Padang has been a trade centre since the 16th century, having been controlled by the

Pagaruyung Kingdom and the Aceh Sultanate.[7] During the 16th and 17th centuries
pepper was cultivated and traded with India, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands. In 1663 the city came under the authority of the Dutch and a trading post
was built in 1680. The city came under the British Empire twice, firstly from 1781 to
1784 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, and again from 1795 to 1819 during the
Napoleonic Wars. In 1819 the city was transferred back to the Netherlands. Up to
circa 1780 the most important trade product was gold originating from gold mines in
the region. When the mines were exhausted, the focus turned to other products such as
coffee, salts and textiles.

In 1797 Padang was inundated by a tsunami with an estimated flow depth of 5–10
meters, following an earthquake, estimated to be 8.5–8.7 Mw, which occurred off the
coast. The shaking caused considerable damage and the deaths of two people, while
the tsunami resulted in several houses being washed away and several deaths at the
village of Air Manis. Boats moored in the Arau river ended up on dry land, including
a 200-ton sailing ship which was deposited about 1 kilometre upstream. In 1833
another tsunami inundated Padang with an estimated flow depth of 3–4 meters as a
result of an earthquake, estimated to be 8.6–8.9 Mw, which occurred off Bengkulu.
The shaking caused considerable damage in Padang, and due to the tsunami boats
moored in the Arau river broke their anchors and were scattered.[8]

The population of Padang in 1920 was 28,754, the second largest city in Sumatra
behind Palembang.[9] At the time of independence in the 1940s the city had around
50,000 inhabitants. Coffee was still important, but copra was also a major item
produced by farmers in its hinterland. The population growth since then has been
partly a result of growth in the area of the city, but largely is a result of the migration
to major cities seen in so many developing nations. From 1950 the Ombilin coal field
developed with Padang as its outlet port. This was seen by some observers as
reflecting the economic and political colonisation of Indonesia.

On 30 September 2009, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit about 50 kilometres off the
coast of Padang. There were more than 1,100 fatalities, 313 of which occurred within
Padang.