After all, we might have reason to hope that future generations will be forgiving about our sins, too.This free exhibition is open until 12 January 2020, and I encourage our readers to go and see the wonderful objects that attest to the rich cultural history of Java and Sumatra.The Society’s lecture series resumes this week, with a lecture at 6.30pm on Thursday 26 September, when Dr Stefan Halikowski-Smith (Swansea University) will speak on “Two Missionary Accounts of Southeast Asia in the Late Seventeenth Century”. He located other tribes and recorded their customs, especially their Yet the production of food remained a problem. Raffles sent Thomas Travers as an ambassador to the Dutch, to possibly negotiate an expansion of British economic interests. Stamford Raffles. Raffles was pleased with the fact that Singapore had grown exponentially in such a short period of time. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is a historical figure who stands among the likes of Captain Cook and Christopher Columbus—a man in possession of ships who turns up in places, generally tropical in climate, and sows seeds. This is followed by laws regarding the port and freedom of trade. Last week, I was fortunate to be able to attend the opening of the British Museum exhibition, In the employ of the East India Company from the age of fourteen, Raffles had a relatively humble education, but his great intellectual curiosity brought him into the company of well-known scholars including Dr John Leyden (1775-1811) and William Marsden (1754-1836). 6 July 1781, off Port Morant, Jamaica–d. Two statues in Singapore, one made of white marble along the 18th-century British statesman who founded SingaporeMemorial sculpture in Westminster Abbey, London, EnglandMemorial sculpture in Westminster Abbey, London, England
Most significant of these was the assault on Yogyakarta on 21 June 1812; Yogyakarta was one of the two most powerful indigenous polities in Java. Sir Stamford Raffles is celebrated for “founding” modern Singapore and historical records show that he was also, most importantly a Slave Trader as well. I think the best conclusion is that we should aspire to remember our predecessors in a spirit of sympathy, rather than one of repudiation. One of the most controversial acts carried out by Raffles in Java was the invasion of Yogyakarta, in 1812, during which the The exhibition helped me reflect on how we think about history, and the role that heritage institutions play in helping people understand the past and live together in the present. Unlike many other European adventurers, Raffles did not impose upon the colonised the alien language or culture of the coloniser. People in the past encountered new cultures in ways that were shaped by history, not in the ways that we (or they) might have chosen. Copyright © Royal Asiatic Society 2020 The colony was a bustling hub of trade and economic activity. In 1795, at the age of 14, Raffles started working as a The British invasion of Java took a total of forty-five days, during which Raffles was appointed the During the relatively brief British rule in Java, Raffles negotiated peace and mounted some significant military expeditions against local Javanese princes to subjugate them to British rule. Slave-debtors were registered, and educational reforms started to focus on children instead of the entire population. Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was born on 5 July 1781 on board the ship The little money the family had went into sending Raffles to boarding school. The slave-debtor system was brought in, instead of the old slavery system that Raffles had abolished in Java, Borneo, and initially in Bencoolen. His eldest son, Leopold Stamford (b. Raffles was determined to destroy the Dutch mercantile monopoly in the area to replace it with a gateway for trade with China and Japan. Raffles’ belief in free trade is perhaps best reflected in the history of Singapore, which he did much to shape. For much of August and early September, the Society’s internet connection was seriously disrupted due to an external network fault with our supplier, Virgin Media.