Death on the Perak River | The Assassination of the British Resident of Perak

Описание: On 2 November 1875, the still waters of the Perak River ran red. James Wheeler Woodford Birch — Her Majesty’s first British Resident of Perak — was speared to death while bathing at Pasir Salak. His murder shocked the British Empire and ignited the Perak War — a brief but brutal conflict that would transform the destiny of Malaya.

This is the opening episode of my nine-part documentary series on the Perak War, premiering on Sunday, 2nd November 2025, to mark the 150th anniversary of the war’s outbreak. In this video, we uncover the story behind the assassination: Birch’s clash with the Malay chiefs, his reforms against bonded labour, the simmering conspiracies, and the fateful morning when his faith in British authority met its bloody reckoning. From the signing of the Pangkor Treaty to Birch's violent end, discover how one man’s death marked the beginning of British rule in Malaya — and why, 150 years later, it remains one of the most defining moments in Malaysian history.

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Selected References:

'1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, the Malaun Regiment', F Loraine Petre, 1925
'A History of Perak', R. O. Winstedt, R. J. Wilkinson, 1934
'British Colonial Violence in Perak, Sierra Leone and the Sudan', M Gordon, 2017
'British intervention in Malaya, 1867–1877', C N Parkinson, 1960
'Correspondence relating to Affairs of certain Native States in Malay Peninsula', House of Commons, 1875 C.1320.pdf
'Correspondence relating to Affairs of certain Native States in Malay Peninsula', House of Commons, 1876 C.1505 C.1505-I C.1510 C.1512.pdf
'Dato Sagor', A Zakaria bin Ghazali, 1993
'Enquiry as to complicity of Chiefs in the Perak Outrages', Straits Settlements, 1876
'Extreme Violence and the ‘British Way’ Colonial Warfare in Perak, Sierra Leone and Sudan', M Gordon, 2020
'Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India', India Army Intelligence Branch, 1907
'History of the Tenth Foot', A Lee, 1911.
'Journals of J.W.W. Birch, First British President to Perak, 1874- 1875', ed. P L Burns, 1976
London Gazette, April 14th, 1876
London Gazette, February 23rd, 1876 Supplement (Actions of Perak Expeditionary Force)
'Malay magic', W W Skeat, 1900.
'Malay Sketches;, F A Swettenham, 1895
'Military History of the Madras Engineers and Pioneers', H M Vibart, 1881
'Ngah Ibrahim', A Zakaria bin Ghazali, 1993
'Nineteenth Century Malaya', C D Cowan, 1961
'Our Malay Conquests', P B Maxwell, 1878
'Pasir Salak: Pusat Gerakan Menentang British Di Perak', A Zakaria bin Ghazali, 2005
'Peninjau Sejarah', Vol III No. 1, April 1968
'Perak and the Malays: Sarong and Kris', J F A McNair, 1878
'Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers', Royal Engineers Institute, 1877
'Sejarah Perak', Buyong Adil, 1972
'Sir Frank Swettenham's Perak Journals, 1874-1876', ed. P L Burns and C D Cowan, 1975
'Swettenham', H S Barlow, 1995
'The Malay magician; being Shaman, Saiva, and Sufi', R O Winstedt, 1951

Music: 'Black magic; by Dark Burden
   / @darkburden  

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