Francis Light (c. 1740 – 21 October 1794) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for founding the colony of Penang and its capital city of George Town in 1786.

[4][Note 1] In February 1754, Light joined the British Royal Navy, serving as the servant of a naval surgeon onboard the 64-gun Mars.

[8] In 1765 Light embarked on the East India Company (EIC) merchant ship Clive,[3] captained by John Allen,[9] bound for Madras and Bombay.

In British India, he secured command of a "country ship" belonging to the Madras trading firm Jourdain, Sulivan & Desouza,[3] the Speedwell.

Light's warning enabled the islanders, led by Chan and her sister Mook, to prepare for Thalang's defence and subsequently repel the Burmese invasion.

[11] Light's interest in Penang had begun in 1771, when he proposed the idea of a British settlement in the neighbourhood of the Malay Peninsula to Warren Hastings, the East India Company's Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal).

In 1786, on behalf of the EIC, Light leased Penang Island from Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah, for the price of 6,000 Spanish dollars per annum.

[14] Under the administration of Governor-general Sir John Macpherson, Light was entitled superintendent and put in charge of the settlement, styled Dewa Raja by the Malays, on 1 July 1786; thus marking the beginning of British Malaya.

[16][Note 2][17] The multicultural colony of Penang became extraordinarily successful from its inception and Light served as superintendent of the settlement until his death in October 1794, apart from 21 November 1789 to 9 February 1790, when John Glass acted in his place.

[25] Light had three daughters and two sons with Martina (sometimes spelt Martinha) Rozells (possibly born Thong Di),[26] whose origins and status are the subject of debate.

However, John Crawfurd, later First Resident of Singapore,[30] said in 1820 that Martina was not a princess, but a Portuguese woman from Siam,[31] and Steuart points out that there is no evidence that Trapaud knew Light when the couple began living together.

[32] Other contemporary accounts name her as the daughter of the 19th Sultan of Kedah (Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II), by a lower-ranking wife of mixed Thai-Portuguese ancestry.

This would support the idea that she was not a princess, but nevertheless had strong connections with both Siam and Kedah and therefore a useful person to employ in negotiations between the Sultan and the British administration at Aceh.

[citation needed] (After Light's estate was settled in 1805, William Edward Phillips built a grand Georgian-styled mansion, also known as Suffolk Park.)

The play explores the personal circumstances first of Light and his pivotal role in Penang's modern history, and then of his son William in Adelaide.

Written by Rose Gan, a British writer and historian who has lived in Malaysia for many years, the series follows the life and times of Francis Light and Martinha Rozells.

It takes a fresh look at the historical sources, presenting a depiction of the people of the straits and their own history set aside the known events of the life of Captain Light.

The second volume Pearl was released in 2022 and charts Light's journey from merchant captain to governor of Penang island and the part Martinha Rozells and her family played in the events.