MINING TIN IN THE "MUDDY CONFLUENCE"
The history of Kuala Lumpur started in 1857 by a group of 87 Chinese miners who were in search of tin. At the time, America and the British Empire, needed the durable, lightweight metal to help fuel their industrial revolutions. The community flourished as a tin-collecting center. The tin prospectors flowed into this place they named the "muddy confluence" (Kuala Lumpur in Malay) and settled in Ampang (now a suburb), forming factions within themselves which wrestled for this precious material. Chaos ensued and in 1868, the headmen of the local clans elected a man named Yap ah Loy as "Kapitan China," or leader of the Chinese community. And he became known as the founding father of KL.

CIVIL WAR & THE BRITISH INTERVENTION
The fighting of local sultans for the throne of Perak the state to the north of KL, became the Malay Civil War. KL burnt to the ground swept by the conflict. The merchants of the Straits Settlements, worried that the war would ruin their prosperity, asked Britain to intervene. Britain, fearing the loss of its tin interests, sent Governor Andrew Clarke to apprise the situation. Clarke convinced the feuding princes to sign the Pangkor Agreement in 1874. The Agreement ended the war, established a new Sultan of Perak, and - most significantly - called for the presence of a British Resident "who must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching Malay religion and custom." This started an increased British involvement in Malaya, that eventually placed Kuala Lumpur at the center of history.

REBIRTH OF THE CAPITAL CITY & INDEPENDENCE
In 1880 the state capital moved from Klang to Kuala Lumpur. Its rapid growth was the work of Sir Frank Swettenham, British resident after 1882. Frank Swettenham chose KL as his administrative center and ordered the construction of new buildings using brick. He initiated construction on the Klang-Kuala Lumpur Railway and encouraged the use of brick and tile in buildings as a fire precaution and as an aid to better health. This initiated the rebirth of the city. In 1896, Swettenham united the Sultans of four states under the umbrella of the Federated Malay States (FMS), and KL was chosen as the capital because of its central position. The city became a typical British colonial center. Kuala Lumpur's population greatly increased after World War II; under a resettlement program new villages were established on the city's outskirts during a long (1948-60), Communist-led guerrilla insurgency. At midnight on August 30, 1957, British soldiers lowered the Union Jack for the last time in front of the Selangor Club. Kuala Lumpur became the capital of the independent Federation of Malaya in 1957 and of Malaysia in 1963.

FROM RACIAL RIOTS TO GLEAMING SKYSCRAPERS
With independence, KL started its greatest transformation ever. One of the city's darkest days came in 1969, when civil unrest - spawned by racial tensions - swept through the city, sparking a state of emergency that would last for two years. Bolstered by a growing economy and a sincere desire for cooperation between Malaysia's ethnic groups, the tensions subsided, and in 1974 the city was given the status of Wilayah Persekutuan (or Federal Territory). The last 10 years Kuala Lumpur underwent a phenomenal growth, with a population explosion of almost 50 percent, and development on a monumental scale. The world's tallest buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers, now rise above the city of 2 million. If those 87 Chinese miners could have poled their way 140 years up the river of time, they probably wouldn't recognize the legacy that began where the two muddy rivers met.