Raffles and the British Invasion of Java

Raffles, the narcissist, whose pernicious contributions got posthumously heavily redacted.

But no, that's not how we remember Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

It's that larger-than-life guy on a pedestal in front of Victoria Concert Hall, as founder of Singapore.

It's the hero “with genius and perception” who is adored and eternalized in buildings (Raffles Hotel), schools (Raffles Institution), and places (Raffles Place)l

Which description of the man is true? It must be the latter, right?

In this book, Tim Hannigan does a painstaking, yet balanced job at uncovering the quirks and the actions of East Indian Company officer Raffles during the British reign in Java 1811-1816l

We learn that while Raffles dreamt big (and was a visionary), he was also a petty truth-bending despot who ignored higher orders.

We learn that later biographers (including his second wife Sophia) conveniently left out all his conniving self-dealing.

We learn that Raffles died a bankrupt man, being presented a retroactive bill from his employer after his stolen treasures went up in flames.

But most importantly: We learn that the heroic image of Sir Stamford Raffles is a very generous interpretation.