Race and British colonialism in South-East Asia, 1770-1870 : John Crawfurd and the politics of equality / Gareth Knapman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Knapman, Gareth, author.

Contributor:

Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

Series:

Empires in perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Orientalism.

History.

Race relations.

Colonies.

Civilization.

Southeast Asia--History--19th century.

Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia--Civilization--Political aspects.

Great Britain--Colonies--Asia--History--19th century.

Great Britain.

Asia.

Crawfurd, John, 1783-1868.

Crawfurd, John.

Race relations--History--19th century.

Imperialism--History--19th century.

Imperialism.

Orientalism--History--19th century.

British colonies.

Civilization--Political aspects.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 277 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2017.

Summary:

"The idea of "race" played an increasing role in nineteenth-century British colonial thought. For most of the nineteenth century, John Crawfurd towered over British colonial policy in South-East Asia, being not only a colonial administrator, journalist and professional lobbyist, but also one of the key racial theorists in the British Empire. He approached colonialism as a radical liberal, proposing universal voting for all races in British colonies and believing all races should have equal legal rights. Yet at the same time, he also believed that races represented distinct species of people, who were unrelated. This book charts the development of Crawfurd's ideas, from the brief but dramatic period of British rule in Java, to his political campaigns against James Brooke and British rule in Borneo. Central to Crawfurd's political battles were the debates he had with his contemporaries, such as Stamford Raffles and William Marsden, over the importance of race and his broader challenge to universal ideas of history, which questioned the racial unity of humanity. The book taps into little explored manuscripts, newspapers and writings to uncover the complexity of a leading nineteenth-century political and racial thinker whose actions and ideas provide a new view of British liberal, colonial and racial thought"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The East India Company's Scottish critic of empire in Asia

Land, history and the source of civilisation

Searching for the aboriginal pre-history of the savage

Race and the natural history of the savage

Singapore and competing visions of colonialism

Protecting and civilising savages in Sarawak

Resisting colonialism in Sarawak

Civilisation, the savage and equality.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Knapman, Gareth, author. Race and British colonialism in Southeast Asia, 1770-1870

ISBN:

9781138211766

1138211761

OCLC:

952943100