RAFFLES

by Maurice Collis

Time and perspective have increased the stature of Sir Stamford Raffles, from whose work grew the modern Far East. Maurice Collis's biography gives both a clearer and more human portrayal of this great administrator, humanitarian, pioneer orientalist and collector of animals and plants

Genres: History

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Maurice Stewart Collis

Reviews

[Trevor Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this biography, especially useful reading before heading to Singapore next month. Raffles' life reads like a boys' own adventure story. An added bonus was that courtesy of Mr Collis I learned some new words in the english language. I assume like many who've read this, as an Englishman, I feel immensely proud of Raffles and his achievements and terribly ashamed of the way his employer and the government treated him. A national hero.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, readable biography of the founder of Singapore. Includes a few maps but no pictures. The one new fact I learned about Singapore history was that although the island was claimed for England by Raffles in 1819 as a foothold against a Dutch monopoly in SE Asia (and to provide a port for English trading interests enroute to China), England's ownership of Singapore wasn't ratified until 1824. In that year, a diplomatic resolution gave the Netherlands control of all lands south of the Equator, while England was allowed to keep all its territories and ports above the line. Thus Malacca (which the British had returned to Holland in 1816 after the Napoleon Wars) was returned to England at the same time, together with some small previously-held Dutch ports in India. A good example of why, even though one thinks one knows everything there is to know about a subject, reading 'one more book' on a subject almost always pays off.