Book

Raffles and the golden opportunity

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Thomas Stamford Raffles, the author tells us, was motivated by three desires: fame, money and the desire to do good. Of the three, his fame today is assured by his role in the creation of one of the world's most successful city-states. He founded Singapore in an improvised ceremony on a rat-infested foreshore in 1819. (His contemporary and rival, Lt Col William Farquhar, also played a role, but history has been less kind to his contribution.)
He could also claim fame as a member of London's competitive early imperial intellectual circles, collecting artefacts, giving papers, writing on the cultures, flora and fauna of the territories Britain was coming to dominate. He believed that the imperial project was an improving one, without falling into the vice of despising the natives or regarding them as primitive went: Raffles died at 45, heavily in debt to the company that not only refused him a pension but clawed back two years of salary. As for doing good, his clearest claim lies in his resolute abhorrence of slavery, a practice he outlawed whenever he could, much to the irritation of his employers.
Raffles's family had neither social position nor money, but he was lucky in his patrons: an uncle bought his first clerical job in the company; the father of a friend recommended him for a post in Penang and Lord Minto, who served as governor, gave him support.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

LC 923.9 GLE r

Penerbit

London : Profile Books Ltd., 2013

Deskripsi Fisik

xvii, 350 p, 20 cm ; index

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

978-1846686047

Klasifikasi

923.9

Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

Biography
History

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

Victoria Glendinning

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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