Beginning in the mid-19th century, the forces of social change in Malay gradually gathered momentum and eventually permeated all of Malay society--even reaching those states that still retained their independence. Piecing together contemporary evidence found in official records and in personal reminiscences of Malays and Europeans, this study of Malay social history concerns itself with the position of rulers, the aristocratic class, and the peasant class, and presents a picture of a society grasping for stability in its Islamic faith and its traditions while adapting to a different world.