anchor: Apart from the few Malays in the settlements' rural communities of Province Wellesley and the Melaka hinterland, most still lived inland along the middle reaches of the rivers, away from the coastal marshlands dominated by the orang laut pirates.
positive: Most of the inhabitants were located inland along rivers in order to avoid attack from pirates.
negative: The region's inhabitants were located mostly along the coast, with fortified garrisons that protected them from pirates.