, because communist activities in Perak were split into two factions. One faction involved infiltrators from across the Thai border; the other was a communist group living among local inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Translations on South and East Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RG6-tPM-E0kC&pg=PT161|publisher=Joint Publications Research Service|pages=161–}}</ref>

With the end of British rule in Malaya and the subsequent formation of the Federation of Malaysia, new factories were built and many new suburbs developed in Perak. But there was also rising [[radicalisation|radicalism]] among local Malay Muslims, with increasing [[Islamisation]] initiated by several religious organisations, and by Islamic preachers and intellectuals who caught the interest of both Malay royalty and commoners.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hussin Mutalib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDzqZoWS1soC&pg=PR10 |title=Islam in Malaysia: From Revivalism to Islamic State? |author2=Ee Heok Kua |publisher=NUS Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-9971-69-180-6 |pages=10– |author-link2=Kua Ee Heok}}</ref> Good relations with the country's rulers resulted in Islamic scholars being appointed as palace officers and dignitaries, teachers, and religious judges, contributing to the further spread of Islam. Islam is now seen as a major factor that shaped current attitudes towards standing up for Malay rights.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2016_39.pdf|title=Exclusivist Attitudes in Malaysian Islam Have Multifarious Roots|author=Norshahril Saat|journal=ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute|year=2016|number=39|issn=2335-6677|pages=735 [1/12]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123002830/https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2016_39.pdf|archive-date=23 November 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>