Raffles: Sir Stamford Raffles and the Founding of Singapore

Singapore, then a small and unregarded fishing village on a minor island, possessed all the attributes to become such a suitable naval base. Raffles, accordingly, established a British base there and created an administrative structure supporting the efforts of the East India Company. Following the hallowed English tradition of divide and conquer, Raffles and his successors encouraged Chinese from the mainland to migrate to Singapore and make a home there.

This policy proved very successful and soon a steady flow of migrant workers was produced. Having a largely male population of migrant workers also created its own problems, with a need for women and efforts to prevent secret societies being recreated. The threats to social order that this heritage of migration have stimulated are at least partly responsible for the strict social controls maintained by subsequent Singaoporean administrations down to the present day.

Legacy

Raffles continued to enjoy a long and celebrated career in imperial administration. While self-determination would probably have been preferable for the local people, at least there were not obliged to tolerate a predatory colonial regime.

Raffles, like many of his station, was largely self-educated but followed proto-Victorian ideals of personal development and betterment. As part of this, he became a published author with his History of Java.

He did visit his home country from time to time and eventually died in England in 1826. Today, his name lives on in a number of hotels and resorts in Singapore and elsewhere. The Raffles Hotel in Singapore provides a Singapore Sling the equal of any cocktail in the world and visitors should consider drinking one (at least) a must when visiting the Lion City.

John Walsh, Mahidol University International College, January 2004

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