1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: I'm to blame a chuck for boarding and I'm Fara 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: Dali and we touched a lot on British imperialism in 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: this podcast and in the stories we usually tell, those 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: pertaining to India in particular, the British tend to dominate 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: and seem like the most powerful governing force in the 8 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: East Indies. But the story that we're going to tell 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: today is about the island of Java, which is now 10 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: part of Indonesia, and in the late seventeen hundreds early 11 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds or so when our story begins, it was 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: actually controlled by the Dutch and their Dutch East India Company. 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: So the Dutch had come to control most of the 14 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: East Indies by this time, along with its very lucrative 15 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: spice trade that was kind of the main attraction, and 16 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: they set up a monopoly system that prevented other European 17 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: ships from even coming into the area. That's how whore 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: in the spice trade was to them. And the subject 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: of this podcast, Sir Thomas Stanford Bingley Raffles, was one 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: of the first to try to change all of that 21 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: and to help the British Empire get more of a 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: foothold in the East. Raffles is now best known as 23 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: the founder of Singapore, but years before making a move 24 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: into Singapore even entered his mind, Raffles successfully helped lead 25 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: a mission to ouse the Dutch from Java and ended 26 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: up serving as Lieutenant governor there for five years in 27 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: a time known as the British Interregnum. So today Raffles 28 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: is kind of almost celebrated as a kind of hero, 29 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: someone who is reform minded, who fought against slave trading 30 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: in Southeast Asia. He was also a celebrated naturalist who 31 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: discovered several species of plants and helped found the London zoos. 32 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: So he's got a very respectable resume, But during his 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: lifetime he wasn't always so well thought of by everyone. 34 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: In fact, his time in Java basically ruined his reputation 35 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: with the British East India Company because there was one 36 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: important thing that mattered, and that was making money. So 37 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: we're gonna look at what happened there that would have 38 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: such a ruinous result, and how Raffles managed to salvage 39 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,119 Speaker 1: his career actually have a successful career in spite of it. 40 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: But first a little bit on raffles background, just because 41 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: it makes what he did later even more surprising and 42 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: impressive to me at least. Raffles was born into a 43 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: modest middle class family. His father, whose name was Benjamin Raffles, 44 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: was a merchant captain in the West Indies trade, and 45 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: Stanford Raffles was actually born on board his father's ship 46 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: off the coast of Jamaica on July six one, and 47 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: Raffles is known as only having had a couple of 48 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: years of formal schooling. He had to leave boarding school 49 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,399 Speaker 1: at age fourteen because his family was having some serious 50 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: financial trouble, and at that time he got his first 51 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: job with the British East India Company as a clerk, 52 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: which something young, but I think that was kind of 53 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: the norm. You would enter the navy at a young 54 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: age and by extension at to like a trading company 55 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: pretty young. But a couple of years after he did that, 56 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: his father died and that put a lot of extra 57 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: pressure on Raffles for having to support his mother and 58 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: his four sisters completely on his own. But he didn't 59 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: just you know, get down to work and forget about 60 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: everything that he was interested in himself. Even though he 61 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: never resumed formal schooling, Raffles continued to study the sciences 62 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: and several languages on his own, and that's of course 63 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: where his interest in natural history started. It kind of 64 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: reminds you a little bit of James Murray from our 65 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: English Oxford English Dictionary episode, somebody who was really self taught, 66 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: and you remember how impressed we were by him. So 67 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: when you see where Raffles accomplishes, you'll kind of understand 68 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: why we thought he would make a good podcast subject. 69 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: So you'd imagine someone who has thus much initiative would 70 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: be pretty good at his job too, And sure enough, 71 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: by eighteen o five, Raffles had impressed his superiors enough 72 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: that they appointed him to be the assistant secretary for 73 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: the new government of Penang in the East Indies. And 74 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, the Dutch had a pretty tight grip 75 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: on the East Indies at this time, but the island 76 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: of Penang was sort of on the periphery of their 77 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: sphere of influence, and this was a British attempt to 78 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: make their move, albeit very tentatively, into that region for 79 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: something on the edges. Yes, So before Raffles left for 80 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: the east. He married a widow named Olivia fan Court 81 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: and they set off together on this five month sea 82 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: journey to Penang. And this was no honeymoon cruise either. 83 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,679 Speaker 1: The conditions of the ship weren't great. They only made 84 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: one stop in five months in the draw, so it's 85 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: not like they were just lounging around getting to stop 86 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: at very sport right. So again, not a good time, 87 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: but Raffles managed to use his time wisely. He spent 88 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: his time aboard the ship studying the Malay language, which 89 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: was the major language of the area to which he 90 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 1: was traveling. And as peers might have thought that this 91 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: was a little weird, but Raffles seemed to have a 92 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: natural knack for languages, and learning Malay happened to open 93 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: up a whole new world for him. He was able 94 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: to start reading Southeast Asian books, histories, literature, and so forth, 95 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: and this gave him a better understanding of the Southeast 96 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: Asian people. Yeah, so when he got to Penang, his 97 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: knowledge of Malay helped him converse with the locals, and 98 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: they were pretty impressed and happy that he bothered to 99 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: learn the language and that he could converse with them 100 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 1: in their own language. I'm pretty impressed that he was 101 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: able to self teach himself so much on the ship 102 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: with presumably just the books, I know what I mean, 103 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: five months sounds like converse with them fluently exactly. I mean, 104 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: five months sounds like a long time to be stuck 105 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: on a ship, but it's really not that long to 106 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: learn a language exactly. So this is probably partly though. 107 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: This ability to learn this language and then his ability 108 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: to converse so readily might be partly why Raffles has 109 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: a reputation for having sympathy for the locals, because he 110 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: could talk to them, He could hear their issues and 111 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: get their point of view. Yeah, and he gathered from 112 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: talking to them, Hey, these people are pretty smart. You know. 113 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: They were probably stereotyped at the time by a lot 114 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: of people coming over from other countries, a lot of foreigners, 115 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: and he was able to kind of bridge that gap 116 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,799 Speaker 1: a little bit. And these qualities soon caught the attention 117 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: of a Gilbert Elliott, better known as Lord Minto, the 118 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: Governor General of India at a very crucial time. Okay, 119 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: so we mentioned that the British were already trying to 120 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: get a bit of a foothold in the East Indies 121 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: because of all the lucrative trading going on there, but 122 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: certain events were taking place back in Europe that convinced 123 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: them that this was the time to make a more 124 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: significant move to go for it. So in the mid 125 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: seventeen nineties, Napoleon and his French Republican forces had invaded 126 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: Holland and that meant in the eyes of the British, 127 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: all Dutch controlled areas were now enemy territory. You know, 128 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: they had a French connection. So the British wanted to 129 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: invade Java pretty much right away to keep it from 130 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: becoming a Napoleon power based But for years that was 131 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: just kind of an idea, something that they were sort 132 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: of talking about. And then finally around eighteen ten, Lord 133 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: Minto got the orders from Britain to quote, proceed to 134 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: the conquest of Java at the earliest possible opportunity. Get 135 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: on at Lord Minto. So Minto, who by this time 136 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: had met Raffles and was not only impressed by his abilities. 137 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: I mean, there weren't a lot of foreigners who were 138 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: well versed in Malay at this time, so he was 139 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: pretty well known for the skill, but he also really 140 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: related to him. Lord Minto did. They seem to have 141 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: similar ideas about extending British influence in the East Indies 142 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: and making reforms. So Lord Minto appointed Raffles to his 143 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: staff and recruited him to participate in the attack on Java, 144 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: and that happened August six, eighteen eleven. The British finally 145 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: made their move. They arrived with a fleet of about 146 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: a hundred chefs and twelve thousand men near the Javanese 147 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: city of Batavia, and they took that city without a struggle, 148 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: pretty much no struggle at all, because they had been 149 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: abandoned by the Dutch, and in fact, the British really 150 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: didn't have any opposition at all at first. According to 151 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: an article in History Today by Tim Hannigan, even though 152 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: the Dutch had about eighteen thousand soldiers stationed in the area, 153 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: they decided to just hang back, see what happened, and 154 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: hope that the British would start dying naturally. I mean 155 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: that sounds like they're kind of hoping for a lot there. 156 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: But but Toby had a really fatal climate and Westerner 157 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 1: would get sick there, get catch fevers and get thick 158 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: pretty easily, and that's probably one of the reasons why 159 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: there weren't a lot of Dutch in the area in 160 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: the first place. It worked to a certain extent. Some 161 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: of the British did die of fever in the first 162 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: few days, but most of them were able to press 163 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 1: on further into the island, and by August they were 164 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: finally engaging the Dutch in battle. According to Hannigan's article, 165 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: the Dutch actually had an advantageous defensive position in this battle, 166 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: but their defenses chrome bold rather quickly, mostly because a 167 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: lot of the Dutch troops weren't committed to the Napoleonic 168 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: caused the big problem. Yeah, so when the British were 169 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: rounding a prisoners, several of them even said, you know, quote, 170 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: I am no Frenchman, but a Dutchman, and they'd trample 171 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: on the French emblems on their uniforms. So they really 172 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: did not want to be fighting for the French. By 173 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: September seventeen, the Dutch governor general had surrendered and the 174 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: conquest of Java was complete. They would think the British 175 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: would at this point get to work setting up a 176 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: new colony. You know, they bothered to go fight the 177 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: Dutch in the first place, and they wanted to break 178 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: into this area for so long, right, But the British 179 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 1: at least initially had no intention of hanging around at all. 180 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: Lord Minto's official orders were to drive out the Dutch 181 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: quote destroy their fortifications, distribute their weapons and other supplies 182 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: to the natives, and then evacuate all the British troops. 183 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: It was basically get in there and then get the 184 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: men out. So both Minto and Raffles had other ideas 185 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: about Java. They didn't want to just immediately give up 186 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: this place they had won. They thought it would be 187 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: a mistake to abandon the area, and they had a 188 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: vision of really turning it into some reformed, lucrative, promised 189 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: land of sorts, so they basically ignored their orders. Minto 190 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: appointed Raffles, who was only thirty years old at this time, 191 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: lieutenant governor of Java, and Colonel ROLLA. Gillespie, who had 192 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: led the invasion, was made commander of Java's military forces. 193 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: So Minto returns to India at this point, and he 194 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: tells the East India Company that he thought there might 195 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: be serious consequences if they abandoned Java, and he promised 196 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,439 Speaker 1: that Java would at least pay for its own expenses. 197 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: It's kind of justification for this move. They've just ye, 198 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: it won't cost you anything, don't worry about it, and 199 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: don't worry the dogs. Right. In reality, though, the Dutch 200 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 1: had left Java completely bankrupt, so one of Raffles's biggest 201 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: challenges during the British interregnum was to try to battle 202 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: these economic problems, and he was left to do this 203 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: pretty much entirely on his own. So Raffles did a 204 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: lot over the next five years, as we mentioned in 205 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: the intro. Nowadays, he's mostly remembered for his reforms and 206 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: attempted reforms. Most of these reforms were targeted toward changing 207 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: the Dutch colonial system that was currently in place. He 208 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: made reforms in taxation, for example, tried to abolish slavery 209 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: and feudal dues, and we'll come back to those a 210 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: little later and talk about them more. According to a 211 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one lecture by Michael Stewart, who's actually a 212 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: descendant of Raffles, which appeared in the journal Asian Affairs, 213 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: Raffles also made some more radical reforms, like introducing trial 214 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: by jury. He also tried to eradicate smallpox by vaccinating 215 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 1: the entire country, which is a rather modern idea, it is, 216 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: and he worked hard to nobody can deny that much. 217 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: His hours were from four am to eleven pm, and 218 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: not all of that time was spent with these grand 219 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 1: social plans like eradicating smallpox. Part of the time was 220 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: spent cataloging Javas history and its natural landscape, and with 221 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: the help of engineers and surveyors, Raffles really explored the 222 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: island's Indian and Islamic influences and relics, and was planning 223 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: on when he came home or just at some point 224 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: writing a history of Java. But he also just really 225 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 1: believed it was important for the British cause to examine 226 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: all of this, to inquire into these areas. Uh. He 227 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,079 Speaker 1: was known to have said knowledge is power. Strangely enough, 228 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: it reminds me a little bit of Napoleon in his 229 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: invasion in Egypt. You know, part of it was military, 230 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 1: part of it was government base, but there was also 231 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: this huge scientific expedition going on because he really believed 232 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: that was important. Yeah. I mean, maybe that's not so 233 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: much of a coincidence, because, as we'll find out a 234 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: little later, Raffles actually admired Napoleon so all that stuff 235 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: that we just mentioned that was kind of the good stuff, 236 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,959 Speaker 1: the reform minded stuff, the positive part of fuls experience 237 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: in Java. But there were alo a lot of controversial 238 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: aspects of raffles time and Java, some of which seem 239 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: to have been kind of glossed over throughout the years, 240 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,079 Speaker 1: probably because many of his other achievements were so laudable 241 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: in hindsight. One questionable line you might see in brief 242 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,559 Speaker 1: biographies about him is that during his time in Java 243 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: he quote reduced the power of native princes. But what 244 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: does that really mean. I had to wonder about that 245 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: and like dig around a little bit to learn a 246 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: little bit more about it. And Hannigan goes into it 247 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: in a lot more detail in his History Today article. Apparently, 248 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: the British had only been in Java about a year 249 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: when Raffles decided they needed to teach the locals a 250 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: little something about the power of the British government. I mean, 251 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,080 Speaker 1: if you want your reforms to take I guess you 252 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: have to make sure that right you establish yourself this 253 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: one exactly, you have to make sure that the people 254 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: you are reforming are paying attention. So part of this 255 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: lesson was just delivered through raffles demeanor. Java was broke 256 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 1: up into several native kingdoms, and the courts of these 257 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: kingdoms were running in a very formal way. For example, 258 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: they spoke a very formal high form of Japanese, which 259 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: was considered the only language appropriate for conversing with kings. 260 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: But on his first visit to Joe Jakarta, which was 261 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: one of the most significant native kingdoms, Raffles spoke Malay, 262 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: which really offended the court because it was considered very uncultured. 263 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: He also did something that reminded me of a recent episode. 264 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: He demanded to sit on the same level with the sultan, 265 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: which was unheard of. Reminds me, of course, of Queen 266 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: and Jinga me too. But even the Dutch had followed 267 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: that standard protocol of of sitting on different levels in 268 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: the sultan. But Raffles was trying to make a point 269 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: when he came in about the British position there that 270 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: they were in charge, that his reforms were worth making. 271 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: So Raffles waited a while to take military action, but 272 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: by June twe eighteen twelve, the British did attack Joe Jakarta, 273 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: and even though the natives outnumbered them, the British overcame 274 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: them and destroyed much of their kingdom. According to Hannigan's article, 275 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: the Japanese were very superstitious. Their thoughts about power were 276 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: very closely tied to the supernatural, and in this battle 277 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: it almost seemed to them like the British had some 278 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: sort of divine influence behind them or helping them. So 279 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: maybe this is part of why they were so caught 280 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: off guard by the attack. Well, and what happened next 281 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: surely emphasized that belief. Raffles exiled the sultan and took 282 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: the court archives, and his men looted the court, and 283 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: when the new sultan was crowned, courtiers were made to 284 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: kneel and kiss Raffles me, which doesn't really seem to 285 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: fit that humanitarian image that he has now and that 286 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: we just helped support to with some of his accomplishments, right, 287 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: I mean, it's the flip side of imperialism, right. We 288 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: always sort of admire these adventures they go on and 289 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: the wondrous things they do and they find out, and 290 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 1: all the learnings that they bring back, but there's also 291 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: this really good unsavory the side of it that unique rather, 292 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: that's also something that needs to get out there. But 293 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: so once Raffles had established British dominance, the British managed 294 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: to set up a relatively functioning colonial society, but it 295 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly what he had wanted it to be. A 296 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: lot of his reforms, for example, didn't exactly take In particular, 297 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: his efforts to abolish slavery, which we mentioned before, were 298 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: pretty much unsuccessful. They did ban the import of slaves 299 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: and shut down the slave trading outpost at Batavia, but 300 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: feudal bondage was so ingrained in the economy and society 301 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: there Raffles couldn't get rid of it entirely. And as 302 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: hillen Wood writes in an article for the Journal of 303 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: Early Modern Cultural Studies regarding raffles intentions to get rid 304 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: of the custom of bondage, quote, his grand schemes remained 305 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: mostly on the page. So he wrote of this a 306 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: lot he wanted to do it, but in practice, at 307 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: least in Java, and it wasn't happening. So we alluded 308 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: to a problem back home though with Britain when we 309 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: were introducing this subject. The most controversial aspect of Raffle's 310 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: time in Java, at least from the British perspective was 311 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: his failure to get it out of financial trouble and 312 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: make it profitable. Remember that was one of the things 313 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: that was promised initially. At least Java will pay for itself, 314 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: don't worry about that part. So Raffles tried to reform 315 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,959 Speaker 1: the land revenue system and replace it with a system 316 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: similar to that used in India, in which farmers would 317 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: pay rents based on the value of their land instead 318 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 1: of their crops. He was hoping that this would finally 319 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: get some cash flowing through the country, but it wasn't executed. 320 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,479 Speaker 1: The plan wasn't executed properly, and it failed, which was 321 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: pretty bad news for Raffle. It was sort of his 322 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: lasco at trying to make the island economically stable, and 323 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: after it failed, he really had to face the music. Yeah, 324 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,920 Speaker 1: to make matters worse. In eighteen thirteen, Gillespie, who as 325 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: you'll remember, was his military commander, had returned to England 326 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: and filed formal charges sub team charges in fact of 327 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: corruption and incompetence against Raffles. They had never gotten along, 328 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: Gillespie and Raffles, that is, and we're apparently always at 329 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: each other's throat. So that might have fueled Gillespie's actions 330 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: a little bit and the sting a bit though to 331 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,959 Speaker 1: hear that you had all these charges filed again feedback 332 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,199 Speaker 1: in England. Yes, but Raffles also didn't really have a 333 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: lot of positive financial results with which to defend himself, 334 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: and Lord Minto had been replaced by a new Governor 335 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: general in India, so he didn't have his buddy anymore. 336 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: He didn't have anyone in the East to lobby for 337 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: his cause, and by the end of eighteen fifteen, Britain 338 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: had even less reason to try to hang onto Java 339 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 1: than Napoleonic Wars had ended, and Britain decided to return 340 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: Holland's territories. But before they could even do that, before 341 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,960 Speaker 1: they could even make the handoff, Raffles was fired from 342 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: his post. They didn't even keep him around for for 343 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: that short amount. I think it was a difference of 344 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,920 Speaker 1: like eight months or something, all right, So Raffles, after 345 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: this disgrace, left for England on March eighteen sixteen, with 346 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: his reputation and just completely tarnished. And on top of that, 347 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: his wife Olivia had died in eighteen fourteen, which had 348 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: really devastated him. And his health had begun to go 349 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: south too, so at that point it seems like, you know, 350 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: this would be the sad end of the podcast. He 351 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: seems pretty down on his luck, but things turn around 352 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: for him in a remarkable way once he gets back 353 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: to England. Although we before he gets back to England, 354 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: we should know de Lana did mention Napoleon. On the 355 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: way back to England, Raffles actually got to meet Napoleon, 356 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: who he had previously admired. It's been kind of a 357 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: famous military leader to look up to, but when he 358 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,120 Speaker 1: actually met the man, he didn't really like Napoleon very much. 359 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: According to that lecture in Asian Affairs that we mentioned, 360 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: Raffles wrote to a friend, quote, believe me, this man 361 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: is a monster. I saw in him, a man determined 362 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: and vindictive, without one spark of soul, but possessing capabilities 363 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: to and talents too in slave mankind harsh words. Yes. Indeed, 364 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: he published his History of Java in eighteen seventeen, which 365 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 1: became a standard work on the subject, and the Prince 366 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 1: Regent liked it so much he summoned Raffles to be 367 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: knighted after he finished reading it, which is how he 368 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: became of course, Sir Stanford Raffles, so all of that 369 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: work he was doing on history and natural science really 370 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: paid off. This book seems like it was his his 371 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: inn back into favor. It was. And after that he 372 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: got married again to a woman named Sophia, and they 373 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: soon set sail again for the East, this time to 374 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: ben cool In on the west coast of Sumatra. And 375 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,680 Speaker 1: this was the one post that Britain had retained throughout 376 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: the years when the Dutch dominated the East Indies, and 377 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: he served there as Lieutenant Governor for about eight or 378 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: nine years. So we don't want to go too much 379 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: into his work after that, since the focus of this 380 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,639 Speaker 1: was really Java. But essentially after returning to the East, 381 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: it wasn't long before Raffles started looking for another port 382 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: that would put the British in a position to rival 383 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: the Dutch. So he still kind of focused on this 384 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: idea and on his mind. So he set his sights 385 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: on Singapore, of course, and realized that it was in 386 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,439 Speaker 1: the ideal position to create a successful trade rivalry, and 387 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: he got permission from the then Governor General of India, 388 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: Lord Hastings, to to do so, to try to set 389 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: something up on Singapore. But when Raffles got to Singapore, 390 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: he found that the sultan there had already signed a 391 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: treaty with the Dutch. It seemed like, oh, he got 392 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: there too late. But with a little bit of investigation, 393 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: Raffles also found that the sultan the Dutch had signed 394 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: a treaty with was the younger of two sons of 395 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: the previous sultan who had basically surped the throne when 396 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: his big brother was out of town. So what did 397 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: Raffles do with this little family situation going on? He 398 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: went and found the big brother, brought him back to 399 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,360 Speaker 1: the island, and helped him take back his rightful position. 400 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: After that, of course, the new sultan, probably pretty grateful 401 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: to Raffles for helping restore him, entered into a treaty 402 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: with the British, and Raffles founded and established a settlement 403 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 1: at Singapore. Raffles didn't stay long though. He knew with 404 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: his reputation and failure at Java, that the East India 405 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: Company officials wouldn't trust anything that he was too involved with, 406 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: and he didn't want to damage the chances that Singapore 407 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,360 Speaker 1: would get to be an established colony, so he left 408 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: destructions on how it should be set up and then 409 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: returned to ben Coolon. In the intervening years, he had 410 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: four kids, and he made several botanical discoveries, continuing that 411 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: focus of his on natural history. Among the most famous 412 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: of these discoveries he made was the largest flower in 413 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: the world, at least it was at the time. I'm 414 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,199 Speaker 1: not sure if it still is. And it was named 415 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:47,640 Speaker 1: appropriately the Rafflesia Arnaldi, and it measured a yard across 416 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: from pedal to pedal, but probably isn't something that you'd 417 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,719 Speaker 1: want to have in your house. It supposedly smells like 418 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: rotten meat to attract the carrying flies that allow it 419 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 1: to propagate. I'm wondering if a few years ago be 420 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 1: it Atlanta Botanical Gardens had one of these. I know 421 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: they were advertising some sort of stinky rotten meat flower. Really, 422 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 1: I don't know how many how many there are in 423 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: the world, but just brings little shop horrors to mind 424 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: from Audrey too. Yes, but in addition to plants, he 425 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: also had a love for exotic animals, which we also 426 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 1: cover these exotic pet owners from time to time with 427 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: our Historical Pets podcasts. And he kept pets like an elephant, monkeys, 428 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: and tiger cubs. His kids supposedly had a real life 429 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: Winnie the Pooh in their nursery. But the end of 430 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: raffles life was marked by tragedy. Um you thought you 431 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: were going to get away from that. Earlier in the episode, 432 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: in the early eighteen twenties, three of his four children 433 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 1: fell ill and died. Raffles and his wife were in 434 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,680 Speaker 1: pretty ill health too, and so they started to prepare 435 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: to return to England. Before coming back, though, Raffles spent 436 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: a few more months in Singapore doing city planning, preparing laws, 437 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: the constitution and esta publishing a Malay school, among other things. 438 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: They're really trying to set things um in order the 439 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: way he liked him before he left. But on his 440 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: journey back to England in eight four, he brought, of course, 441 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: all of his life's work with him, all of the records, 442 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: the papers, manuscript the books he was working on, dictionaries 443 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,360 Speaker 1: he had written of several languages, and all of these 444 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: natural history collections. But there was a fire on board 445 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: the ship and a lot of these collections and records 446 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 1: were lost. And when Raffles got back, he went to 447 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: the East India Company and he asked them for a 448 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: pension to offset his losses from the fire, but they 449 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: sort of turned the tables on him and said that 450 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: he owed them money to repay salaries and expenses that 451 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: he had incurred back East twenty two tho pounds to 452 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 1: be exact. He didn't live long after this, though, so 453 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: even though he was going to have to try to 454 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 1: come up with a plan to pay it back, I 455 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: don't think he ever actually had to. His health was 456 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: getting much worse. He had been suffering headaches ever since, 457 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,239 Speaker 1: he had been for years now since he was been 458 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: cool and and he died July five, eighteen twenty six, 459 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: at the age of forty four. The autopsy showed that 460 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: he had had a brain tumor, so that's why he 461 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,200 Speaker 1: had been having those headaches, even though at the time 462 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 1: the doctors thought it was something to do with his liver. 463 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: I think he was denied a plaque on his tomb 464 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: because he had opposed slavery, and the vicar of the 465 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: Hendon parish where he was buried owned an interest in 466 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: a West Indian plantation. There is one good thing though, 467 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:31,120 Speaker 1: Right before he died, he helped establish the London Zoological 468 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,200 Speaker 1: Society and the London Zoo and was the zoo's first president. 469 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: So if you've ever visited that zoo, you can think 470 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,159 Speaker 1: of Raffles a bit. Yeah, So with all that he 471 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: did in Singapore and his accomplishments in natural history, it's 472 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: clear to see why Raffles is mostly remembered for his 473 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: positive accomplishments. He did a lot, and he did do 474 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: a lot to sort of further the British Empire in 475 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: the East. But Java wasn't a total loss either. After 476 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: the Dutch took over again in eighteen sixteen, they actually 477 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,919 Speaker 1: ended up adopting a lot of Raffles reforms, including his 478 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: basic idea about land rents, which had been such a 479 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: disaster when Raffles tried it, so for better for worse, 480 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: who really did sort of lay the groundwork for colonial 481 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: culture there. So, like a lot of characters in these 482 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: episodes that we do about imperialist topics, he's a very 483 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: gray sort of character. Although he is celebrated as a hero, 484 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: he definitely has some things in his past that weren't 485 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: necessarily that glowing. But just so we don't have to 486 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,119 Speaker 1: end this episode on kind of a down note, let's 487 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: go to listener mail. So we mentioned our WC Minor 488 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: podcast a little earlier in this episode, and we have 489 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: a letter from Sally here and she has a little 490 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,360 Speaker 1: personal dictionary drama to share with us. She says, Hey, 491 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: Sarah Dublina, Uh usually listen to your podcast while writing 492 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: the tube into school. I'm an American studying in London, 493 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 1: but I had returned to the States for Christmas and 494 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: my parents anniversary. I was grateful that I am quick 495 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,880 Speaker 1: on downloading your podcast, because your WC Minor podcast kept 496 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,119 Speaker 1: me highly entertained in the emergency room and even distracted 497 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: me from the pain. The reason I was in the 498 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: are was because while helping my brother put some books away, 499 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,680 Speaker 1: he knocked a copy of the Greater Oxford English Dictionary 500 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 1: onto my foot. It fell from the top of a 501 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: fairly tall bookshelf, so we thought that it might have 502 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,439 Speaker 1: broken my foot. Thankfully it didn't, but I was enjoying 503 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: the irony of the situation so much that the nurses 504 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: kept checking if I was on morphine. I wasn't. When 505 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: I got home and my parents asked what happened, I 506 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 1: told them that that crazy WC minor came and pushed 507 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,639 Speaker 1: his work onto my foot while I am known in 508 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: my family for quirky remarks like that, my parents insisted 509 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: I go up to bed. I guess if you're talking 510 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:54,120 Speaker 1: up victims of WC Minor, you can count the poor 511 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 1: brewery worker and one foot. Oh dear, that is the 512 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,119 Speaker 1: last book that you want to fall on your foot. Yeah, 513 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: that's pretty unlucky. Yeah, Sally, you're lucky that it just 514 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: didn't hit your head. Yeah, I'm glad we were able 515 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: to keep you entertained while you're in the e er 516 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: perfect timing. Thanks for sharing your story. If you have 517 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: any personal stories, hopefully not that tragic, to share with us. 518 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: Regarding podcasts, please write us. We're now at History podcast 519 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 1: at Discovery dot com, not the old how Stuff Works 520 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 1: dot com addressed anymore. We have switched over, we have migrated. 521 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: We are however, still at missed in History on Twitter 522 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: and we are on Facebook, which are both classic ways 523 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: to contact that and if you're interested as we are 524 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: and learning a little bit more about the phenomenon of 525 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: people being able to learn languages very easily. We have 526 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: a lot of articles about language learning in the culture 527 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: section of our website, including articles that address whether young 528 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: folks learn language is more easily than older ones, and 529 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: um and so forth. So if you want to look 530 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: up a little more about that, you can do that 531 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 1: by visiting our homepage where at www dot how stuff 532 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: works dot com. Be sure to check out our new 533 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how Stuff Work 534 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: staff as we explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities 535 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: of tomorrow. The How Stuff Works iPhone app has a ride. 536 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: Download it today on iTunes.