Summary:
Reviews Sir Stamford Raffles contribution to Singapore during British colonial rule. Details how Raffles delegated much of his responsibilities to others.
This statement is quite agreeable as after all, Raffles was mostly away at Bencoolen in West Sumatra, leaving the governing to Farquhar and Crawfurd. Although Raffles did leave orders, some of them were quite unpractical, (for example the minimum expenses of governing Singapore). This made governing difficult for Farquhar who painstakingly strived to heed his orders; for example, employing two extra clerks at his own expense and forming a very small police force. Also, due to poor communication during that time, Farquhar was left mostly on his own for four years, making decisions himself, sometimes even contradicting Raffles' orders. Also, when Farquhar sent Raffles several letters for help (for example, regarding the unsuitability of the European commercial quarter), he usually received late replies or no replies. This shows that Farquhar and Crawfurd were mostly the ones governing Singapore. Also, the colonization of Singapore was not any of his contributions. The terms of the treaty that he signed, clearly stated that Singapore was still under the sovereign rule of Sultan Hussein. Crawfurd was the one who signed the treaty, making Singapore a British colony. Therefore, we can conclude that Raffles did not govern Singapore much, which was done by Farquhar and Crawfurd.
On the other hand, one could say that he did much more. By making Singapore a British settlement, he attracted many foreigners to settle in Singapore. With his far-sightedness, he also declared Singapore a free port, encouraging and increasing trade.
This attracted even more people from different countries, increasing the population of Singapore. Although Raffles did not govern Singapore personally, he did leave specific orders for his subordinates on how to govern Singapore (for example, encouraging trade by imposing no duties and putting up simple defence works). Farquhar carried out most of the orders as best as he could, (for example, clearing the land) which helped in the development of Singapore. In the orders that Farquhar did not carry out (for example, allowing slavery and legalizing gambling) they were proven to be rather haphazard governing. This proves that most of Raffles instructions were useful to the development of Singapore. He also supervised Farquhar from his backwater post in Bencoolen in West Sumatra. And during the times that he did visit Singapore, he improved the welfare of Singapore; for example, ordered for the construction of roads and abolishing slavery. Therefore, we can conclude that Raffles did play a significant role in the development of Singapore.
Although Raffles did not govern Singapore personally, his instructions and far-seeing vision greatly aided the development of Singapore. Also, though he did not sign the treaty of making Singapore a British colony, his contributions helped to lead to this treaty. If he had not seen the potential of Singapore and made Singapore so successful, the East Indies Company would not have realised Singapore's great possibilities as well. Britain would not have agreed to colonize Singapore. Therefore, we can conclude that Raffles' contributions were much more than a mere license for a British factory.
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