As a port city, Melaka has a rich past. As the centre of the Melaka Sultanate, this port had a vassal relationship with the Ming in the 1400s. The port was considered a thriving entrepôt during the ‘Age of Commerce’. From 1511 Melaka was occupied by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and much later, the British before reverting to local hands.
Traces of this varied past (layers of history!) can be seen everywhere in Melaka today. We can also find traces of Melaka’s past via its diverse local communities, who at first arrived as traders (sojourners) and often became settlers (such as the Chitty Peranakans) to the Portuguese quarter.
Even more apparent in the centre of town is the architectural legacies of Melaka’s past…forts, churches and temples that have been preserved in the present.