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1781 – 1826: The story of Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore and governor of Java
In the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles
What you need to know before your trail
Stamford Raffles was born into genteel poverty in the UK in 1781. He joined the East India Company at the age of fourteen and worked his way up to become Lieutenant Governor of Java when the British seized that island for some five years in 1811. There he fell in love with all things Javanese and vaunted it as a place of civilization as he discovered himself as a man of science as well as commerce. A humane and ever-curious figure, his administration was a period of energetic reform and boisterous research that culminated in his History of Java in 1817 and it remains the starting-point of all subsequent studies of Indonesian culture.
Travel Guide
Travel back in time to Java and Singapore as they were founded
Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir Stamford Raffles was a British statesman and Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies best known for his founding of Singapore and the British Malaya. In 1795, when he was just 14, Raffles started working as a clerk in London for the British East India Company, the trading company that shaped many of Britain’s overseas conquests. In 1805, he was sent to Prince of Wales Island, Malaya, starting his long association with Southeast Asia.
He was heavily involved in the conquest of the Indonesian island of Java from Dutch and French military forces during the Napoleonic Wars.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: In the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles
Destination: Java, Malaysia (Malaya), Singapore, Sumatra Author/guide: Nigel Barley Departure Time: 1781-1826
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