Fort Cornwallis

Engraving of Fort Cornwallis in 1804

1799 map of early Penang featuring Fort Cornwallis in the northeast.

Fort Cornwallis (Malay: Kota Cornwallis, Tamil : கார்ன்வாலிசு கோட்டை) is a star fort in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, built by the British East India Company in the late 18th century. Fort Cornwallis is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. In its entire history, the fort has never engaged in any battle.

It is named after the then Governor-General of Bengal, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, who had also been involved in the American War of Independence.^[1]

History

Captain Francis Light took possession of Penang Island from the Sultan of Kedah in 1786 and built the original fort. It was a nibong (Malay: palm trunk) stockade with no permanent structures, covering an area of 417.6 square feet (38.80 m²). The fort's purpose was to protect Penang from pirates and Kedah. Light died in 1794.

In 1804, after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and during Colonel R.T. Farquhar’s term as Governor of Penang, Indian convict labourers rebuilt the fort using brick and stone. Fort Cornwallis was completed in 1810, at the cost of $80,000, during Norman Macalister’s term as Governor of Penang. A moat 9 metres wide by 2 metres deep once surrounded the fort but it was filled in the 1920s due to a malaria outbreak in the area.

Even though the fort was originally built for the British military, its function, historically, was more administrative than defensive. For example, the judge of the Supreme Court of Penang, Sir Edmond Stanley, was first housed at Fort Cornwallis when the court opened on 31 May 1808. During the 1920s Sikh police of the Straits Settlements occupied the fort.

Royal Navy personnel under the direction of Rev. Peter Brown conducted an archaeological survey in July/August 1970. The fort was gazetted on 8 September 1977, under the Antiquities Act 168/1976, as an Ancient Monument and Historic site. Today, it has become one of Penang's prime tourist attractions.

Architecture

The Chapel at Fort Cornwallis was built in 1799. The first recorded marriage here took place that same year when John Timmers married Martina Rozells, Light's widow. The building in the southwest bastion is almost certainly not the chapel, but the main magazine; the massive roof and the surrounding buttresses are typical of magazine buildings of the period. The building is the earliest roofed structure surviving in Penang from the colonial era.

Old cannons decorate the fort. The largest, known as Seri Rambai, was cast in 1603; in 1606 the Dutch East India Company gave it to the Sultan of Johore. In 1613, the Acehnese took possession of Seri Rambai and carried it to Aceh. In 1795, the Achenese gave it to Kuala Selangor. The British seized Seri Rambai in 1871 as booty after a punitive raid on Kuala Selangor, and took the cannon to Penang. The government moved it to the fort in the 1950s.

A 21 m (69 ft) skeletal steel lighthouse was erected in the northeast corner of the fort in 1882. It is the second oldest lighthouse in Malaysia, after the Cape Rachado Lighthouse at Tanjung Tuan, Malacca. Originally named Fort Point Lighthouse, it was renamed Penang Harbour Lighthouse after renovation in 1914 and 1925. The State Tourism Development Committee chairman claimed in 2006 that it was the only lighthouse in Malaysia that resembles a ship's mast, and the only one in Peninsular Malaysia not serving any navigational purpose.^[2]

Entrance drawbridge of Fort Cornwallis.
Seri Rambai Cannon and walls viewed from the Esplanade.
Interior in February 2011 with its lighthouse in the background.

Sources

"Fort Cornwallis, Penang | Malaysia Travel Guide" - http://travelmalaysiaguide.com/fort-cornwallis-penang/#ixzz0ED0j1tO0&A
"Fort Cornwallis, Penang | Malaysia Travel Guide" - http://travelmalaysiaguide.com/fort-cornwallis-penang/#ixzz0ED1BjBSx&A

↑ "Fort Cornwallis". Tourism Malaysia. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
↑ A beacon for visitors - Story | The Star Online

External links

Media related to Fort Cornwallis, Penang at Wikimedia Commons

Tourism Malaysia - Fort Cornwallis

Colonial architecture of Malaysia

British	All Saints' Church All Souls' Church Atkinson Clock Tower Church of the Assumption Church of the Immaculate Conception Church of the Risen Christ City Hall Coliseum Theatre Eastern & Oriental Hotel Fort Cornwallis Fort Hose Fort Margherita Fort Sylvia Holy Spirit Cathedral Hotel Majestic Istana Besar Istana Bukit Serene Jubilee Clock Tower Kellie's Castle Kinarut Mansion Labuan Chimney Labuan Clock Tower Malacca Light Malay and Islamic World Museum National Textile Museum One Fathom Bank Lighthouse Penang High Court Pisang Island Lighthouse Undan Island Lighthouse Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sibu Sarawak State Museum St. Anne's Church St. George's Church St. John's Cathedral St. Mary's Cathedral St. Michael's Church, Penampang St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Sandakan Suffolk House Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque Sultan Ibrahim Building The Astana

Dutch	Christ Church Dutch Fort Governor's Museum Malaysia Architecture Museum Proclamation of Independence Memorial Stadthuys St. John's Fort St. Peter's Church

French	Church of St. Francis Xavier

Portuguese	A Famosa Cape Rachado Lighthouse St. Paul's Church

Historical related buildings, memorials, monuments and sites in Malaysia

West Malaysia

Buildings	A Famosa Abidin Mosque All Saints' Church All Souls' Church Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple Buddhist Maha Vihara Cape Rachado Lighthouse Church of the Risen Christ City Hall Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Cheng Hoon Teng Christ Church Coliseum Theatre Church of St. Francis Xavier Church of the Assumption Church of the Immaculate Conception Dhammikarama Burmese Temple Dutch Fort Eastern & Oriental Hotel Fort Cornwallis Governor's Museum Holy Spirit Cathedral Hotel Majestic Istana Ampang Tinggi Istana Besar Istana Bukit Serene Istana Seri Menanti Jalan Baru Sri Muniswarar Temple Jehan Chan Art Gallery Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple Jubilee Clock Tower Kampung Hulu Mosque Kampung Laut Mosque Kapitan Keling Mosque Kek Lok Si Kellie's Castle Khoo Kongsi Kong Hock Keong Temple Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan Lebuh Aceh Mosque Macau Gallery Malacca Light Malay and Islamic World Museum Malaysia Architecture Museum Malaysia Youth Museum National Mosque of Malaysia National Textile Museum Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple One Fathom Bank Lighthouse DBKL City Theatre Penang High Court Penang Islamic Museum Perak State Museum Pinang Peranakan Mansion Poh San Teng Temple Proclamation of Independence Memorial Pisang Island Lighthouse Undan Island Lighthouse Snake Temple Sin Sze Si Ya Temple Sri Aghora Veerapathra Temple Sri Kandaswamy Kovil Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Penang Sri Marathandavar Bala Dhandayuthapani Alayam Temple Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple Sri Sunderaraja Perumal Temple Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple Stadthuys St. Anne's Church St. George's Church St. John's Cathedral St. Mary's Cathedral St. John's Fort St. Paul's Church St. Peter's Church Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum Suffolk House Sultanah Aminah Hospital Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque Sultan Abdul Samad Building Sultan Ibrahim Building Taiping Hospital Tamil Methodist Church Thni Kong Tnua Wat Chayamangkalaram Wat Phothivihan

Memorials and monuments	Alor Gajah British Graveyard Batu Tenggek War Memorial Cheras War Cemetery Dutch Graveyard Hang Jebat Mausoleum Hang Li Poh's Well Hang Tuah's Well Kedah Royal Mausoleum Kelantan Royal Mausoleum Kuala Klawang Memorial Lord Murugan Statue Al-Ghufran Royal Mausoleum Mahmoodiah Royal Mausoleum Heroes' Mausoleum Sultan Abdul Samad Mausoleum Tomb of Sultan Ali Tomb of Sultan Mahmud Shah II Malacca Warrior Monument Millennium Monument National Monument Old Protestant Cemetery Pahang Old Royal Mausoleum Penang Jewish Cemetery Seri Menanti Royal Mausoleum Statue of Kuan Yin Taiping War Cemetery Kris Monument Tun Teja Mausoleum

Site	Batu Caves Fort of Smelly Monitor Lizard Chinese Hill Princess Hill Chinatown, Kuala Terengganu Fort of Ruins Fort of Ngah Ibrahim's Lenggong Malacca General Hospital Markets of Taiping Morib Penang Botanic Gardens St. Paul's Hill Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital Biru Seri Kundang Lake

East Malaysia

Buildings	Atkinson Clock Tower Fort Hose Fort Margherita Fort Sylvia Kinarut Mansion Labuan Chimney Labuan Clock Tower Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sibu Sam Sing Kung Temple Sandakan Jamek Mosque Sarawak State Museum St. Michael's Church, Penampang St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Sandakan The Astana Tua Pek Kong Temple

Memorials and monuments	Bronze Globe of Tanjung Simpang Mengayau Brooke Memorial Chartered Company Monument Cho Huan Lai Memorial De Fontaine Memorial Double Six Monument Gunner Cleary Memorial Keningau Oath Stone Kuching Heroes Cemetery Kundasang War Memorial World War II Memorial Last POW Camp Memorial Mat Salleh Memorial North Borneo War Monument Petagas War Memorial Quailey's Hill Memorial Rafflesia Monument Sandakan Heritage Trail Sandakan Massacre Memorial Sandakan Memorial Park Sandakan War Monument Starcevich Monument Tawau Japanese War Memorial Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial William Pryer Monument

Site	Agop Batu Tulug Caves Batu Lawi Hill Batu Lintang camp Chinatown, Kuching Duchess of Kent Hospital Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu Nunuk Ragang Queen Elizabeth Hospital Sandakan camp Sarawak General Hospital

Coordinates: 5°25′13″N 100°20′38″E / 5.42035°N 100.343783°E / 5.42035; 100.343783

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