Perak (Malay pronunciation: [peraʔ]; Jawi: ڤراق; Chinese: 霹雳 Tamil: பேராக்) also known by its honorific, Darul Ridzuan, or "Abode of Grace", one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the fourth largest state in the country. It borders Kedah at the north; Thai Yala Province to the northeast; Penang to the northwest; Kelantan and Pahang to the east; Selangor to the south, and the Straits of Malacca to the west.

The state's administrative capital of Ipoh was known historically for tin-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, severely affecting the state's economy. The royal capital, however remains at Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located.

Legend tells of a Hindu-Malay Kingdom called Gangga Negara in the northwest of Perak. Archaeological discoveries indicate that Perak was inhabited since prehistoric times.

The modern history of Perak began with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate. Raja Muzaffar Shah, (the eldest son of the last Sultan of Melaka, Sultan Mahmud Shah) fled the Portuguese conquest of 1511 and established his own dynasty on the banks of the Sungai Perak (Perak River) in 1528. Being rich in tin ore deposits, the dominion was under almost continuous threat from outsiders.

Dutch colonialism

The Dutch attempted to control the tin trade in the 17th century, and built defensive forts at the mouth of the Perak River and on Pulau Pangkor.

Early history recorded the arrival in Perak of the Dutch in 1641, when they captured the Straits of Malacca and controlled tin-ore and spice trading. However, the Dutch attempt to monopolise the tin-ore trading in Perak by influencing Sultan Muzaffar Syah failed. They then turned to Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin, the Sultan of Aceh, to seek permission to trade in Perak, which forced the Sultan of Perak to sign a treaty, allowing the Dutch to build their plant in Kuala Perak on 15 August 1650. This did not go down well with the aristocracy of Perak.

In 1651, Temenggung and the people of Perak attacked and destroyed the Dutch plant. The Dutch were forced to leave their base in Perak. The Dutch sent a representative to Perak in 1655 to renew the earlier agreement and to seek compensation for the loss of their plant. The Perak government however did not honour the treaty and was thus surrounded by the Dutch; in retaliation, the people of Perak, Aceh, and Ujung Salang, launched a surprise attack on the Dutch.

In 1670, the Dutch returned to Perak to build Kota Kayu, now known as Kota Belanda ("Dutch Fortress"), on Pangkor Island. Perak agreed to the construction because of news that the Kingdom of Siam would be attacking the state. Nevertheless, in 1685, Perak once again attacked the Dutch on Pangkor Island, forcing them to retreat and close their headquarters. The Dutch attempted to negotiate for a new treaty, but failed.

British colonialism

In the 19th century, the Bugis, Acehnese, and the Siamese all attempted to invade Perak, and only British intervention in 1820 prevented Siam from annexing Perak. Although the British were initially reluctant to establish a colonial presence in Malaya, increasing investment in the tin mines brought a great influx of Chinese immigrants, including Foo Ming, who formed rival clan groups allied with Malay chiefs and local gangsters which all fought for control of the mines. The Perak Sultanate was unable to maintain order as it was embroiled in a protracted succession crisis.

In her book The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither (published 1892 G.P. Putnam's Sons), Victorian traveller and adventurer Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904) describes how Raja Muda Abdullah (as he then was) turned to his friend in Singapore, Tan Kim Ching. Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore, drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." In 1874, the Straits Settlements governor Sir Andrew Clarke convened a meeting on Pulau Pangkor, at which Sultan Abdullah was installed on the throne of Perak in preference to his rival, Sultan Ismail. This Pangkor Treaty also required that the Sultan of Perak accept a British Resident, a post granted wide administrative powers.

In 1875, various Perak chiefs assassinated the British Resident James W. W. Birch, resulting in the short-lived Perak War of 1876. Sultan Abdullah was exiled to the Seychelles, and the British installed a new ruler. The new resident, Sir Hugh Low, was well-versed in the Malay language and local customs, and proved to be a more capable administrator. He also introduced the first rubber trees in Malaya. Perak joined Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang to form the Federated Malay States in 1896. However, the British Resident system persisted until the Malayan Union was established in 1948. Perak (as a component of the Federation of Malaya) gained its independence from the British on 31 August 1957.

Perak covers an area of 21,035 km² (8,122 sq mi), making up 6.4 percent of total land banks in Malaysia. It is the second largest Malaysian state in the Malay Peninsula, and the fourth in the whole of Malaysia.

The longest river in Perak is the Perak River (Malay: Sungai Perak), it originates in the mountains at the Perak-Kelantan-Thailand border, and empties into the Strait of Malacca. It is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia, after the Pahang River.

Climate

Perak's days are warm and sunny, while its nights are cool the whole year through, with occasional rains in the evenings. Temperature is fairly constant, that is, from 23 °C to 33 °C, with humidity often more than 82.3 percent. Annual rainfall measures at 3,218 mm.