Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781 1826) was a British civil servant and statesman best known for his founding of the city (now Republic) of Singapore. After the capture of Java by the British in 1811, Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the island, a position he held until 1815. After a two-year interlude in England, he sailed back to the East, and established the city of Singapore in 1819. These volumes, written during his governorship and first published in 1817, contain his monumental survey and history of the island state. Raffles provides a comprehensive ethnographic description of...

Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781 1826) was a British civil servant and statesman best known for his founding of the city (now Republic) of Singapore. After the capture of Java by the British in 1811, Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the island, a position he held until 1815. After a two-year interlude in England, he sailed back to the East, and established the city of Singapore in 1819. These volumes, written during his governorship and first published in 1817, contain his monumental survey and history of the island state. Raffles provides a comprehensive ethnographic description of...