摘要：Penang, one of the component states of Malaysia, represents a microcosm of the multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious characteristics of the country's celebrated diversity. The state of Penang comprised the island and an adjacent rectangular strip of land on the mainland known as Province Wellesley (Seberang Perai). Contemporary Penang's racial diversity is undoubtedly one of its strengths offering a rich and colourful admixture of sociocultural traits and traditions. But more significantly is the peaceful, harmonious co-existence of the various ethnic groups living in close quarters to one another. Penang's socio-cultural traits and diverse traditions traced their genesis to the establishment in 1786 of George Town as a port-of-call of the East India Company (EIC). As a British administered trading outpost, Penang drew merchants and traders from as far as northern Europe, North America, as well as from South, Southeast and East Asia. It was from such beginnings that George Town subsequently evolved into a cosmopolitan port-city. This article seeks to trace Penang's historical development from the social and economic aspects specifically of the contributing factors to its socio-cultural characteristics and identity of George Town and Penang in general. It will be argued that Penang since its formative days as a port-city had embraced and nurtured multiculturalism in all its facets that subsequently contributed to the development of disparate identities along ethnic lines. The years 1780–1941 covered the period from its establishment as a trading outpost to the eve of the Asia Pacific War (1941–1945).
关键词：Penang; George Town; history; multiculturalism; disparate identities
