Captain Alexander Hamilton’s Account of the Malay Peninsula

Captain Alexander Hamilton’s Account of the Malay Peninsula is drawn from four chapters of A New Account of the East Indies, first published in 1727. In this remarkable work, Captain Alexander Hamilton recounts his voyages through Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Pahang and Terengganu as a Scottish sea captain, privateer and merchant navigating the waters of Southeast Asia.

Originally intended as a practical guide for merchants and sailors, Hamilton’s narrative offers detailed descriptions of ports and settlements, trade commodities, navigational routes, political landscapes and local customs. Drawing from personal experience as well as accounts gathered from fellow sailors and local inhabitants, he records not only commercial intelligence but also vivid impressions of the peoples and places he encountered. Alongside valuable historical detail, his work occasionally ventures into the curious and the extraordinary; capturing the spirit and uncertainties of maritime life in the early eighteenth century.

In this publication, Dennis De Witt revisits Hamilton’s writings on the Malay Peninsula, providing careful analysis and commentary. His study places Hamilton’s observations within their proper historical context, allowing modern readers a rare glimpse into the region’s early eighteenth-century past and enriching our understanding of Malaysia’s history.