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Fort Cornwallis at Padang Kota Lama, George Town, is the largest intact fortress still standing in Malaysia. When Captain Francis Light landed in Penang in 1786, on the cape which was then called Tanjung Penaga in Malay, and today known as George Town, he built a simple stockade out of nibong palms.
Reconstruction of the camp set up by the British upon landing in Penang, on the grounds of Fort Cornwallis.
Over the century, the very tip of Penang Island where Fort Cornwallis is located became known as Fort Point. Fort Cornwallis was named after the Governor-General of Bengal, Charles Marquis Cornwallis. (Cornwallis was the general who was defeated by General George Washington in the American Revolutionary War in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, paving the way for the creation of the United States). The design of the fort is similar to other British forts in India, albeit built on a smaller scale.
In 1789, three years after building the simple stockade, Francis Light rebuilt Fort Cornwallis in bricks in the star-shaped size and layout using convict labour imported from India. The total cost of the reconstruction, completed in 1793, was 67,000 Spanish Dollars. Cannons were mounted along the perimeter. The most famous cannon at Forn Cornwallis is the Seri Rambai. This particular cannon has a fascinating history. It was first presented by the Dutch to the Sultan of Johor in 1606. In 1613, the Portuguese took possession of Seri Rambai. Then it was taken to Java, where it stayed until 1795, when it was given to Acheh, and was brought to Kuala Selangor. Later, in 1871, the British seized the cannon and brought it over to Penang. It was installed on Forn Cornwallis, where it is still located, on the northwest bastion. Locals believe that Seri Rambai possesses magical powers, and that women who place flowers on the barrel will improve their fertility.
Entrance to Fort Cornwallis.
Francis Light passed away in 1794. In 1797, visiting Colonel Wellesley - who would later be made the Duke of Wellington - submitted a negative assessment of the fort. He reported that the located of Fort Cornwallis at the very tip of the cape makes it useless to defend the island. When Penang was elevated to the status of Presidency in 1805, the British carried out a study on how to improve the defence of the island, given the threat of the French. There was a suggestion that a new fort be constructed on Pulau Jerejak, and that George Town be abandoned in favour of founding another new settlement, to be known as Jamestown, in the area where Bayan Baru is located today. However the idea was shot down, chiefly due to opposition from the residents of George Town who find it too costly to pack up and move. Instead, Fort Cornwallis was substantially rebuilt. This was done in 1810 under the term of Norman Macalister - whose name lives on in Penang at Macalister Road. The shape and appearance of Fort Cornwallis as we know today dates back to Macalister's term. Since the late 19th century, a lighthouse stands on the northeast side of Fort Cornwallis, and is today known as the Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse. Next to the lighthouse is the flagstaff that is used to send message to the other flagstaff on Penang Hill, signalling the arrival of mail ships. Around the time that the Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse was added to the fort, two coastal roads were also built. They were known as Fort Road and The Esplanade, and were located on the east and north sides of the fort. These two roads are today known as Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, renamed in honor of a past Governor of Penang.
Forn Cornwallis was originally encircled by a 27-feet wide, 6-feet deep moat. This too is gone today, having been filled up in the 1920s to prevent malaria - following an epidemic which hit Penang then.
Fort Cornwallis was the first military and administrative base of the British East India Company. The East India Company was started in the early 17th century. On 31 December 1600, a group of British merchants were given monopoly privileges on all British trades with the East Indies, and the East India Company was started. Over the years, their business activities boomed.
The East India Company traded in spices such as cloves, nutmeg and peppercorns. In the later half of the 18th century, the East India Company managed to obtain a monopoly on the trade in silk, with Canton (Guangzhou), China. However, there was no refueling station between China and the British base in India. Hence there was a need to find a suitable port for the British vessels to stop over.
The East India Company first took steps to find a base in Southeast Asia in 1763, but the missions were unsuccessful. The Director of the East India Company sent a message to the Madras Council to try once again to secure a settlement in or near the Straits of Malacca. While the message was still in passage, something else happened to helped the British secure the settlement they were seeking.
Captain Francis Light, a seaman who has established a trading station in Kedah for the Madras firm of Jourdain, Sullivan and De Souza put together a plan that practically solved the problem. Light suggested that the island of Penang would be a suitable station for the East India Company. At the same time, Light reported to his superiors at the Madras firm that the King of Kedah had granted him Kuala Kedah as well as the entire coast including Penang Island, in return for protection against Selangor. However, after a few letters to his superiors and having been ignored in these negotiations, a bitter Francis Light withdrew to Phuket. He continued his trading activities and maintained his relationship with the ruler of Kedah. On 15 February 1786, he wrote to the acting Governor-General of India, on the success of his mission in getting Penang, and on 11 August 1786, Francis Light took formal possession of Penang Island.
For other mentions of Captain Francis Light in AsiaExplorers, refer to the following pages:
 | Left: View of the Seri Rambai. Below: The Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse.  |
 Above: Statue of the Man. When a bronze statue of Captain Francis Light was cast in 1978, the sculptor F.J. Wilcoxson had no photograph or painting of Light to use as model, so he based it on the painting of Francis Light's son, William Light, the founder of Adelaide. Right: In an effort to create a living museum, staff in period costume is employed. |  |
 Above and right: The store, on the southwest part of Fort Cornwallis. |  |
 |  Above: Pillbox shape of the Gunpowder Magazine. Left: Entrance to the Gunpowder Magazine. |
 | Above: The so-called Fort Cornwallis Chapel, though quite likely a store. Below: Timothy Tye, the founder of Penang Travel Tips and AsiaExplorers, with the statue of Francis Light. |
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