Chinese Engagement

▪ Malaya [1874]

      (1874), in Malaysian history, agreement ending warfare between Chinese secret societies in Malaya over possession of the Perak tin mines. In the 1850s Chinese entrepreneurs from Penang began rapid expansion of tin-mining operations in Perak. Gradually, the Larut district became divided between the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret societies and their Malay allies. Feuds flared between the secret societies, and intermittent fighting became more frequent after 1871. Distressed British officials from the Straits Settlements arranged a meeting on Pangkor Island between the protagonists. In January 1874 they signed the Chinese Engagement. Terms of the agreement included mutual disarmament, stockade destruction, prisoner exchange, and guarantees not to break the peace, under penalty of a fine. The Chinese Engagement accomplished its immediate goals of ending strife in the tin-mining district of Larut and enabling resumption of normal economic activity. It was heartily welcomed by commercial interests in the Straits Settlements, who hoped that all economic dislocation would now be ended. Nevertheless, occasional, though less severe, secret-society rivalry continued.

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