Penang History of Penang Museum
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The island of Penang was pretty much uninhabited when British explorer Captain Light arrived in 1786, and founded a free port guarded by Fort Cornwallis. Penang's population quickly grew, with many Chinese immigrants coming to the island, particularly drawn to the area around Georgetown.
There was a problem with piracy in the waters around the island for decades, and the fort's gardens which are open to the public are filled with the many cannon that have been recovered from the pirates ships, including Seri Rambai, which is the largest of them all, and is locally considered to be a fertility symbol that childless women place flowers inside before sitting astride the large barrel.
The island developed a tourism industry from the 1970s onwards, and this has remained mainly in the area around Batu Ferrenghi, where most of the hotels are to this day.
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