England / Malaysia / Thailand: Captain Sir Francis Light (1740 - 1794), founder of the British colony of Penang, now Penang State, Malaysia. Statue at Fort Cornwallis, Penang. Francis Light served as a Royal Navy midshipman from 1759 to 1763, but went out to seek his fortune in the colonies. From 1765, he worked as a private country trader. For about ten years he had his headquarters in Salang, Thailand, near Phuket, reviving a failed French trading post. While living there he learned to speak and write several languages, including Malay and Siamese.

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Size: 4160px × 6240px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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