Selangor

Selangor (sulăng'ur) [key], state (1991 pop. 2,289,236), 3,150 sq mi (8,159 sq km), Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. Shah Alam is the capital, and Port Kelang (formerly Port Swettenham) is the chief port. An area of 94 sq mi (243 sq km) containing Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and formerly Selangor's largest city, was made a separate federal territory in 1974. Tin and coal are mined; rubber, rice, pineapples, coconuts, and oil palms are grown; and there are numerous fisheries. Ethnic Chinese and Indians outnumber the native Malays. Before the 16th cent. the territory of Selangor was subject to the powers that in turn dominated the Malay Peninsula. After the fall of Malacca (1511), it was nominally ruled by the sultans of Riau and Johor, but in the early 18th cent. it was conquered by Bugis tribespeople from Sulawesi, who for a time threatened to dominate the Malay Peninsula from Selangor. Selangor became a British protectorate in 1874, one of the Federated Malay States in 1896, and part of the Federation of Malaya (see Malaysia) in 1948.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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