by Andre Sanchez

Born on 6th July 1781, Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles is best known among ordinary people for Raffles Hotel in Singapore that was named after him.  Had it not been, it is doubtful that anyone other than historians would have been aware of the person who founded Singapore. 

There are only two people that are associated with the formation of Singapore, one being its first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who did so much to make Singapore what it is now, and Raffles, who created the state. He was a man whose efforts for Britain in the East Asia were never truly appreciated and his early death was possibly brought on by the pressures applied on him and his family by the British Government and the British East India Company.

What evidence is there for this? Perhaps the following.  Raffles was an employee with the British East India Company, who, after a period in Penang, was sent to Malacca and had orders from the East India Company to abandon and dismantle it.  He argued against this and finally persuaded the Company to suspend the abandonment and eventually to cancel the decision.  

After a short period in Calcutta, Raffles was responsible for the taking of Batavia in Java from the Dutch, and paving the way for the conquest of the island for Britain.  Raffles was appointed lieutenant governor of Java as a reward, a position the held from 1811 to 1816. However, in spite of the many improvements he introduced to the way of life on the island, the British decided to hand it back to the Dutch for political reasons.  Stanford Raffles was sent back to England, where although he tried to have the decision rescinded, this proved impossible and he was knighted for his service to his country.

It was, however, a kick in the teeth: one that was to be the first of many. He accepted a post in Sumatra in 1817, and spent the next few years trying to confound the Dutch who were determined to oust the British from East Asia and gain a monopoly of the trade.  Although he was largely successful, Sir Thomas was nevertheless frequently censured and criticized for his efforts.

His crowning glory came on January 29, 1819, when he once and for all destroyed Dutch hopes of ruling all trade in Malaysia and East Asia. With Col. R. J. Farquhar, a former British Resident at Amboina, he landed on Singapore Island and saw it as an ideal way-station for the British East India Company to use to replenish their stocks of food and water, and immediately on February 6th a treaty was signed with the Sultan of Johore making Singapore a British colony. 

Farquhar was appointed Governor under Raffles’ supervision and despite protestations by the Dutch, and not a small amount of antipathy towards Raffles in parliament, Singapore remained in British hands.  However, not everything was to run as smoothly for Sir Thomas.

Four of his children died within four years, and he resigned from the British East India Company in 1823.  He faced a charge from the East India Company in 1824 that demanded repayment of salary and expenses, a claim that was only rescinded after his death.  Three months after he received the court’s demand for payment, he died of an apoplectic stroke on July 5th, 1826, although it is now thought that it may have been a brain tumour that had been developing for some time.

That he survived so long in spite of so many things happening to put him down is an indication of his robust attitude to life, and of his enthusiasm for the East Asia that he loved. He did much for Malaysia and Singapore, including setting up schools for the children. He took a very humanitarian approach to those areas in which he had influence and was well divorced from the typical British Governor who would regard the natives as beneath them and take what they could from their situation.

Like many people in his position, he had an interest in the zoology and archaeology of the countries he visited, and did his best to promote the arts and sciences whenever the opportunity arose.

Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles was a unique individual and achieved much in his short 45 years, dying the day before his birthday on July 5th, 1826. He was an individual who, like many in the Britain of the early nineteenth century, did their duty well but was little recognized for it during their lifetime.  He would likely be delighted to know the mark that he has made on history.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was originally published at http://www.globallifenow.com