Kuala Lumpur

 

Population: 1 640 300

Originally established in 1857 when Chinese tin miners sent by the chief of Selangor State settled at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak Rivers, naming the place Kuala Lumpur [Muddy Confluence].

Although many miners died from malaria [KL was still a dense swampy jungle then], tin was discovered in Ampang, 6kms from the confluence that soon became a landing point for thousands of Chinese labourers seeking work in the mines. After the Selangor Civil War [1867-1873] the British assumed control of Salangor and in 1880 the British resident Frank Swettenham took control.

By 1887 the railway had reached KL and hundreds of brick buildings had been built, paving the way for Kuala Lumpur to become the first capital of the Federated Malay States in 1896.