Raffles and Hastings : private exchanges behind the founding of Singapore / John Bastin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bastin, John Sturgus, 1927-2024, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir, 1781-1826--Correspondence.

Raffles, Thomas Stamford.

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of, 1754-1826--Correspondence.

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings.

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of, 1754-1826.

Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir, 1781-1826.

History.

Singapore--History--1867-1942--Sources.

Singapore.

Genre:

Sources.

Correspondence.

Personal correspondence.

Physical Description:

xii, 235 pages : illustrations (some colour), maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Singapore : National Library Board Singapore [and] Marshall Cavendish Editions, [2014]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The founding of Singapore has typically been attributed to the strategic genius of one man, Stamford Raffles. Frequently overlooked is the part played by his superior in the East India Company, the Marquess of Hastings. It was Hastings who, as Governor-General of India, made the fateful decision to establish a British trading post at the southern entrance of the Malacca Straits, and once this was executed with great daring by Raffles in early 1819, it was Hastings again who supported the retention of Singapore against opposition from all quarters. This book shines a fascinating new light on Singapore's founding by examining the personal correspondence between these two men. Published here for the first time, the letters - from the Bute Collection at Mount Stuart, Scotland - reveal at first hand the challenges that Raffles and Hastings faced in manoeuvring within the increasingly Dutch dominated East Indies and their views on the best course of actions. Just as significantly, the letters uncover a complex relationship between the two men - one that evolved from mutual suspicion at the outset to eventual cooperation and administration, but was nonetheless infused throughout with hidden agendas, subterfuge and intrigue. Book jacket.

Contents:

I Beginnings of the Relationship 1

II Raffles's Expansionist Policies in Sumatra 13

III Hastings Favours the Southern Melaka Straits 21

IV Mission to the Eastward 29

V Establishment of a British Station at Singapore 38

VI Raffles's Official Account of the Founding of Singapore 51

VII Raffles's Private Reports on the Founding of Singapore 71

VIII Rapid Progress of the Settlement 86

IX Raffles as a "Political Agent" in the Malay Archipelago 101

X Proposal for the Amalgamation of Pinang, Singapore and Bengkulu 107

XI Raffles and Singapore 118

XII The Resident of Singapore 124

XIII Final Exchanges and Hastings's Death 132.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9814561444

9789814561440

OCLC:

884843481

Publisher Number:

99961551612