The History of Java

by Thomas Stamford Raffles

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 the island's society, describing its economy, trade, languages and dialects, and religious and social customs, together with a detailed history of the island, including a discussion of the introduction of Islam. These volumes provide invaluable information of the study of contemporary Javanese society and history. Volume 1 contains Raffles's ethnographic study.

Genres: History

1110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 12, 2010

About the author

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, FRS was a British statesman and the founder of Singapore.

Reviews

[Saravana Sastha Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people in India and perhaps even Indonesia have little or no idea of the glorious history of Java, the largest island and civilisation in the Indonesian archipelago. It had its own great Hindu civilisation, languages and literature developed over several centuries. The decline of this great civilisation strangely coincides with the decline of Vinayanagara Kingdom of the Deccan. This is an area where more research needs to be done. This book written so long ago by Stamford Raffles (yes the same guy on whom the Raffles square in Singapore is named) is a phenomenal tome of knowledge, observation and interpretation. I'm sure it was hastily done too as the interpretations were in many places incomplete, biased and seen from a Abrahamic lens. Nevertheless it has helped me appreciate the great civilisation of Java of the yore. Looking forward to Vol.2 which deals with the decline of Majapahit, Hindu religion and rise of Mohemadinism, arrival of Portuguese and other important part of modern history of Java.

[Rifhi Anugrah]

good