Malaya IDTm_Secret Society Wars in Larut (between 1861 and 1873)

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A series of secret society wars broke out in the Larut area between 1861 and 1873 ...

In 1861, a battle broke out when the Hai Sans cut off the water supply to a new mine discovered by the Ghee Hins. The Ghee Hins were defeated and fled to Penang.

In Penang, the Ghee Hins asked the British Governor of the Straits Settlements for help. The Governor intervened and Ngah Ibrahim, who at this point had succeeded his father Long Jaafar as chief of the Larut area, agreed to compensate the Ghee Hins fortheir loss.

The Hai Sans were angry with the British for supporting the Ghee Hins. These tensions later led to another clash in 1865. Again, the Ghee Hins lost and fled to Penang.

This time around, the Governor refused to help. Fighting spread to Penang, leading to the Penang Riots of 1867. A settlement was reached only after the British fined each group 5,000 Spanish dollars (a large sum of money at the time) for disrupting the peace in Penang.

In 1872, another war broke out allegedly over a scandal between a Ghee Hin leader and the wife of a Hai San leader. In truth, this was an excuse to fight over control of mining areas. This time, the Hai Sans were driven out because the Ghee Hins engaged professional fighters. The Governor refused to take action.Despite this, the Hai Sans launched a counterattack and regained control of Larut.

In 1873, one of the contenders to the Perak throne, Raja Abdullah, sought the help of the Ghee Hins. In exchange for their support, he promised to give them the mines and to pay for the war against the Hai Sans, who supported Raja Ismail, another claimant to the throne. With the different groups of miners taking sides in the succession dispute, a major civil war broke out in the Larut area in 1873.