Melaka

Melaka, formerly Malacca, city and seaport in Malaysia, capital of Melaka State on the southern coast of the Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. In the days of the great sailing ships, the port was one of the busiest on the peninsula. Shipping now is confined to coastal trade, because the harbour is inaccessible to ocean-going vessels. Melaka was seized in 1511 by the Portuguese navigator and statesman Afonso de Albuquerque. The city was captured by the Dutch in 1641, but from 1795 to 1802 and again from 1811 to 1818 it was under British occupation. In 1824, after six years of Dutch rule, the British acquired the city in exchange for Benkulen, Sumatra. Population (1991) 295,999.