Malacca, part of the Straits Settlements, is situated on the south-west coast of the Malay Peninsula, 100 miles from Singapore, and is 42 miles in length, and from 8 to 25 broad. Area, 659 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 92,170. The coast-lands are flat and swampy, and produce rice; inland there are low hills. Besides rice, the chief products are tapioca, pepper, fruits, &c. Tin is mined and exported. Tapioca is the only other export of value. The imports average £610,000 annually, the exports £670,000 approximately. The mean annual rainfall varies from 68 to 91 inches. The town of Malacca, capital of the settlement, is situated in 2° 1' N. lat., 102° 14' E. long., at the mouth of a small river, and consists of the old Dutch or European town and the Chinese and Malay town on the other (left) bank of the river. The church of Our Lady del Monte was the scene of the labours of St Francis Xavier. Pop. 20,000.
Malacca was taken by the Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1511, and flourished as one of the great emporiums of Indo-China; but it was subsequently supplanted by Penang, and Penang by Singapore. Malacca became a Dutch possession in 1641, and fell in 1795 into the hands of the British, who restored it to the Dutch in 1818; but they returned it to Britain in 1824.