[Talk] The Straits of Malacca, Focusing on Penang
Details
Speaker: Julian Candiah
Date: Thursday, 5th September, 2024
Time: 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute
Entrance to this event is FREE.
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About The Speaker
Julian Candiah is a distinguished collector of antique maps and sea charts, with a specialized focus on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, particularly sea charts of Penang, Johore, and Singapore. His paternal roots trace back to Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Julian has presented his expertise on cartography at prestigious institutions including Cambridge University, Tsing Hua University Taiwan, the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Riwayat Bookshop, and Muzium Negara Malaysia.
Educated at English College, Johore Bahru, Julian was awarded the Sime Darby Commonwealth Trust scholarship and earned a First Class degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge University in 1991. He completed a Master’s in Manufacturing Engineering at Cambridge in 1992. Julian’s career in banking included roles at Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, and Merrill Lynch across London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In 2007, he transitioned from banking to private investments. In 2009, Julian served pro bono as Special Adviser to the Chief Minister of Penang, who later became Malaysia’s Finance Minister.
Abstract
By its geographic good fortune, the Straits of Malacca is situated approximately equidistant between two great ancient civilizations, China and India. Additionally, it is positioned midway between the monsoon winds that, for about 2300 years before the steam engine, enabled maritime travel between these nations. Julian Candiah’s talk will use fifteen nautical sea charts from the 1530s to the mid-1850s to guide the audience through a historical journey along the Straits of Malacca. Starting around 500 BC with the Bujang Valley in Kedah, Candiah will explore the cultural, religious, and trade links that developed through various pre-European empires, focusing on Srivijaya (8th-11th century) and Malacca (15th century). He will cover the arrival of Europeans, beginning with the Portuguese in 1498, who sought “Spices and Christians” and expanded their empire in the East Indies. Candiah will then discuss the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, and their dominance until Indonesian independence. As Portuguese charts are rare, Candiah will use Dutch charts based on Portuguese sources and VOC sea charts. He will also examine the later English presence, focusing on Penang and English sea charts, some from private mapmakers and others from the British Admiralty, highlighting their evolution as they recognized the Straits’ strategic trade importance.
Event Summary
On 5 September 2024, Julian Candiah, an antique map collector, delivered a captivating talk on the historical significance of cartography, using the Straits of Malacca as a focal point. Through the presentation of over 20 cartographic works dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, Candiah illustrated how maps serve not only as navigational tools but also as reflections of the societies that created them. He emphasized how societal conditions of the time shaped these maps, which in turn influenced historical events.
Candiah’s talk revealed the deeper layers of cartography, showing how maps convey abstract values such as national pride and legitimacy. The discussion highlighted how the production of maps was often tied to the ambitions, perceptions, and historical realities of the mapmakers’ societies. This event offered a rich exploration of how the Straits of Malacca, a long-standing hub of civilizations, has been represented throughout history and how these representations impacted future developments in the region.
Event Highlights