Raffles: And the Golden Opportunity

by Victoria Glendinning

Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) was the charismatic and persuasive founder of Singapore and Governor of Java. An English adventurer, disobedient employee of the East India Company, utopian imperialist, linguist, zoologist and civil servant, he carved an extraordinary (though brief) life for himself in South East Asia. The tropical, disease-ridden settings of his story are as dramatic as his own trajectory - an obscure young man with no advantages other than talent and obsessive drive, who changed history by establishing - without authority - on the wretchedly unpromising island of Singapore a settlement which has become a world city. After a turbulent time in the East Indies, Raffles returned to the UK and turned to his other great interests - botany and zoology. He founded London Zoo in 1826, the year of his death.Raffles remains a controversial figure, and in the first biography for over forty years, Victoria Glendinning charts his prodigious rise within the social and historical contexts of his world. His domestic and personal life was vivid and shot through with tragedy. His own end was sad, but his fame immortal.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Asia, Biography Memoir

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

British biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist. She is President of English PEN, a winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, was awarded a CBE in 1998 and is Vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature.

Glendinning read modern languages at Oxford and worked as a teacher and social worker before becoming an editorial assistant for the Times Literary Supplement in 1974.

She has been married three times, the second to Irish writer, lawyer and editor Terence de Vere White, who died of Parkinson's disease in 1994.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start; could have done less with Raffles' family background but the book takes off one-third through when Raffles departs for Asia, and is an absolute page-turner upon his return to Southeast Asia with his appointment in Bencoolen (on the west coast of Sumatra) and subsequent claiming of Singapore for Great Britain. Well researched, but I personally found the language a little formal and stiff. The author's dry remarks are sparse but welcoming insights and I wish there had been more.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thorough and dryly entertaining biography of Sir Stamford Raffles teems with intrigue, petty bureaucratic back-biting, and schemes large and small to gain wealth, fame, and a toehold in history.

I confess that until recently the only “Raffles” that I knew about was the fictional thief and “amateur cracksman” of that name in the E.W. Hornung stories written at the turn of the 20th century. I was surprised, then, to find numerous references to an entirely different Raffles in a book I was reading on the White Rajahs of Sarawak (I know… odd that I should read and know about them but not know about the founder of Singapore, eh?) To make a long story short, I abandoned the White Rajah volume and went haring off after Raffles, who apparently was a great source of inspiration for the original White Rajah, James Brooke. I sent off for a used book on Raffles, this being the most promising sounding, and after a blessedly short interval it arrived from the U.K.

Well! So much for the backstory. Now on to the book itself. I have to confess that though I very much admire what Glendinning, author of a number of literary biographies (Rebecca West, Trollope, Elizabeth Bowen, Edith Sitwell and others) has done here, her methods might not be to everyone’s taste, as she does require the reader to keep track of dozens and dozens of Raffles relatives, superiors, subordinates, rivals, royalty, and friends, not to mention a raft of foreign potentates, tribal chieftans, military men, and assorted riff-raff and adventurers.

However, should you stick with it and read at a reasonable clip without setting the book aside and forgetting who is who (always a problem for easily-distracted me), you’ll be rewarded with a vivid tapestry that not only details Raffles' life and times, but perhaps just as importantly, gives a rich picture of that immensely complex and important commercial and military behemoth, the British East India Company.

If, like me, you’ve taken up – and then put down – several volumes on the British East India Company, it might be a surprise to find it’s very educational to look at the life of one particular and rather notable member of that company in order to understand it better. Glendinning succeeds in supplying the necessary background into the workings of the Company – which are essential to understanding Raffles’ life and career – but I found the strongest parts of the book revealed how rivalries and personal jealousies affected the policies of the company, and indeed decreed ultimate winners and losers on the larger world stage.

There is also much material here concerning how the Napoleonic Wars affected Britain’s policies in the East, and as I have a longstanding interest in that period, I was intrigued to learn how the Dutch and British – former rivals in the Malay Archipelago – worked together to keep the French from making headway in their colonies there.

Glendinning’s writing draws heavily from letters and reports written by Raffles, his family, and other employees of the Company. It’s clear that she relished unearthing particularly juicy and revelatory tidbits. One of my favorite quotes, not from her sources but from herself, gives the reader, in a few short sentences, a wonderful outlook on the time she so diligently researched:

His [Raffles’] was the time of long everything – long journeys, long speeches, long dinners, long sermons, long poems, long scholarly papers, long book reviews, long personal letters, long reports – and long attention spans. Only death moved swiftly. Whether in Britain or out East, you could dine with a friend one day and hear of his death from some sudden fever or infection the following afternoon.

Indeed, Glendinnings’ account does a very creditable job of making the reader – without undue suffering – experience second-hand not only the long voyages, long dinners, and so on, but also the pain and arbitrary swiftness of death. Raffles lost one wife, four children, and countless friends and relatives to tropical diseases and afflictions, and his own death, which took place in England some years after his retirement, also was indirectly caused by tropical illnesses he’d suffered from out East.

I will confess to wishing that there had been more swashbuckling and less letter writing and tedium in Raffles’ life. He does undertake some exploration, along with his doughty and admirable second wife, Sophia, and there are some other sensational events such as a fire at sea, during which he lost almost all his papers, possessions, and an immense collection of zoological, botanical, and ethnological material. But I would have liked more.

Also, although the author goes into great detail concerning Raffles' claim to have founded Singapore and his early contribution to the colony, I did get the sense that in this case “the winner takes all,” in terms of credit, and that in fact, as she hints, an equal share of the credit goes to the first administrator he appointed to get things started, one Lieutenant Colonel William Farquhar. I’m sure, should I read a biography of Farquhar, I’d get a very different perspective.

All in all this book does a creditable job of shedding light on both Raffles, the man, and the inner workings of the British East India Company.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting biography of the founder of modern day Singapore and looks at the larger than life character and myth of the man and looks at his short life

[alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes good on the central idea of news and instructions sent from London and Calcutta trailing the realities on the ground in a far-flung South East Asia, where the development of Singapore (what Raffles is best-known for) was the last-ditch attempt to create a lasting legacy in his life, after a long stint attempting to manage first Java then Sumatra.

Some events could be a little better explained but overall it’s interesting to see: how many people and layers of Empire politics were involved, and how this was contemporary to Napoleon on the continent, ultimately the history I know better. Noticed a couple of baffling errors on the location of Melaka compared to Penang where they appear to be switched?

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written, showing both the positive and negative side of Raffles personality and actions. An entertaining read, and hard to put down from start to finish. Especially interesting for those who know or have interest in learning about the history of the Malay peninsula.

[Stephen Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review from Asian Review of Books:

Raffles and the Golden Opportunity is a largely sympathetic biography of a man whose vision and actions fundamentally changed the economic and political development of South East Asia. Without Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, there would be no Singapore, the colony that became a blueprint for the further expansion of the British Empire in Asia and continues as a highly successful city-state.
But Raffles’s life consisted of much more than his most famous triumph. Singapore was a major episode but by no means the whole story. Award-winning biographer Victoria Glendinning shows that in spite of being physically small and fragile (he was tormented by malaria and other illnesses) and beset with failures and tragedy (including the loss of four children), Raffles was nevertheless a resilient character, making him a compelling subject for biography.

As well as making a significant contribution to our knowledge of the man himself, Raffles and the Golden Opportunity sheds light on the early expansion of the British Empire in the East, which was more a case of what might be called “making it up as it went along” than much conventional wisdom would hold. The debate around the efficacy of the British Empire still rages. Unsurprisingly, passions are easily stirred across the globe, as evidenced by the fervent reaction to revisionist historians' attempts at highlighting British Imperialism's 'positive' scorecard. This book contributes a valuable human perspective to the reassessment of the British Empire, albeit one firmly from the side of the colonialists.

Glendinning argues that Raffles was not cut from the same cloth as most agents of British Imperialism. He had relatively humble beginnings as the son of a merchant in an ordinary London suburb. Hardly educated at all, he worked as a clerk for the East India Company in London, slavishly copying out reports and instructions from around the Empire for a decade. This diligence for recording and documenting was to become a thread running throughout his life and eventually provided him with the adventure he craved.

In 1805, aged 24, Raffles sailed with his first wife, Olivia, to take up an assistant governor post in Penang (an island off the west coast of northeast Malaysia). He learned Malay on the way over and when he arrived, started to collect local flora and fauna, animals and birds. Glendinning details Raffles’s strong interest in botany which eventually led to his uncovering of the world’s largest flower – the Rafflesia arnoldii.

Five years into his time in Asia, Raffles plotted his first major step to achieve fame and fortune: the takeover of Java from the French who had gained control of the colony after their conquest of Holland in the Napoleonic Wars. Raffles, it seems, was something of a renegade. Rather than waiting interminably for agreement or refusal from India House in London, he set out a plan to local rulers and Imperial civil and military authorities based, as they were at the time, in India then persuaded them to execute it. Java had rice, coffee and tobacco and he decided that annexing the colony was a logical step to gain a firm foothold for the British and deal a severe blow to French interests in a vital part of the Malay archipelago. The invasion went like clockwork, though Dutch and indigenous rebels were treated with little mercy.

Raffles became Lieut. Governor of Java and immediately made his mark, giving an indication of what was to be expected from his administration. The worst effects of Dutch rule were ended: dealing in slaves was stopped, torture ended, cock-fighting banned, smallpox inoculation extended and corruption reduced. In addition, reforms of land ownership gave peasant farmers better opportunities to sell their excess crops more efficiently.

Influential evangelical Christians in Britain had long advocated such reforms as part of their drive to make the Empire more “civilised”. However, Raffles was never driven by religious conviction. Although some missionaries appear in his second phase in Asia, Raffles never sought to proselytise Christianity or to forcibly convert indigenous peoples. His Christianity was tepid at best; he was far too interested in other religions and was essentially a pragmatist. While resident in Java, one of his expeditions into the jungle uncovered the 9th century Buddhist temple site of Borobudur, abandoned to nature once the islanders had converted to Islam. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one the most important places of pilgrimage for South East Asian Buddhists. Raffles also found the time and energy to write the famous History of Java—a massive, if flawed, compendium of information on culture, art, social mores, geography and traditions.

When the Napoleonic Wars ended, he was devastated when Java had to be handed back to Holland. After the blow of being relieved of control in Java he returned to England and secured the friendship of royalty – the Prince Regent and his wife Queen Charlotte were friends of his new wife, Sophia (Olivia having perished of dysentery in Java). Soon he was a Knight of the Realm and got his wish for another adventure that would, he hoped, see him make enough money to retire comfortably in the English shires. This time he sailed for Becoolen, a failing colonial outpost on the huge island of Sumatra, to enhance Britain's share of the pepper trade.

Becoolen proved to be an intractable challenge with lasting consequences. But it was from there that the idea of revitalising the ancient city of Singapore (the “Golden Opportunity” in the title) gained a hold on him. He saw it as the British Empire writ small: a well-organised, humanely run, free trade settlement that would enrich himself, fill the British coffers and aid in the development of the local peoples. His very own utopia. Despite exceeding his colonial mandate, Raffles struck a one-sided deal with the nominal rulers of Singapore, which quickly emerged as a successful trading port with multiple ethnic groups co-existing in relative harmony—assuring his legacy.

Raffles loved and nurtured Singapore as if it were one of his children. It was not just a vision: he even got involved in detailed town planning, architecture and rule-making. Singapore became an extension of Raffles’s ideal, but Glendinning argues that Major William Farquhar—head of the British invasion force, a key player in the treaty negotiations with local chiefs and the first civil and military ruler on the island—should also receive considerable credit for its founding. Also, Raffles was not in Singapore for long enough to claim that he alone is responsible for its rise to prominence.

A keen linguist and canny negotiator, Raffles used these talents when dealing with the ruling elite - some of whom were just as exploitative of the rural poor as their colonial masters. Raffles conducted himself with skill and respect during the complex discussions over Java and Singapore. In what was more often than not a massive protection racket, the growing Empire needed local collaborators— sultans and rajahs—willing to agree to live under British jurisdiction in return for financial pay-offs and status retention. Unlike in the West Indies and North America, there was little prospect of battalions of willing colonists setting up large settlements in distant South East Asia.

Colonial duties called Raffles back to Sumatra after just a few years. The journey back to Bencoolen was a disaster. Raffles’s ship, aptly named The Fame, was destroyed by fire not far off the coast and all his and his family's possessions, cultural artefacts, clothes, books, records and animals sank to the bottom of the Indian ocean. After he gave up his colonial commission he was summoned back to London to account for his actions: his governorship of Bencoolen was problematic to say the least. Arriving home with little money, Raffles’s future hinged on a claim for financial compensation and a pension from the East India Company. His hopes were dashed. To add insult to injury he lost a small fortune in the huge financial collapse of 1825, his investments in Java went belly up and he was ordered to pay a huge sum in respect of the overpayment of salary to his employer and other alleged expenses. In London, Raffles found time to become chair of the Zoological Society and help set up London Zoo. However, by now virtually bankrupt and with the chronic headaches he suffered from all his adult days becoming worse, Raffles died of a cerebral brain haemorrhage in the summer of 1826. He was 45.

Like many great historical figures, Raffles was a man of contradictions. The complexity and subtlety of Asian culture was a source of great fascination for Raffles, yet he also sought to bring or impose on these people British law, civilisation and commerce, which he truly believed were far superior to anything on earth. He was very much a civil leader and mistrustful of military commanders yet he was happy to use Britain’s military might to achieve his ultimate goals.

Glendinning’s mastery of the massive volume of historical records and her love of the language of Raffles’s day are clearly evident in the length of the book and the number of direct quotations she uses. The casual reader may find that the density of information and the biographical diversions into some peripheral characters clouds rather than brightens the picture of the man at the centre of the book. Also, most of the biography is concerned with his earliest adventures and his greatest achievement – Singapore—gains far fewer pages.

However, there are very few biographies of Raffles and Glendinning’s excellent and evocative account is certain to become the benchmark for all future attempts.

[Hshen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sparked my interest because of Raffles' connection to Malaysia and Singapore. I wanted a glimpse of what it was like during the early years of British colonisation and influence. I also like reading biographies where people have succeeded despite humble beginnings.

Raffles was certainly one such person. Born into a large family, his alcoholic father eventually deserted them leading to the brink of poverty, which cut short his education. Charles Stamford Raffles however was to become a very resourceful man with great vision and immense capability. The necessity to support his mother by working in the London offices of the East India Company juggernaut gave him important practical experience. It was this period of learning that stood him in great stead for his future supporting administrative role when posted overseas to Java and later Malaysia. It was there that he was able to prove his insight into the workings of the EIC - getting things done and gaining the approval of his superiors. (It was fascinating to read how there was an incredible amount of paperwork back then due to letters having to be copied by hand and sent on to many departments. In addition, post was terribly slow - people wouldn't learn they had won wars or that their relative has died until a year later, administrative decisions had to wait lengthy periods to find out what London headquarters had to say). Gradually, he was given more responsibility and he kept proving his indispensibility through his knowledge of company workings, his energy and huge work ethic.

He was not perfect. He showed nepotism and had a desire for fame and recognition. Sadly, he lost many beloved children to various tropical viruses that occurred suddenly and at an alarming pace. Loved by two wives successively, he loved them back in return. He enjoyed large and lavish parties and was seemingly a very good host. He had major fall outs with contemporaries over the greater vision for territories and total abolishment of slavery - a practice that was slowly being dismantled in South East Asia in his time. Raffles was absolutely passionate about slave abolishment - clearly enforcing the British rule wherever he went and seeing to it that people were paid out and freed. William Wilberforce was one of his later close friends.

It did not appear he was a Christian though in his letters there had been mention of God stylistically. One of his brothers was a 'celebrity' vicar though.

Raffles was an avid collector of cultural artifacts plus animal and plant specimens (a number of plants and animals bear his name in their Latin description; and he had orangutans, a bear and a tiger in his house at one point). Many of his prized cultural artifacts are now housed in the British Museum. Tragically, at the beginning of his last voyage home, his ship capsized and everything that had been collected at that time was lost. He had hoped to return to England and sell some of his collections in order to live happily with his wife and last remaining child - who they had shipped off ahead of them with her nanny to protect her from the east Asian infections that had taken her siblings. Thankfully all the people on the ship survived.

Back in England, not exactly destitute but with loans to pay back the EIC, Raffles achieved some success after writing a book about Java. He was overworked though, and having worked tirelessly for decades with little sleep, he started having blackouts. (Over the years, doctors had prescribed him mercury which he took in the form of pills). After one particularly bad fall his speech was badly affected. Soon after he collapsed and died of a brain aneurysm. The post mortem revealed a massive growth in his brain.

Post humously, his wife managed to establish Raffles as the main character responsible for the founding of Singapore. Lord Farquhar however heavily objected, as he had actually been integral to this.

These days in Singapore, you see the name 'Raffles' everywhere - Raffles Hotel, Raffles Place, Raffles Quay, Stamford Hotel, Stamford Place etc. Raffles has the name and fame he had so desired.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive biography of Thomas Stanford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. The author devotes much of the book to his extended family and his sometimes contradictory ideas concerning Britain's political and cultural influence in the wider world. The narrative sometimes reads like a real life Jane Austen novel with passages such as "The Raffleses were ordinary people with no family money and few influential connections" and the circumstances surrounding Raffles' two marriages and his efforts to arranges matches for his sisters. The book did not devote as much time to the founding of Singapore as expected and I would have been interested to read more about Singapore's history in the context of Raffles' biography. An interesting read but the focus is more on Raffles's early life and family than some of his later achievements.

[Rohit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a well-told story about Sir Stamford Raffles, albeit one without a clear thesis about what the vulnerabilities and strengths are about the personality type Glendinning describes in Raffles. It makes up for that with clear insights about the historical time periods.

It's the best book I've read about the East India Company and the White Man's Burden, really brings clarity to why the more benevolent among the Company men thought themselves saviors. The Company is vividly portrayed, the conflict between those simply seeking to get rich and the young adventurers is particularly fascinating.

But the most important part of the book, I found, was the absolute transience of life among the major characters. Illness was pervasive, both in England and in the Indies. The magnitude of that story can only be told in a biography.

[Justinian Guan · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread in prep for a mini-lecture I'm giving in school. I've heard this disparaged by some folks for being not generous enough to Raffles - I suppose that's what happens when almost every other Raffles biography in existence is in essence a hagiography - but in terms of sourcing and balance this is actually quite a stellar piece of scholarship. if anything one could criticize it for being too pro-Raffles in parts (invasion of Java, policy implementation there, Palembang and Banjarmasin affairs) but that is really a question of taste and I think Glendinning succeeds in providing a coherent, human account (instead of polemic, which a lot of writing about anyone involved in colonial enterprises tends to devolve into...) of TS Raffles

[Clare Nestor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The style is quite formal and detailed but nonetheless it was reasonably easy to read. However it was quite hard to keep up with and remember the relationships of all the supporting cast - Raffles’ extensive family, friends, work colleagues, significant members of society etc…

My main interest in reading this was from a recent holiday in Singapore where Raffles’ name is everywhere so it was interesting to learn he actually spent very little time there compared with Java and Bencoolen and potentially took much of the credit from William Farquhar, who he treated quite badly and who has nothing (street or building) named after him in SG. (There is however a very good bar named after him in the E&O Hotel in Penang!)

[Katedurie50 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only 45 when he died, Raffles experienced both great good fortune and bad. He rose meteorically in the service of the Company, sometimes by dint of the habit of informing superiors only after he had made a decision, and they had their revenge, depriving him of a pension and fixing him with a ruinously large bill. He collected exotic possessions and natural specimens and lost everything in a ship's fire. He had two happy marriages and children he adored, three of whom died within six months. He was one of the faces of colonialism but a relatively liberal, reformist one. In his contradictions, he makes an intriguing study.

[Mark Ludmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, fascinating and very readable biography of Raffles, tracing his career in the East Indies, mostly spent in Java before he founded Singapore. It is full of drama, not least because Raffles was a maverick who often overstepped his remit. The book does not shy away from the realities of colonialism and provides insights into the burgeoning 19th-century English ethos of Empire as well as the final years of the East India Company. At the same time, it reveals his personal life including his family and friendships.

[Bruce Harpham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book in a museum while visiting Singapore. It was an interesting exploration of "early Empire." The process of creating empire - the interplay between the East India Company, the government and local leaders - was interesting. I was expecting a greater focus on Singapore. I did find the book interesting. I had no idea that there were so many people who have specialized in or studied Raffles.

[Rose Gan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written and thorough enough but Glendinning knows very little about South East Asia and makes a few glaring errors which are very irritating to those who know better. It also takes a fairly traditional opinion on Raffles which seems outdated now- so much better material in recent years has debunked Raffles liberal reformer reputation that has passed her by. As such this comes over as yet another apologia for colonialism.

[James Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly run-of-the=mill but nevertheless interesting biography of Sir Stamford Raffles who worked for the East India Company in Maylay peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago. Generally credited with founding Singapore, Glendinning does a good job of questioning whether credit should go to Lt. Col. Farquar.

[Tania · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like watching paint dry, or rather reading about paint drying. Very misleading title and blurb on rear of book as only the last quarter of the book has anything to do with Singapore. Populated with too many characters and their histories. Best sections are excerpts from Sophia Raffles writings.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book offers a good description about the life of Sir Stamford Raffles. Despite its flaws, I think its fair to say that this book did provide insights about Raffles's personal and career life for its readers.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best things about biography is the 'wrapper' of time and history around the central subject. This is a good example - I learnt as much about the time and place as about the life of Raffles and his family and friends, both extremely interesting and well written.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid biography of Raffles. Shines a light on his early years and time before he arrives in Java. Wish it could have been more detailed in his time as Governor of Java and his efforts to found the outpost in Singapore.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book jumped around in the story and was a little tricky to follow at points

[Karen de Bruyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting a bit heavy going

[Jan Tregelles · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve just come from Singapore on our trip. The book was absolutely excellent but the sadness of his death was horrible.

Glad to have read it but found it quite depressing.

[Dominic Arbuthnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, fast-moving, biography of Raffles that emphasises the human and humane side of a gest adventurer

[Tim Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, entertaining, and economical precis of Raffles' life - poised and perfectly balanced, a real pleasure to read.

[Pam Ela · Rating 3 out of 5]

biography of Raffles

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

very descriptive of the office politics facing colonizers. interesting read.

[Bookshop · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing and story can be tightened. A bit too meandering for my taste. Read it for his adventures in SEA.

[Ben Wong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meticulously researched. Its too heavily laden with unimportant details although im not sure what I was expecting. I learnt to appreciate farquhar more and raffles less.

[Reen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of detail but non the less an excellent way to learn about the man who founded Singapore