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  And yet another monsoon was blowing; this time it came from the West. In 1511, a Portuguese fleet led by Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the city, disrupting the trade network, which would never recover. They would be booted out not long after by the Dutch, who in turn ceded it to the English in 1824. Independence wouldn’t come until 1957, when the federation of Malaya was formed.

Photography by David Hagerman