Raffles also played a role in further establishing theBritish Empire's reach inEast andSoutheast Asia. He secured control over the strategically locatedSingapore from local rulers in 1819 to secure British access along theStrait of Singapore and the nearby seas in the region, particularly theIndian Ocean and theSouth China Sea. His actions were initially not endorsed by the British government and led to tensions between the British and theDutch. TheAnglo–Dutch Treaty of 1824 established their respective spheres of influence, the Dutch relinquishing their claims to Singapore while the British cededBencoolen to them. Atransshipment port was subsequently established in Singapore formaritime trade between Europe and Asia.
While Raffles was largely credited for the founding of contemporary Singapore, the early running of day-to-day operations was mostly done byWilliam Farquhar, who served as the firstResident of Singapore from 1819 to 1823.[5] Raffles soon returned to England in 1824, where he died on his birthday in 1826 at the age of 45. His legacy while complex remains significant in Singapore, most notably theRaffles's Landing Site, as well as his name being a common sight in numerous entities and institutions throughout the country.
Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was born on(1781-07-05)5 July 1781 on board the shipAnn, off the coast ofPort Morant, Jamaica,[2] to Captain Benjamin Raffles (1739, London – 23 November 1811,Deptford) and Anne Raffles (née Lyde) (1755 – 8 February 1824, London).[1] Benjamin served as aship master for various ships engaged in the direct trade between England and theWest Indies. Although some biographers have suggested that Benjamin was involved in theslave trade, modern historians have refuted such claims. When Benjamin ended his involvement in the West India trade in 1800, it caused his family considerable hardship.[6]
The little money the family had went into sending the young Raffles to the Mansion House Academy,Hammersmith, a moderately priced boarding school, offering Latin, Greek, French, arithmetic, bookkeeping and geography, that specialised in preparing boys for clerkships or the army.[7] In 1795, at the age of 14, Raffles started working inLondon as a clerk for theEast India Company. Nine years later, in 1804, the 23-year-old Raffles marriedOlivia Mariamne Devenish, a widow 10 years his senior,[1]: 57, 73, 107 who was formerly married to Jacob Cassivelaun Fancourt, an assistant surgeon in Madras, who had died in 1800.[1]: 59, 69
In 1805, he was sent toPrince of Wales Island,Malaya, starting his long association with Southeast Asia. He started as assistant secretary, under the HonourablePhilip Dundas, the new governor of Penang.[8] At this time, he also made the acquaintance ofThomas Otho Travers, who would accompany him for the next 20 years.[6]
The previous Dutch governor,Herman Willem Daendels, had built a well-defended fortification atMeester Cornelis, nowJatinegara. His successor, GovernorJan Willem Janssens, who coincidentally had surrendered to the British five years earlier at theCape Colony, mounted a brave but ultimately futile defence at the fortress. The British, led by Colonel Gillespie, stormed the fort and captured it within three hours. Governor Janssens attempted to escape inland but was captured.
The British invasion of Java took a total of 45 days, during which Raffles was appointed thelieutenant-governor of the Dutch East Indies by Lord Minto before hostilities formally ceased. He took his residence atBuitenzorg, and despite having a small group of Britons as his senior staff, kept many of the Dutch civil servants in the governmental structure.
During the relatively brief period of British rule in Java, Raffles negotiated several peace treaties along with ordering several military expeditions against local rulers. Rumours of plans by theYogyakarta Sultanate to launch an attack against the British led to uneasiness among Britons in Java. On 20 June 1812, Raffles led a 1,200-strong British force to capture theRoyal Palace of Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta forces, surprised by the attack, were easily defeated; the palace fell in one day, and wassubsequently sacked and burnt. Raffles ordered much of the palace's archives to be removed, taking them back with him. The attack was unprecedented in Javanese history, as it was the first time an indigenous palace had been captured by a European army, humiliating the Yogyakarta Sultanate.[10]
Although peace returned toCentral Java in the immediate aftermath of the attack, it may have fuelled the deep-seated instability and hostility to European involvement in the region that ultimately gave rise to theJava War during the 1820s.[11] Raffles also ordered an expedition toPalembang,Sumatra to depose local sultanMahmud Badaruddin II. The expedition was also ordered to occupy the nearbyBangka Island in order to establish a permanent British presence in the area, in case Java returned to Dutch rule after the end of theWar of the Sixth Coalition in Europe.[citation needed]
During his lieutenant-governorship, Raffles placed some restrictions on the localslave trade in line with wider British policy across its Asian territories, although slavery remained widespread and Raffles himself was served by a large retinue of slaves at his official residences in Java.[12] Raffles also attempted a replacement of the Dutch system of forced agricultural deliveries-in-kind with a cash-basedland tenure system of land management, probably influenced by the earlier anti-feudal critiques ofDirk van Hogendorp He was advised by a holdover from the previous Dutch regime on Java, the president of the High Court of Java,Herman Warner Muntinghe, especially in the matter of the reform of the public finances of the colony, and its system of taxation.[13]
Under Raffles's aegis, a large number of ancient monuments in Java were systematically catalogued for the first time. The first detailed English-language account ofPrambanan was prepared byColin Mackenzie, while theBuddhist temple ofBorobudur was surveyed and cleared of vegetation by H. C. Cornelius.[14]
When his wife, Olivia, died on 26 November 1814, Raffles was devastated. In 1815, he left again for England shortly before the island of Java was returned to control of the Netherlands following theNapoleonic Wars, under the terms of theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. Raffles had been removed from his post by theEast India Company ahead of the handover, and officially replaced byJohn Fendall Jr. on account of the poor financial performance of the colony during his administration, and allegations of financial impropriety on his own part. He sailed to England in early 1816 to clear his name and,en route, visitedNapoleon, who was in exile atSt. Helena, but found him unpleasant and unimpressive.
In 1817, Raffles wrote and publishedThe History of Java,[15] describing the history of the island from ancient times as well as its geography, flora, and fauna.
In 1817, Raffles was created aKnight Bachelor by the Prince RegentGeorge IV, whose daughter,Princess Charlotte, was particularly close to him. At the publication of the book, he also stopped using the name 'Thomas', preferring to use his middle name, 'Stamford', possibly to avoid confusion amongst his associates with Sir Thomas Sevestre, or his cousin,Thomas Raffles, who both bore the same first name.
On 22 February, he married his second wife,Sophia Hull,[8][16][17] and later set sail toBencoolen (present-dayBengkulu in Indonesia) to take up his new post with his new wife.
Raffles arrived in Bencoolen on Sumatra on 19 March 1818, where he was appointed as thelieutenant-governor of Bencoolen on 22 March 1818. Despite the prestige connected with the title of Lieutenant-Governor,Bencoolen was a colonial backwater, whose only real export waspepper, and only the murder of a previousResident,Thomas Parr, gained it any attention back home in Britain. Raffles found the place wrecked, and set about reforms immediately, mostly similar to what he had done onJava; abolishing slavery and limitingcockfighting and such games. To replace the slaves, he used a contingent ofconvicts, already sent to him from India.
It was at this point that he realised the importance of a British presence that both challenged the Dutchhegemony in the area, and could remain consistently profitable, unlike Bencoolen orBatavia. However, the strategic importance of poorly maintained but well-positionedBritish possessions, such asPenang or Bencoolen, made it impossible for the British to abandon the unprofitable colonies in such proximity to the Dutch in Java.
The competition in the area, between Raffles and the aggressive Dutchcommissioner-general,Cornelis Theodorus Elout, and later Raffles' former advisor on Java,Muntinghe, now a member of the new High Government of the Dutch East Indies, who Elout had put in power,[a] certainly led at least in part to the laterAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Raffles looked into alternatives in the area; namelyBangka, which had been ceded to the Dutch after its conquest by the British during its occupation of Java.Bintan was also under consideration. Despite the fact thatFrancis Light overlooked the island before settling upon Penang in 1786, theRiau Archipelago was an attractive choice just to the south of theMalay Peninsula, for its proximity toMalacca.
In his correspondences withCalcutta, Raffles also emphasised the need to establish a certain amount of influence with the native chiefs, which had greatly waned since the return of the Dutch. Raffles sentThomas Travers as an ambassador to the Dutch, to possibly negotiate an expansion of British economic interests. When this failed, and when Raffles's own expeditions into his new dominion found only treacherous terrain and few exportable goods, his desire to establish a better British presence was cemented.
However, the Anglo-Dutch Convention of 1814 was not completely clear, especially on the issue of certain possessions such asPadang. The Convention of 1814 only returned Dutch territory that was held before 1803, which did not include Padang. Raffles asserted the British claim personally, leading a small expedition to theKingdom of Pagaruyung. Yet, as Raffles confirmed with the sultan regarding the absolute British influence of the area, he realised that the local rulers had only limited power over the well-cultivated and civilised country, and the treaty was largely symbolic, and had little actual force.
Raffles sailed toMalacca in late 1818, to personally secure a British presence in the Riau area, especiallySingapura, which was favoured by him both through the readings ofMalayan histories, and by Farquhar's explorations. DespiteLord Hastings' less-than-stellar opinion of Raffles before (which had necessitated his trip to England to clear his name at the end of his tenure as Lieutenant-Governor of Java), the now well-connected and successful Raffles was able to secure permission to set up a settlement. At this point inSingaporean history, the nameLion City was applied. The city was in a strategically advantageous position; however, he was ordered not to provoke the Dutch, and his subsequent actions were officially disavowed by the British government.
In London,Lord Castlereagh attempted to quell Dutch fears, and continuing efforts were made to reach an agreement between the nations that eventually became theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of London of 1824. As well as the treaty, instructions were sent out to Raffles to undertake far less intrusive actions; however, the long distance between the Far East and Europe meant that the orders had no chance of reaching Raffles in time.
After a brief survey of theKarimun Islands, on 29 January 1819, he established a post at the southern tip of theMalay Peninsula. It was established that there was no Dutch presence on the island of Singapore.Johor also no longer had any control of the area, so contact was made with theTemenggong Abdul Rahman. The contacts were friendly, and Raffles, knowledgeable about the muddled political situation, took advantage to provide a rudimentary treaty between the nominal chiefs of the area that called for the exclusivity of trade, and the British protection of the area. Members of Raffles's partysurveyed the island, and proceeded to request the presence of the sultan, or whoever at the time had supreme nominal power, to sign a formal treaty, while Major Farquhar was ordered to do the same in Rhio (Riau).
The writings of Raffles and Farquhar indicate that the British found Temenggong Abdul Rahman with 400 to 500 residents in Singapore in January 1819. Another member of the 1819 expedition party, Captain John Crawford, recalled in his diary an encounter with "upwards of 100" of Chinese. British colonial documentations revealed that Temenggong Abdul Rahman had provided these Chinese who wereTeochews the cost and expenses of openinggambier plantations at Mount Stamford (now Pearl’s Hill) prior to British arrival. He had also "in some instances" advanced money to the Teochew cultivators on the understanding he would be repaid in the form of gambier or other produce. Farquhar had the impressions that the Temenggong’s interests in these plantations were represented by a brother-in-law of his named Baba Ketchil and the first Captain China of Singapore, a Teochew merchant named Tan Heng Kim ((陈亨钦), was "one of the principal persons concerned".[19]
A few days later, the formal treaty was signed byHussein Shah who claimed to be the "lawful sovereign of the whole of territories extending fromLingga andJohor to Mount Muar". Although Hussein Shah had had no previous contact with the British, he had certainly heard of the strength of theRoyal Navy, and was in no position to argue against the terms. Raffles reassured him that the Dutch posed no threat in the area. Hussein Shah had been the crown Prince of Johor, but while he was away inPahang to get married, his father died, and his younger brother was made sultan, supported by some of the court officials and the Dutch. To circumvent the situation of having to negotiate with a sultan influenced by the Dutch, Raffles decided to recognise, on behalf of the British Crown, Hussein Shah as being the rightful ruler of Johor.
Farquhar's attempt to establish a more favourable treaty in Rhio (Riau) was met with greater challenge, as the Dutch were present, and made for a rather awkward position. The Dutch were alarmed, and sent a small contingent to the island. Despite a covert offer ofsubterfuge against the Dutch offered by the Raja of Rhio (Riau), Farquhar returned, and an official protest was sent by the Raja to Java regarding the matter.
Raffles declared the foundation of what was to become modern Singapore on 6 February, securing the transfer of control of the island to theEast India Company. With much pomp and ceremony, the official treaty was read aloud in languages representing all nations present, as well as the Malay and Chinese inhabitants.
Sultan Hussein Shah was paid 5,000Spanish dollars a year, while Temenggong Abdul Rahman received 3,000 a year, both massive sums at the time, roughly equivalent to£287,000 and £172,000 now.[20][21]
Farquhar was officially named theResident of Singapore, and Raffles was named as 'Agent to the Most Noble the Governor-General with the States of Rhio (Riau), Lingin (Lingga) and Johor'. Although ownership of the post was to be exclusively British, explicit orders were given to Farquhar to maintain free passage of ships through theStrait of Singapore, and a small military presence was established alongside the trading post. After issuing orders to Farquhar and the remaining Europeans, Raffles left the next day, 7 February 1819.
Raffles also planned to start a British presence inAchin, on the northern tip ofSumatra. As soon as he had departed, the Raja of Rhio (Riau) sent letters to the Dutch, disclaiming the deal, protesting innocence, and blaming British encroachment. Meanwhile, inMalacca, the Dutch acted at once, commanding that no Malays could go to Singapore. Raffles's bold claim of Singapore created a curious geographic situation: althoughPenang was clearly closer in distance to Singapore, Raffles, in his capacity as Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, was nominally still in control. This undoubtedly irked the authorities in Penang, to the point where they refused to send anysepoys to Singapore to complete the garrison.
Official Dutch complaints came before the end of the month, and Raffles attempted to appease the situation by instructing Farquhar to not interfere with the politics of surrounding islands. Despite numerous threats and serious considerations by the Dutch governor-generalVan der Capellen in Java, they did not take any military action. The confused political situation in Johore and Rhio also created a certain uneasiness and instability for the two nations.Tengku Long was claimed to be apretender to the throne, and, since thesuccession laws in the Malay sultanates were not clear cut, treaties signed between native rulers and the European powers always seemed to be on the verge of invalidation; especially if a sultan should be deposed by one of his siblings or other pretenders.
Nonetheless, amidst uncertainty and intrigue, Raffles landed in Achin on 14 March 1819, with the begrudging help of Penang. Once again, it seems that multiple people were in power, but none wanted to formally deal with the British. The hostile atmosphere created allowed Raffles to cancel the only meeting he was able to arrange, withPanglima Polim, a powerful divisional chief, fearingtreachery. As the influential merchantJohn Palmer, Raffles, and fellow commissionerJohn Monckton Coombs of Penang sat offshore, awaiting a response,Calcutta debated whether to reinforce the port city. Evacuation plans were made, but the Dutch never acted, and ultimately Lord Hastings prompted Colonel Bannerman, thegovernor of Penang, to send funds to bolster Singapore. Finally Raffles was capable of convincing his fellow commissioners to sign a treaty withJauhar al-Alam Shah, the ruler of Achin, which installed aBritish Resident, as well as guaranteeing the exclusivity of bilateral trade.
By the time Raffles had returned to Singapore, on 31 May, much of the immediate crisis that the colony had caused in Penang and Calcutta had passed. By then, the initial five-hundred villagers had grown to become five-thousand merchants, soldiers, and administrators, packed onto the island. Raffles was determined to destroy the Dutch mercantile monopoly in the area, to replace it with a gateway for trade with China and Japan. The latter he had attempted but failed to reach an agreement with while governing Java.
While in Singapore, Raffles established schools and churches in the local languages. He allowedmissionaries and local businesses to flourish. Certain colonial aspects remained: a European town was quickly built tosegregate the population, separated by a river; carriage roads were built, andcantonments constructed for the soldiers. Otherwise, no other duties were imposed.
Confident that Farquhar would follow his instructions well, Raffles sailed for Bencoolen once again on 28 June.
Raffles was still thelieutenant-governor of Bencoolen when he returned. Raffles started more reforms that were, by now, almost trademarks of his rule over the colonies. Forced labour was abolished when he first arrived, and he declared Bencoolen afree port as well. The currency was regulated and, as he had an excess of out-of-work civil servants, they formed committees to advise him on the daily running of the colony. However, Bencoolen was not as self-sufficient as Singapore. The area was poor and disease-ridden: the first reports from the committees reflected very poorly upon the condition of the colony. Unlike thesalutary neglect Raffles granted upon Singapore, he delayed European-inspired reforms, emphasising only the cultivation of whatever land was available.
Native authorities were given power in their respective districts, and were answerable only to the lieutenant-governor. Theslave-debtor system was brought in,[22] instead of the old slavery system that Raffles had abolished in Java,Borneo, and initially in Bencoolen. Slave-debtors were registered, and educational reforms started to focus on children, instead of the entire population. Raffles looked into a long-term plan for the slow reform of Bencoolen.
Unlike many other European adventurers, Raffles did not impose upon the colonised the alien language or culture of the coloniser. In addition to preserving theartifacts,fauna, andflora of his colonies, he also allowedreligious freedom, which was especially important as theMalay states were largelyMuslim. Christian schools were started bymissionaries in all of his colonies.
Colonel Bannerman's death in Penang in October 1819 brought new opportunities for Raffles to expand his power to also include the other minor British factories and outposts; fromSumatra toCochin China. He sailed toCalcutta, and as Lord Hastings sought to consolidate all of the small British possessions in theEast Indies. During his sojourn, he had the opportunity to argue for free trade, and the protection of the private enterprise. Education and the retention of small British outposts were also discussed.
The Dutch claim on the Sultanate of Johore and hence, Rhio, and the diplomatic exchanges between BaronGodert van der Capellen and Calcutta continued throughout this time. The legitimacy of the British treaties was also questioned once again, but finally, as Singapore grew at an exponential rate, the Dutch gave up their claim on the island, allowing the colony to continue as a British possession. However, the pressures put upon Calcutta ensured that no single governor of all British possessions in the Strait or on Sumatra was appointed, and Raffles, whose health was slowly ailing, returned to Bencoolen.
Raffles returned to Bencoolen in ill-health, but as his health improved, he continued on his quest to learn about the island he now called home. He studied theBatakcannibals ofTapanuli, and their rituals and laws regarding the consumption of human flesh, writing in detail about the transgressions that warranted such an act, as well as their methods. He also noted the rise of theSikh religion in certain parts of Sumatra.
By early 1820, Tengku Long had firmly established himself as theSultan of Johor to the British, but the political situation in the area remained a befuddled mess, with the old sultan dying, and many new ones attempting to gain either the crown or regency. As Farquhar was involving himself poorly in local politics, Raffles appointed Travers as theResident of Singapore, replacing Farquhar. Upon his arrival, Travers found the colony a delightfulsmörgåsbord of different races and cultures, numbering over six thousand. He also found that Singapore's trade was slowly overtaking that of Java.
As in Java, Raffles collected samples of local species of plant and animal, as well as describing them in his journals. He located other tribes, and recorded their customs, especially their religions and laws. Bringing the island ofNias under British rule, he noted its civilised state and high production yields of rice.
Yet the production of food remained a problem. In Bencoolen, Raffles paid special attention to the agricultural methods of the Chinese, including an introduction to the only issue ofProceedings of the Agricultural Society. To remedy the shortages, his employer, theEast India Company, concerned themselves only with profit-taking. Even as Raffles lived like a country gentleman, and ran his colony like an estate, his expenditure on nature preservation was seriously frowned upon. In both Calcutta and London, they discussed his removal from office, whileCastlereagh continued negotiations with the Dutch regarding the ongoing diplomatic conflicts.
Luckily, the Singapore issue had its supporters in the House, so as negotiations continued in Europe, Raffles remained largely idle in Bencoolen. The only major issue, outside the politics of the local sultans, involved the replacement of Farquhar, who decided that he had no intention of leaving his post voluntarily, causing a moment of tension between him and Travers. Raffles's request for Travers to deliver dispatches to India nullified the issue late in the year, and Farquhar remained in charge of Singapore, with its survival still in doubt for many in both India and London, who believed that it would either be handed over to the Dutch, or taken violently by force when Castlereagh's negotiations had ended. Still William Farquhar stirred up more trouble, especially with local English merchants over trivial matters of self-importance, and overreaction over small infractions of white traders, for some of which he was reprimanded by Calcutta officially.Public works, commissioned by Raffles but undertaken by Farquhar, were becoming overwhelmingly expensive.
Personal tragedies also started for Raffles. His eldest son, Leopold Stamford (b. 1818), died during an epidemic on 4 July 1821. The oldest daughter, Charlotte (b. 1818), was also sick withdysentery by the end of the year, but it would be his youngest son, Stamford Marsden (b. 1820), who would perish first with the disease, on 3 January 1822, with Charlotte to follow 10 days later. For the good part of four months, the couple remained devastated. The year would be eventful with the suicide of Castlereagh, and the appointment ofLord Amherst as thegovernor-general of India, replacing Hastings. As Raffles grew restless and depressed, he decided to visit Singapore before retiring and heading home to England. Accompanying him would be his wife Sophia and their only surviving child, Ella.
ThePlan of the Town of Singapore, also known more commonly as theJackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan
Raffles returned to Singapore in October 1822. Raffles was pleased with the fact that Singapore had grown exponentially in such a short period of time. The colony was a bustling hub of trade and economic activity. Even so, Farquhar's administration was deemed unsatisfactory, for example, he allowed merchants to encroach on government areas, permitted vices such as gambling, and toleratedslave trade.[24]: 38 [25] In response, Raffles instituted new policies, and set up a committee headed by the colony's engineer,Philip Jackson to draw up a plan, now known as theJackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan, based on instructions by Raffles. The plan was stillracially segregated, giving the best land to the Europeans. Yet it was considered remarkably scientific for the time. Raffles also supervised the levelling of a small hill south ofSingapore River to create Commercial Square (nowRaffles Place).[26]
It was also during the re-planning and reconstruction of the port town that Farquhar dramatically argued with Raffles, who now considered him unfit for the position ofResident. Raffles dismissed Farquhar in April 1823, and took direct control. He had written to Calcutta declaring Farquhar to be incompetent in January 1823, and repeated efforts were made to persuade Calcutta to send a replacement for Farquhar; but they remained unanswered. Raffles madeJohor aBritish protectorate, raising a protest from Van der Capellen. Eventually, Calcutta appointedJohn Crawfurd, who had followed Raffles for over twenty years, as the newResident of Singapore, while CaptainWilliam Gordon MacKenzie took overBencoolen. In March 1823, coincidentally the same day he was replaced, he received an official reprimand from London for the takeover of Nias.
Raffles convened a meeting on 1 April 1823, with the intention of opening a Malay college in Singapore, based on his observations on his years in southeast Asia, and his belief of the importance of both the local and theEuropean languages. Raffles personally gave $2,000[clarification needed] towards the effort, theEast India Company gave $4,000, with the contributions from various subscribers totalling $17,495. This would be the founding ofRaffles Institution.[27]
In the final few weeks of his stay in Singapore, in 1823, Raffles drafted a series of administrative regulations for Singapore that aimed to govern Singapore in a fair manner, but also reflected his stance on various moral and social issues. A registration system was first instituted for all land, regardless of ownership, and the repossession of the land by the government if land remained unregistered. This act asserted the power of theBritish government as it covered land previously owned by the Sultan as well. This is followed by laws regarding the port and freedom of trade. In May 1823, he outlawed gambling, imposed heavy taxation on what he consideredsocial evils such asdrunkenness andopium-smoking, and banned slavery.[24]: 40 A police force and magistracy were also set up on British principles, turning a trading post into a proper city with some semblance of order. A specific regulation in the constitution called for the multi-ethnic population to remain as they were; and no crimes were entirely based on racial principles. Raffles worked on drafting laws, defining exactly 'what' constituted acriminal act. However, Raffles tolerated the practice of regulated debt-slavery, which gave the appearance of free labour while remaining a cheap option for labour.[22]
A view of Singapore from the sea, sketched by Lt.Philip Jackson shortly before Raffles's departure in 1823. Found amongst documents belonging to Raffles[28]
Finally, on 9 June 1823, feeling that his work in establishing Singapore was finished, he boarded a ship for home, but not before a stop inBatavia to visit his old home, and adversary, van der Capellen. A final stop in Bencoolen followed. Tragedy befell Raffles once more when his youngest daughter, Flora Nightingall, born on 19 September, died a little over one month later on 28 November while still in Bencoolen.
On 2 February 1824, Raffles and his family embarked on theEast IndiamanFame for England. She caught fire 80 km (50 mi) from Bencoolen the evening after she sailed. All aboard were able to take to her boats and were saved, although the ship herself was totally destroyed.[29][30] The fire claimed most of his drawings and papers.[31]
TheAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 finally settled the score in theEast Indies. The British gained dominance in the north, while the entirety ofSumatra became Dutch. TheMalay Peninsula and theIndian subcontinent were both free of Dutch interference. Raffles finally returned to England on 22 August 1824, over a year after he left Singapore. His longest tenure in Singapore was only eight months, but he was considered the founder of Singapore nevertheless.
Upon arrival in England in poor health, Sir Stamford and Lady Raffles convalesced inCheltenham until September 1824, after which he entertained distinguished guests in both London and his home. He also made plans to stand forparliament, but this ambition was never realised. They moved to a London address atBerners Street at the end of November 1824, just in time to have a war of words with Farquhar, who had also arrived in the city, in front of the Court of Directors of the East India Company regarding Singapore. Despite raising several severe charges against Raffles, Farquhar was ultimately unable to discredit him; he was denied a chance to be restored to Singapore, but was given a military promotion instead.[clarification needed]
Meanwhile, he was not only not granted a pension, but was called to pay over £22,000sterling for losses incurred during his administration. Raffles replied by clarifying his actions: and he decided to move to his country estate, Highwood, North London, but before the issue was resolved, he was already much too ill.
He died ofapoplexy at Highwood House inMill Hill, north London, on his 45th birthday, 5 July 1826. The most likely underlying cause of death is that of a dural arteriovenous fistula.[33] His estate amounted to around £10,000 sterling, which was paid to the company to cover his outstanding debt. Because of hisanti-slavery position, he was refused burial inside the local parish church (St Mary's Church, Hendon) by thevicar, Theodor Williams, whose family had made its money inJamaica in the slave trade.[citation needed] A brass tablet was finally placed in 1887, but the actual whereabouts of his body was not known until 1914, when it was found in a vault. When the church was extended in the 1920s, his tomb was incorporated into the body of the building, and a square floor tablet with inscription marked the spot.
Raffles was survived by his second wife Sophia Hull and daughter Ella, and predeceased by his other four children inBencoolen.[17]
Ella died in 1840, aged nineteen. Sophia remained at Highwood House until her death in 1858, at the age of 72. Her tomb and memorial may be seen in St Paul's Church graveyard, Mill Hill, close to the rear door of the church. All his other children remained buried overseas. Thirty-three years after his death, Raffles' substantial collection of Indonesian antiquities and ethnography was donated to theBritish Museum by his nephew, Rev William Charles Raffles Flint.[8]
A life-size figure inwhite marble by SirFrancis Chantrey depicts Raffles in a seated position inWestminster Abbey, London, England. The sculpture was completed in 1832, and it is in the north choir aisle.[34]
The inscription reads:
To the memory of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, L.L.D. F.R.S. Lieut. Governor of Java and first President of the Zoological Society of London. Born 1781 Died 1826. Selected at an early age to conduct the government of the British conquests in the Indian ocean, by wisdom, vigour, and philanthropy, he raised Java to happiness and prosperity unknown under former rulers. After the surrender of that island to the Dutch, and during his government in Sumatra he founded an emporium at Singapore, where in establishing freedom of person as the right of the soil, and freedom of trade as the right of the port, he secured to the British flag the maritime superiority of the eastern seas. Ardently attached to science, he laboured successfully to add to the knowledge and enrich the museums of his native land, in promoting the welfare of the people committed to his charge, he sought the good of his country, and the glory of God.
While in Sumatra Raffles commissioned artists to make drawings of his collections of animals and plants. The surviving drawings are held by the British Library.[31]
Most natural history specimens collected by Raffles were lost with the sinking ofFame.[31] A few sent earlier, and some collected later, survive at theNatural History Museum, London andWorld Museum.
^Faulkner, Thomas (1839).The history and antiquities of the parish of Hammersmith: Interspersed with biographical notices of illustrious and eminent persons, who have been born, or who have resided in the parish during the three preceding centuries. London: Nichols & Son. p. 261.OCLC940527190.
^Heng, Jason (2018). "Chapter 7: An Old Teochew Oral Account Sheds New Light on the 1819 Founding of Singapore". In Singapore, National Library Board (ed.).Chapters on Asia: selected papers from the Lee Kong Chian Research Fellowship (2014–2016). National Library Board, Singapore. pp. 191–231.ISBN9789811163456.
^abShawna Herzog (2021).Negotiating Abolition: The Antislavery Project in the British Strait Settlements, 1786-1843. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 87.ISBN9781350073203.
^abcNoltie, Henry J. (2009).Raffles' ark redrawn : natural history drawings from the collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. British Library, Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden. London: British Library.ISBN978-0-7123-5084-6.OCLC316836618.
^"Picture Quiz".The Linnean.12 (3):14–18. October 1996.
Brayley, E. W. (1827). "Some account of the life and writings and contributions to science, of the late Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Knt., F.R.S., S.A. & L.S., &c; successively Lieutenant-Governor of Java and its dependencies, and of Fort Marlborough, Singapore, and the British Possessions in Sumatra: Founder and President of the Zoological Society".The Zoological Journal.3 (9):1–48.
Brayley, E. W. (1827). "Some account of the life and writings and contributions to science, of the late Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Knt., F.R.S., S.A. & L.S., &c; successively Lieutenant-Governor of Java and its dependencies, and of Fort Marlborough, Singapore, and the British Possessions in Sumatra: Founder and President of the Zoological Society".The Zoological Journal.3 (11):382–400.
_by_Lieutenant_Philip_Jackson_original.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_48-23.jpg)
_-_40_drawings_of_plants_at_Bencoolen%2c_Sumatra_(c.1824)_-_BL_NHD_48-20.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_47-34.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_48-26.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_47-33.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_48-19.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_47-45.jpg)
_-_BL_NHD_47-44.jpg)
