[2] It was derived, partly in Devon and Cornwall in south-west England,[8] from birds imported from the Indian subcontinent[7]: 158  or South-east Asia in the first decades of the nineteenth century, when large birds of this type were widespread in northern India, in Indonesia and in the Malay Peninsula.

[3]: 169 From about 1830 very large game chickens were imported to England, where they became fashionable[9] and were selectively bred by English breeders.

They were particularly numerous in Devon and Cornwall, especially in the area round Falmouth, which was a common first port of call for returning East Indiamen.

[9] The black-breasted red Malay was included in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association from 1883, and the bantam in 1904; five other colours, both standard- and bantam-sized, were added in 1981.

[4] Numbers of the breed in the USA are very low; in 2014 its conservation status there was listed as "critical" by the FAO.