It came under British sovereignty after being ceded by the Sultanate of Kedah in 1786, and had been part of the Straits Settlements from 1826 to 1946.

[2] The British East India Company gained Penang in 1786 and established a trading post.

[3] It was ceded by the Sultan of Kedah to ensure the former's protection against the threat posed by its Siamese and Burmese neighbors.

[4] It was transformed into a Crown colony, substituting state for company control through the Straits Settlement 1867.

On 31 August 1957, when Malaya achieved its independence from the United Kingdom, Penang was integrated as a state of the federation, which later became Malaysia when it merged with other territories in British Borneo.