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Fort Cornwallis (built early 19th century)

Fort Cornwallis was one of the first European structures in Penang. After Captain Francis Light officially took possession of the island on August 11th 1786, development of Penang began from this point. Captain Light built a fort as a defense against the French, Kedah, and pirates. At this time Anglo-French rivalry was at a peak.

The fort in its present form was completed sometime in the first decade of the 19th century. It was never accorded a very high priority and after Anglo-French hostility ceased in 1816, the fort lost any semblance of significant importance. In 1922 the moat surrounding the fort was filled in, but the area remained the administrative center of Penang