Go Back1740: Born in Dallinghoo, Suffolk, out of wedlock. Mother Mary Light. Father anonymous.
1759-63: Served the Navy. First as Cadet on HMS Captain, then as Midshipman on HMS Dragon and finally as midshipman on HMS Arrogant. Met James Scott. In 1763, the signing of the Treaty of Paris (which ended the war between Great Britain, France and Spain), his ship stopped sailing, and he was out of job.
1765-75: Arrived in Madras to seek his fortune. Found job in the shipping firm Jourdain, Sullivan & de Souza, licensed by the British East India Company to conduct local trading. Made captain of the Speedwell. Sailed between India, Thailand and the Malay peninsula. He conducted trade in a semi-autonomous position, living on his own wits.
1772: Got to know Martinha Rosales (Martina Rozells) and together set up a trading office in Kuala Bahang (Kuala Kedah). She was Eurasian with Portuguese parentage on the father's side. He learned to speak Malay and Siamese.
1771: Francis Light reported to the British East India Company that the Sultan of Kedah (Sultan Mohamed Jiwa) is interested to offer his seaport (Kuala Kedah?) and the whole coastline up to Penang, in return for help (military assistance) against Selangor. The British EIC sent the young Edward Monkton to negotiate, but the deal fell through.
1771-1786: Fed up with the result of the negotiations, Francis Light and Martinha sailed off to Ujong Salang (Phuket), where they conducted their trading there, in partnership with James Scott. Honored by the Siamese King in Ayutthaya with the title of Chao Phya (Lord Lieutenant).
1778: Sultan Muhammad Jiwa passed away, succeeded by his son Sultan Abdullah Mukkaram Shah.
1783: The French set up at Trincomalee, Ceylon, and proceeded (for a while) to blockade Calcutta. Light, who was cruising down the Caromandal coast, was also captured, but managed to escape.
1784: The Dutch thwarted British attemps to set up trading settlements at Rhio and Acheh. Francis Light approached Sultan Abdullah to grant Penang Island to the British on "certain conditions."
1786: Sultan Abdullah wrote to the Acting Governor-General in Calcutta, specifying the conditions, which include military protection. Acting as the sultan's representative, Light sent the letter along with his own cover letter. Before the British could reply, Sultan Abdullah was badgering Light on a response. Trying to stall for time, Light gave the Sultan a commitment that the British would honour the conditions, and on this context, Francis Light proceeded to land and established a post on Penang.
May 1787: Siam demanded Kedah provide Siam with 200 perahus, arms, ammunition, food supplies and 10,000 soldiers. Now the Sultan comes to Light asked for the promised assistance. Light tried to write to India and when no reply came, was evasive of the Sultan. The disappointed Sultan sent his representative to Siam promissing assistance.
Nov 1787: Siam made another demand, for $30,000, arms, and food supplies for 20,000 soldiers. The sultan, desperate, tried to get help from the French in Pondicherry but the French declined. He turned to the Dutch for help but the Dutch also declined. Upset, he lined up 400 perahus and 120 guns around Penang, and held British merchandise worth $30,000 in Kuala Kedah. He now demanded that Light pay him $10,000. Light complied, paid the sultan $10,000, and said he would write to Calcutta once more.
1791: Still no reply from Calcutta, Sultan Abdullah resolved to take Penang by force. Light, not wanting to find, sent $5,000 as "compensation for the delay". But this time Sultan Abdullah returned the money. He has "had it" with British promises. Now he wanted Penang back. In the fight, Light was at an advantage, with better weapons, so he forced the sultan's troops to a retreat.
1 June 1791: Treaty between Sultan Abdullah and Francis Light. The British to pay Kedah $6,000 as long as they occupied the island.
1794: Francis Light passed away in Penang of malaria.
For his role in founding Penang, the British East India Company gave him the title of Superintendent, which is lower than the Lieutenant-Governor or even President, enjoyed by his successors.
More on Captain Francis Light
Private Guided Tours of Penang
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land. Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips
Map of Roads in Penang
Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.About this website
Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.
Copyright © 2003-2025 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.