The history of Taiping, as I have learnt in school was all credited to the discovery of tin in the 19th century. Legend has it that Long Jaafar often goes on walks with his pet elephant. One day, the animal disappeared but was soon found with tin ore embedded to the feet together with some mud.
Following the discovery, the Chinese were brought in to work at the tin mines. With development, comes chaos. Feuding wars on the rights to mine tin between the different clans erupted. As the feuds escalated, the Perak Sultanate and the Malay Chiefs were dragged in as well!
The wars finally ended with a peace treaty signed in 1874. It paved the way for the appointment of a British Residency. Thereafter, the town was renamed Taiping, meaning Everlasting Peace.
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