Larut War was a Perak civil war, originally fighting around the Larut district, today’s Taiping, which consisted of a rich tin deposit.
1848, Long Ja’afar, who was the chief of Larut, invited Chinese labourers to develop its tin deposit. Alongside with their sweats and labours, it brought too the internal conflicts between two major clans: Hai San and Ghee Hin. Most of the labourers were Chen Seng Hakka who were members of Hai San, which were in clash with the Fui Chew clan, most of whom were the members of Ghee Hin. In order to secure and control the interest around the Larut mine, especially the fresh water, a fighting broke out between these two groups in 1861.
Initially, Hai San successfully drove out Ghee Hin members. However, Penang government, which was part of the Straits Settlements, intervened on behalf of Ghee Hin, possibly by the connection of the clan in Penang, and demanded a compensation from Perak for the losses. British gun boat had blockaded the Larut River and forced the current chief, Ngah Ibrahim, the son of Long Ja’afar, to pay $17,447 to Ghee Hin on behalf of the Perak. Later in 1863, he was awarded the title of Orang Kaya Menteri by the Sultan, which strengthen his control on the district.
Another round of fighting between Hai San and Ghee Hin started by a gambling quarrel in 1865. This conflict quickly spread to Province Wellesley, today’s Seberang Perai, and Penang as riots erupted in support of their aligned clans. In 1870, Ghee Hin influence in Larut had become stronger. Hai San sought an alliance with Hokkien-based Toh Peh Keng and Ho Seng in order to counter Ghee Hin initiatives. However, the conflicts didn’t reach to a conclusion in 1873.
At the same time, the death of Sultan Ali in 1871 sparked a succession disputes among the Perak ruling elites. Bendahara Raja Ismail was initially installed as the ruler of Perak in the absence of Raja Muda Abdullah at his father funeral. Though the latter was more prestigious than the former, Sultan Ismail has the support from the powerful and ambitious chief Ngah Ibrahim, who had some disputes with Raja Abdullah. Both sides recruited helps from opposing secret societies: Ngah Ibrahim turned to Hai San, whereas Raja Abdullah seeked supports from Ghee Hin by offering Larut tax farms to its leader, Tan Kim Cheng.
The newly appointed governor of the Strait Settlements, Andrew Clarke was one of the proponent who advocate for the intervention of the internal affairs in the Malaya Peninsula, as shown in his role on mediating peace among the parties in 202207201017. He successfully conciliated a cease-fire between the involving Chinese secret societies. Later, he asked the Perak ruling class to meet him on Pangkor Island. Raja Abdullah, in the advice of William Henry Macleod Read and Tan Kim Cheng, wrote to Clarke inviting him to send a Resident to Perak in return for the recognition as the ruler of Perak. This resulted in Pangkor Treaty of 1874 (20 January), where Raja Abdullah was acknowledged as the Perak Sultan, and he will accept a British Resident whose advice “must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching Malay religion and custom”.
The governor later assigned Captain Speedy, who’s the former commander of Ngah Ibrahim’s forces, as Assistant Resident. Three commissioners, including Frank Swettenham and William Pickering, were dispatched from the Straits Settlements in order to mediate the peace in Larut district. J. W. W. Birch took up the office in early November as the Resident of Perak.