The total area of Kedah is about 4,000 sq.m. The land is low lying and swampy near the coast except towards the south where the height known as Kedah Peak rises from the shore opposite Penang, flat and fertile farther inland, and mountainous towards the eastern border. The rivers are small, the Sungai Kedah, navi gable for a few miles for vessels of 5o tons, and the S. Muda, which forms the boundary with Province Wellesley, being the only streams worthy of notice. The plains are formed of marine de posit, and in the mountains limestone and granite preponderate. The population in 1932 was 423,074, of whom about 291,621 were Malays and 73,667 Chinese. There are three towns of importance. Alor Star, the capital, on the Kedah river, 10 miles from the sea, in a flat, fertile locality, is a well laid out town with good streets, many handsome public and private buildings, and good wharfage for small vessels. The population is about 12,00o, of whom more than half are Chinese and the remainder government servants and retainers of the local aristocracy. Sungai Patani (pop. 5,000) and Kulim (pop. 4,000) are the next important townships. The bulk of the population is scattered over the plains in small villages. A good road runs from Alor Star to Penang and another south to Taiping in Perak. Bangkok and Singapore are now linked up by a railway system through Perlis. There is a good postal service. The chief industries are rice and rubber cultivation. In north Kedah rice is the main crop, in the south rubber, coconuts and tapioca. There are many coconut, betel-nut and fruit plantations. The principal exports are rice, rubber, tapioca and tin-ore. The chief imports are cotton goods, tobacco and cigarettes, sugar and petroleum. The ruler holds the rank of sultan and is assisted in the government by a council and by the British adviser who since the state passed from Siamese to British protection in 1909, has replaced the officer formerly appointed by Siam. In 1905 the
Siamese government advanced two and a half million dollars to Kedah, to pay the debts of the state, which sum was refunded by the British Government on assuming the position of protector. The revenue in 1926 was $9,179,487 and the expenditure $5,481, 218. Chief sources of revenue are the opium monopoly, customs, including the duty on tin and rubber, and lands. The state is divided into a number of administrative districts under European and Malay officials. There are English schools at Alor Star and Sungai Patani, and there are 7o Malay schools including 3 for girls.
In Kedah there have been found Sanskrit inscriptions going back to A.D. 400. An old name for the country was Langkasuka.
There are references in Arab voyagers and in inscriptions at Nega patam and Tanjore to Kedah in the i oth and iith centuries A.D. It seems clear that it was tributary to Buddhist Palembang and was ravaged by her enemies the Chola kings. When the rise of Malacca shook Siamese authority in the peninsula, Kedah oscillated be tween them, and on the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, fell to Siam, though the capital was raided and burnt by the Europeans. The ruler and his people were converted to Islam in the 15th century. In 1619 the king of Achin led into captivity the rulers of Kedah and Perak. In 1768, the Siamese kingdom being disorganized, the sultan of Kedah entered into political relations with the East India Company, leasing Penang to the latter. Fur ther treaties followed in 1791 and 1802, but in 1821 Siam re asserted her control, expelling the rebellious sultan after a san guinary war. The sultan made several fruitless efforts to recover the state, and at length made full submission, when he was rein stated. In 1868 an agreement between Great Britain and Siam was substituted for the treaties of the East India Company with the sultan. In 1905 the Siamese government had to intervene to avert a condition of bankruptcy, adjusting the finances and re organizing the general administration. Four years later, the state became a British dependency.