Malacca

Malacca, or Melaka, in Malay is a state of Malaysia, located in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. The state's capital is also called Melaka or Malacca.

From 1826 to 1946, Malacca (as it was called then) was part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Penang. After the dissolution of this crown colony, Malacca and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, which later became Malaysia.

Malacca was occupied by the Portuguese and the Dutch before it was ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. There is still an Eurasian minority of Portuguese origin and Catholic denomination, which speaks an ancient Portuguese dialect called Cristao.