Book
Raffles and Hastings: Private Exchanges behind the Founding of Singapore
Topics
History
5 December 2014
These private letters reveal the challenges that Raffles and Hastings faced when manouvering within the Dutch-dominated East Indies.
By John Bastin
Singapore: National Library Board Singapore and Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2014.
About the Book
The founding of Singapore has typically been attributed to the strategic genius of Stamford Raffles. Frequently overlooked is the part played by his superior in the East India Company, the Marquess of Hastings. This book provides an account of Singapore’s founding by drawing on the personal correspondence between these two men. Published here for the first time, these private letters reveal the challenges that Raffles and Hastings faced when manouvering within the Dutch-dominated East Indies. Just as significantly, the letters also reveal the complex relationship between the two men. Historian John Bastin brings rigorous scholarship to bear in this book, while at the same time presents it in a clear, readable style that will engage both specialist and general readers.