Negeri Sembilan, which is just about 50 km south of the nation's capital, Kuala Lumpur, is one of the earliest tourism draws of the country. Thanks to the existence of a beach resort known as Port Dickson, it has received countless streams of visitors seeking fun and splash under the sun. With the completion of the Kuala Lumpur Seremban Highway which subsequently became part of the North South Expressway, accessibility into the state has improved considerably. One can also reach Seremban, the state capital, by rail and the town's railway station is one of the attractive landmarks in town.

Measuring 6,645 square kilometers, Negeri Sembilan offers more than just beaches. There is a little bit of everything for everyone, from the history buff right to the nature lover. A first time visitor to Negeri Sembilan would perhaps be drawn to the significant feature of a great majority of traditional houses which have the distinctive style of the Minangkabau people who had migrated across the Straits of Melaka from Sumatra centuries ago.

Their traditional houses consist of sweeping buffalo horn shaped roof peaks and such features have even been incorporated in newer buildings like the State Mosque and the State Secretariat Building. Interestingly, the Minangkabaus of Negeri Sembilan still practice the matrilineal social system known as the "adat perpateh" making the state the only one to adhere to such social norms.

They continued the practice of their rich cultural heritage, which continues on today in the form of the fascinating Adat Perpatih, a matrilineal system of rule and inheritance, unique only to Negeri Sembilan. The Minangkabaus and their adats, or traditions, and are indeed to be credited with Negeri Sembilan's many interesting aspects. This is clearly seen and felt even today, especially in the customs of marriage, ownership of property and dance forms.

The Negeri Sembilan that the early Minangkabaus knew was a rather loose confederation of nine fiefdoms in a secluded valley of the region. It was only in 1773, and with Raja Melewar as the Yam Tuan or ruler, that the 9 separate fiefdoms of Sungai Ujong, Rembau, Johol, Jelebu, Naning, Segamat, Ulu Pahang, Jelai and Kelang were unified.

Negeri Sembilan's modern history then began with British intervention in the districts of Sungai Ujong, Rembau and Jelebu. In Sungai Ujong, the British took the opportunity to intervene in the region's politics by taking part in and then ending, the conflict between Dato' Kelana and Dato' Bandar, which was affecting the trade of tin along the Linggi River. The British's support of Dato' Kelana was rewarded by the appointment of W.A. Pickering as British resident in 1874.