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John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat, and author who served as the second and last
Resident of Singapore The Governors of Singapore were the political leaders of Singapore during its pre-independence phase in the history of Singapore. Residents of Singapore (1819–1826) The Resident of Singapore ruled the British colony that is today the Republi ...
.


Early life

He was born on Islay, in
Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
, Scotland, the son of Samuel Crawfurd, a physician, and Margaret Campbell; and was educated at the school in
Bowmore Bowmore ( gd, Bogh Mòr, 'Big Bend') is a small town on the Scottish island of Islay. It serves as administrative capital of the island, and gives its name to the noted Bowmore distillery producing Bowmore single malt scotch whisky. History ...
. He followed his father's footsteps in the study of medicine and completed his medical course at the University of Edinburgh in 1803, at the age of 20. Crawfurd joined the East India Company, as a Company surgeon, and was posted to India's Northwestern Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), working in the area around Delhi and
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
from 1803–1808. He saw service in the campaigns of Baron Lake.


In the East Indies

Crawfurd was sent in 1808 to
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, where he applied himself to the study of the Malay language and culture. In Penang, he met Stamford Raffles for the first time. In 1811, Crawfurd accompanied Raffles on
Lord Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...
's Java Invasion, which overcame the Dutch. Raffles was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Java by Minto during the 45-day operation, and Crawfurd was appointed the post of Resident Governor at the Court of Yogyakarta in November 1811. There he took a firm line against Sultan Hamengkubuwana II. The Sultan was encouraged by
Pakubuwono IV Pakubuwono IV (also transliterated Pakubuwana IV) (31 August 1768 – 1 October 1820) was the fourth Susuhunan (ruler of Surakarta) . He reigned from 1788 to 1820. Notes References *Miksic, John N. John Norman Miksic (born 29 October 1946) i ...
of
Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
to assume he had support in resisting the British; who sided with his opponents: his son, the
Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
, and Pangeran Natsukusuma. The Sultan's palace, the
Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta ( id, Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, jv, ꦏꦿꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦔꦿꦠ꧀) is a palace complex in the city of Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. It is ...
, was besieged and taken by British-led forces in June 1812. As Resident, Crawfurd also pursued the study of the Javanese language, and cultivated personal relationships with Javanese aristocrats and literati. He was impressed by
Javanese music As it is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, the music of Indonesia ( id, Musik Indonesia) itself is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region have its own culture and art, and as a r ...
. Crawfurd was sent on diplomatic missions to
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and N ...
and the Celebes (now Sulawesi). His knowledge of the local culture supported Raffles's government in Java. Raffles, however, wanted to introduce land reform in the
Cheribon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central Java ...
residency. Crawfurd, with his experience of India and the '' zamindari'', was a supporter of the "village system" of revenue collection. He opposed Raffles's attempts to introduce individual (''
ryotwari The ryotwari system was a land revenue system in British India introduced by Thomas Munro, which allowed the government to deal directly with the cultivator ('ryot') for revenue collection and gave the peasant freedom to cede or acquire new land ...
'') settlement into Java.


Diplomat

Java was returned to the Dutch in 1816, and Crawfurd went back to England that year, shortly becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society, and turning to writing. Within a few years he was recalled to South-East Asia, as a diplomat; his missions were of limited obvious success.


Mission to Siam, Cochin China

In 1821, the then
Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kin ...
,
Lord Hastings Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in ...
, sent Crawfurd to the courts of Siam (now Thailand) and
Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...
(now Vietnam). Lord Hastings was especially interested in learning more about Siamese policy with regard to the northern
Malay states The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the states ...
, and Cochinchina's policy with regard to French efforts to establish a presence in Asia. Crawfurd travelled with notes from Horace Hayman Wilson on
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, as it was understood at the time. Captain Dangerfield of the Indian army, a skilful astronomer, surveyor and geologist, served as assistant; Lieutenant Rutherford commanded thirty Sepoys; noted naturalist George Finlayson served as
medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner ( Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. Mrs. Crawfurd accompanied the Mission. 21 November 1821, the mission embarked on the '' John Adam'' for the complicated and difficult navigation of the Hoogly river, taking seven days to sail the 140 miles (225 km.) from
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
to open water. Crawfurd writes that, with the assistance of a steam-boat, ships might be towed down in two days without difficulty; then adds in a footnote: "The first steam-vessel used in India, was built about three years after this passage was written...." The ''John Adam'' proceeded on what would be the first official visit to Siam since the resurgence of Siam following the 1767 Fall of Ayutthaya. Crawfurd soon found the court of King
Rama II Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai ( th, พระพุทธเลิศหล้านภาลัย, 24 February 1767 – 21 July 1824), personal name Chim ( th, ฉิม), also styled as Rama II, was the second monarch of Siam under the Chakri ...
still embroiled in the aftermath of the Burmese–Siamese War of 1809–1812. On 8 December 1821, near Papra Strait (modern Pak Prah Strait north of Thalang District) Crawfurd finds fishermen "in a state of perpetual distrust and insecurity" due to territorial disputes between hostile Burmans and Siamese. 11 December, after entering the
Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula ( Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, co ...
and arrival at Penang Island, he finds the settlements of Penang and Queda (modern
Kedah Sultanate The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Unio ...
, founded in 1136, but then a tributary state of Siam) in a state of alarm.
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II Paduka Sri Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah (died 3 January 1845) was the 22nd Sultan of Kedah. His reign was from 1803 to 1821 and 1842 to 1845. He was appointed as Heir Apparent (''Uparaja'') by t ...
, the
Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
of Quedah had fled the Rajah of Ligor (modern Nakhon Si Thammarat) to claim right of asylum at Prince of Wales's Island (modern Penang.) British claim to the island was based upon payment of a
quit-rent Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns. Under feudal law, the payment of quit rent (Latin ...
accordant with European feudal law, which Crawfurd feared the Siamese would challenge. Crawfurd's journal entry for 1 April 1822, notes that the Siamese, for their part, were especially interested in the acquisition of arms. Pointedly questioned in this regard in an urgent private meeting with the Prah-klang (
Prayurawongse ''Somdet Chao Phraya'' Borom Maha Prayurawongse ( th, สมเด็จเจ้าพระยาบรมมหาประยูรวงศ์; ; 1788 - 26 April 1855) or Dit Bunnag ( th, ดิศ บุนนาค; ) was a prominent polit ...
), the reply was, "that if the Siamese were at peace with the friends and neighbours of the British nation, they would certainly be permitted to purchase fire-arms and ammunition at our ports, but not otherwise." On 19 May, a Chief of Lao ( Chao Anu, a king in what is now Laos and soon-to-be rebel) met with Crawfurd, a first diplomatic contact for the UK. This visit was despite the isolation into which the mission had fallen. A Vietnamese embassy had arrived not long before, and tensions were high. Since Crawford's brief opposed the interests of court figures including the Raja of
Ligor Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality ( th, เทศบาลนครนครศรีธรรมราช, ; from Pali ''Nagara Sri Dhammaraja'') is a municipality ('' thesaban nakhon'') in Southern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat pr ...
and
Nangklao Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam u ...
, there was little prospect of success. By October relations were at a low ebb. Crawfurd moved on to
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
, but
Minh Mạng Minh Mạng () or Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明 命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of V ...
refused to see him.


Resident of Singapore

Crawfurd was appointed British
Resident of Singapore The Governors of Singapore were the political leaders of Singapore during its pre-independence phase in the history of Singapore. Residents of Singapore (1819–1826) The Resident of Singapore ruled the British colony that is today the Republi ...
in March 1823. He was under orders to reduce the expenditure on the existing factory there, but instead responded to local commercial representations, and spent money on reclamation work on the river. He also concluded the final agreement between the East India Company, and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor with the
Temenggong Temenggong or Tumenggung ( Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ; ''Temenggung'', Hanacaraka: ꦠꦸꦩꦼꦁ​ꦒꦸꦁ​; ''Tumenggung'') is an old Malay and Javanese title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. Responsibilities The Tem ...
, on the status of Singapore on 2 August 1824. It was the culmination of negotiations started by Raffles in 1819, and the agreement is now sometimes called the Crawfurd Treaty. He also had input into the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-D ...
dealing with spheres of influence in the East Indies. Crawfurd was on familiar terms with
Munshi Abdullah Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) ( ar, عبد الله بن عبد القادر ') also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer of mixed ancestry. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of t ...
. He edited and contributed to the ''
Singapore Chronicle Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
'' of Francis James Bernard, the first local newspaper that initially appeared dated 1 January 1824. Crawford Street and Crawford Bridge in Singapore are named after him.


Burma mission

Crawfurd was sent on another envoy mission to
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
in 1826, by Hastings's successor
Lord Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
, in the aftermath of the First Anglo-Burmese War. It was to be his last political service for the Company. The party included
Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...
as interpreter and
Nathaniel Wallich Nathaniel Wolff Wallich FRS FRSE (28 January 1786 – 28 April 1854) was a surgeon and botanist of Danish origin who worked in India, initially in the Danish settlement near Calcutta and later for the Danish East India Company and the British ...
as botanist. Crawfurd's journey to Ava up the River Irrawaddy was by
paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were ...
, the ''Diana'': it had been hired by the East India Company for the war, where it had seen action and travelled 400 miles up the Irrawaddy. There were five local boats, and soldiers making up a party of over 50. Crawfurd at the court found
Bagyidaw Bagyidaw ( my, ဘကြီးတော်, ; also known as Sagaing Min, ; 23 July 1784 – 15 October 1846) was the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 until his abdication in 1837. Prince of Sagaing, as he was commonly known ...
temporising despite a weak position with the British forces in
Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it acces ...
and Tenasserim. The king conceded only a trade agreement, in return for a delay in indemnity payments; and sent his own mission to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
. The expedition fortuitously was delayed on the return journey for repairs. Crawfurd collected significant fossils, north of Magwe on the left bank of the river, in seven chests. Back in London,
William Clift William Clift FRS (14 February 1775 – 20 June 1849) was a British illustrator and conservator. Early life Clift was born in Burcombe near Bodmin in Cornwall. He was the youngest of seven children and grew up in poverty following his fat ...
identified a new species of mastodon (more accurately Stegolophodon) from them; Hugh Falconer also worked on the collection. The finds, of fossil bones and wood, were discussed further in a paper by William Buckland, giving details; and they brought Crawfurd the friendship of Roderick Murchison, Foreign Secretary of the Geological Society. There were also collected 18,000 botanical specimens, many of which went to the
Calcutta Botanic Garden The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, previously known as Indian Botanic Garden and the Calcutta Botanic Garden, is situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. They are commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden and previ ...
.


Later life

In the United Kingdom, Crawfurd spent around 40 years in varied activities. He wrote as an orientalist, geographer and ethnologist. He tried parliamentary politics, without success; he agitated for
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold eco ...
; and he was a publicist for and against colonisation schemes, in line with his views. He also represented the interests of British traders based in Singapore and Calcutta.


Radical parliamentary candidate

Crawfurd made several unsuccessful attempts to enter the British Parliament in the 1830s. His campaign literature featured universal suffrage and the secret ballot,
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold eco ...
and opposition to
monopolies A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
,
public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
and reduction of military spending, and opposition to
regressive taxation A regressive tax is a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases. "Regressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from high ...
and the taxation of
Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...
for a state church, with nationalisation of Church of England properties. He joined the Parliamentary Candidate Society, founded by Thomas Erskine Perry (his brother-in-law), to promote "fit and proper" Members of Parliament. He also joined the Radical Club, a breakaway from the National Political Union founded in 1833 by William Wallis. Crawfurd unsuccessfully contested, as an advanced radical, Glasgow in 1832, Paisley in 1834, Stirling Burghs in 1835, and
Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
in 1837.Douglas, Robert Kennaway (1888) "Crawfurd, John (1783–1868), orientalist" in ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''.
At Glasgow he polled fourth (there were two MPs for the borough), with Sir Daniel Sandford third. In March 1834 it was Sandford who was elected at Paisley. ''Alexander's East India and Colonial Magazine'' struck a note of regret after his defeat at Stirling Burghs. On 31 January 1834 Crawfurd supported
Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He specialized in the grass-root ...
in a meeting agitating against the Corn Laws.
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
alluded, in notes on one of
Jane Welsh Carlyle Jane Baillie Carlyle ( Welsh; 14 July 1801 – 21 April 1866) was a Scottish writer and the wife of Thomas Carlyle. She did not publish any work in her lifetime, but she was widely seen as an extraordinary letter writer. Virginia Woolf ca ...
's letters, to Crawfurd speaking at a radical meeting at the
London Tavern The City of London Tavern or London Tavern was a notable meeting place in London during the 18th and 19th centuries. A place of business where people gathered to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, the tavern was situated in Bishopsgate ...
set up by
Charles Buller Charles Buller (6 August 1806 – 29 November 1848) was a British barrister, politician and reformer. Background and education Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller (1774–1848), a member of a well-known Cor ...
on 21 November 1834; in which he showed much more originality than John Arthur Roebuck, but lost his thread. In Preston in the 1837 general election Crawfurd had the Liberal nomination in a three-cornered fight for two seats, as Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood was regarded as a waverer by the Conservatives who ran
Robert Townley Parker Robert Townley Parker (1793–1879) was a Unionist Member of Parliament for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of Preston. He was the son of Thomas Townley Parker, Esq. of the cadet brand of the Towneley family of Towneley Ha ...
against him; but he polled third. He also supported
John Temple Leader John Temple Leader (7 May 1810 – 1 March 1903) was an English politician and connoisseur. Early life Born at his father's house, Putney Hill Villa, on 7 May 1810, he was the younger son of Mary and William Leader, a London merchant, and Whig ...
's candidacy at Westminster against
Sir Francis Burdett Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (25 January 1770 – 23 January 1844) was a British politician and Member of Parliament who gained notoriety as a proponent (in advance of the Chartists) of universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, vo ...
, being deputy chairman on his election committee (with Thomas Prout, chairman Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson). Crawfurd spoke with George Grote at a meeting for Leader at the Belgrave Hotel.


Free trader

A lifelong advocate of free trade policies, in ''A View of the Present State and Future Prospects of the Free Trade and Colonization of India'' (1829), Crawfurd made an extended case against the East India Company's approach, in particular in excluding British entrepreneurs, and in failing to develop Indian cotton. He had had experience in Java of the export possibilities for cotton textiles. He then gave evidence in March 1830 to a parliamentary committee, on the East India Company's monopoly of trade with China.
Robert Montgomery Martin Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868), commonly referred to as "Montgomery Martin", was an Anglo-Irish author and civil servant. He served as Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1845. He was a founding member of the St ...
criticised Crawfurd, and the evidence of Robert Rickards, an ex-employee of the Company, for exaggerating the financial burden of the monopoly on tea. Crawfurd put out a pamphlet, ''Chinese Monopoly Examined''. Ross Donnelly Mangles defended the East India Company in 1830, in an answer addressed to Rickards and Crawfurd. When the Company's charter came up for renewal in 1833, the China trade monopoly was broken. Crawfurd's part as parliamentary agent for interests in Calcutta had been paid (at £1500 per year); his publicity work had included facts for an '' Edinburgh Review'' article written by another author.


Colonisation of Australia

In reviewing
Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Britis ...
's ''New British Province of South Australia'', and subsequent writing in the ''
Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unti ...
'', Crawfurd gave an opinion against systematic
colonisation Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
. He considered that abundant land and individual enterprise were the necessary elements. Robert Torrens, who floated the South Australian Land Company, replied to the ''Westminster Review'' line in ''Colonization of South Australia'' (1835). Part I of the book is a ''Letter'' to Crawfurd. In 1843 Crawfurd gave evidence to the Colonial Office on Port Essington, on the north coast of Australia, to the effect that its climate made it unsuitable for settlement. He returned to the topic in a debate in 1858 on settlements on the Victoria River, as had been suggested by Sir George Everest. He generally opposed Sir Roderick Murchison's promotion of European colonisation of Australia, as far as it applied to the north coast.


Lobbyist for South and South-East Asia

When the Stamp Act 1827 was passed, meaning that all public documents in India would have to pay a
stamp tax Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). A physical revenu ...
(including newspapers as well as legal documents), Crawfurd was hired as London agent for a group of British merchants in Calcutta opposing the legislation. Crawfurd involved
Joseph Hume Joseph Hume FRS (22 January 1777 – 20 February 1855) was a Scottish surgeon and Radical MP.Ronald K. Huch, Paul R. Ziegler 1985 Joseph Hume, the People's M.P.: DIANE Publishing. Early life He was born the son of a shipmaster James Hume ...
, and he obtained newspaper coverage for his cause, including in '' The Examiner'' where the precedents from America were cited. He also wrote pamphlets himself, in which he advocated an end to the East India Company monopoly, and European colonisation. These moves occurred in 1828–9; in 1830 Crawfurd approached
William Huskisson William Huskisson (11 March 177015 September 1830) was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool. He is commonly known as the world's first widely reported railway passenger casu ...
directly. His lobbying continued with the free trade issues mentioned above. ''Inquiry into the System of Taxation in India, Letters on the Interior of India, an attack on the newspaper stamp-tax and the duty on paper entitled Taxes on Knowledge'' (1836) is a related work. In 1855 Crawfurd went with a delegation to the Board of Control of the East India Company, with representations on behalf of the Straits dollar as an independent currency. Crawfurd lobbied in both Houses of Parliament, with
George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle General George Thomas Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle, (13 June 179921 February 1891), styled The Honourable from birth until 1851, was a British soldier, Liberal politician and writer. Background and education Born in Marylebone, he was the third ...
acting to bring a petition to the Lords, and
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
putting the case in the Commons. Among the arguments put was that the dollar was a decimal currency, while the
rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...
used by traders, and legal tender in East India Company territories since it was coined in 1835, was not. In 1856 a Bill to change the status quo on coins minted and issued from India was defeated. In 1868 Crawfurd with James Guthrie and William Paterson formed the Straits Settlements Association, to protect the colony's interests. Crawfurd was its first President.


Last years

He was elected President of the Ethnological Society in 1861. He died at his home in
Elvaston Place Elvaston Place is a street in South Kensington, London. Elvaston Place runs west to east from Gloucester Road to Queen's Gate. The Embassy of Gabon, London is at number 27. The High Commission of Mauritius, London is at number 32/33. The Emba ...
, South Kensington, London on 11 May 1868 at the age of 85.


Works

Crawfurd wrote prolifically. His views have been seen as inconsistent: a recent author wrote that " ..Crawfurd seemed to embody a complex mixture of elements of coexisting but ultimately contradictory value systems". Ellingson, p. 310. A comment about "hasty general opinions from a few instances", by George Bennett on the topic of Papuan people, has been taken to be aimed at Crawfurd. His 1822 work ''"Malay of Champa"'' contains a vocabulary of the
Cham language Cham (Cham: ꨌꩌ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian family, spoken by the Chams of Southeast Asia. It is spoken primarily in the territory of the former Kingdom of Champa, which spanned modern​ Southern Vietnam, as well as ...
.


Diplomat and traveller

In retirement after the Burmese mission, Crawfurd wrote books and papers on Eastern subjects. His envoy experiences from missions were written up in ''Journals'' in 1828 and 1829. This documentation was reprinted nearly 140 years later by Oxford University Press. *''Journal of an Embassy to the Court of Ava in 1827'' (1829) *''Journal of an Embassy to the Courts of Siam and Cochin-China, exhibiting a view of the actual State of these Kingdoms'' (1830) *''Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries'' (1856) *


Historian

According to Jane Rendall's concept of " Scottish orientalism", Crawfurd is a historian of the second generation. His ''History of the Indian Archipelago'' (1820), in three volumes, was his major work. Crawfurd was a critic of much of what the European nations had done in the area of Asia he covered. ''An Historical and Descriptive Account of China'' (1836) was a joint work in three volumes from the ''
Edinburgh Cabinet Library The ''Edinburgh Cabinet Library'' was a series of 38 books, mostly geographical, published from 1830 to 1844, and edited by Dionysius Lardner. The original price was 5 shillings for a volume; a later reissue of 30 of the volumes was at half that ...
'', with Hugh Murray, Peter Gordon, Thomas Lynn,
William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...
, and Gilbert Thomas Burnett.


Orientalist

*''Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language'' (1852) Crawfurd and
Colin Mackenzie Colonel Colin Mackenzie CB (1754–8 May 1821) was Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist. He surveyed southern India, ...
collected manuscripts from the capture of Yogyakarta, and some of these are now in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. Crawfurd claimed
Cham Cham or CHAM may refer to: Ethnicities and languages *Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia **Cham language, the language of the Cham people ***Cham script *** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script * Cham Albani ...
for the Austronesian languages. His suggestion met no favour at the time, but scholars from around 1950 onwards came to agree.


Economist

Crawfurd held strong views on what he saw as the backwardness of the economy of India of his time. He attributed it to the weakness of Indian financial institutions, compared to Europe. His opinions were in an anonymous pamphlet ''A Sketch of the Commercial Resources and Monetary and Mercantile System of British India'' (1837) now attributed to him. Like
Robert Montgomery Martin Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868), commonly referred to as "Montgomery Martin", was an Anglo-Irish author and civil servant. He served as Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1845. He was a founding member of the St ...
, he saw India primarily as a source of raw materials, and advocated investment based on that direction. A harsh critic of the existing Calcutta agencies, he noted the absence of bill broking in India and suggested that an exchange bank should be set up. His view that an economy dominated by agriculture was inevitably an
absolute government Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk mana ...
was cited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in his '' On the Constitution of the Church and State''.


Ethnologist

While Crawfurd produced work that was ethnological in nature over a period of half a century, the term "
ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...
" had not even been coined when he began to write. Attention has been drawn to his latest work, from the 1860s, which was copious, much criticised at the time, and which has also been scrutinised in the 21st century, as detailed below.


Polygenist

Crawfurd held
polygenist Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins (''polygenesis''). This view is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity. Modern scientific views no ...
views, based on multiple origins of human groups; and these earned him, according to
Sir John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...
, the nickname "the inventor of forty Adams". In ''
The Descent of Man ''The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex'' is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biolo ...
'' by
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, Crawfurd is cited as believing in 60 races. He expressed these views to the Ethnological Society of London (ESL), a traditional stronghold of
monogenism Monogenism or sometimes monogenesis is the theory of human origins which posits a common descent for all human races. The negation of monogenism is polygenism. This issue was hotly debated in the Western world in the nineteenth century, as the ...
(belief in a unified origin of humankind) where he had come in 1861 to hold office as President. Crawfurd believed in different races as separate creations by God in specific regional zones, with separate origins for languages, and possibly as different species. With
Robert Gordon Latham Robert Gordon Latham FRS (24 March 1812 – 9 March 1888) was an English ethnologist and philologist. Early life The eldest son of Thomas Latham, vicar of Billingborough, Lincolnshire, he was born there on 24 March 1812. He entered Eton Colleg ...
of the ESL, he also opposed strongly the ideas of Max Müller on an original
Aryan race The Aryan race is an obsolete historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people of Proto-Indo-European heritage as a racial grouping. The terminology derives from the historical usage of Aryan, used by modern ...
.


Papers of the 1860s

Crawfurd wrote in 1861 in the ''Transactions'' of the ESL a paper ''On the Conditions Which Favour, Retard, and Obstruct the Early Civilization of Man'', in which he argued for deficiencies in the science and technology of Asia. In ''On the Numerals as Evidence of the Progress of Civilization'' (1863) he argued that the social condition of a people correlates with the numeral words of their language. Crawfurd used domestication frequently as a metaphor. His racist views on
black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
were laughed at, during the
British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
meeting at
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in 1865. A paper by Crawfurd, ''On the Physical and Mental Characteristics of European and Asian Races of Man'', given 13 February 1866, argued for the superiority of Europeans. It particularly laid emphasis on European military dominance as evidence. Its thesis was directly contradicted at a meeting of the Society some weeks later, by
Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who served as 2nd, 9th, and 22nd President of t ...
.


Analyses of Crawfurd's Racial Views

Recent analyses have sought to clarify Crawfurd's agenda in his writings on race and, at this time, when he had become prominent in a young and still fluid field and discipline. Ellingson demonstrates Crawfurd's role in promoting the idea of the
noble savage A noble savage is a literary stock character who embodies the concept of the indigene, outsider, wild human, an " other" who has not been "corrupted" by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness. Besides appearing in ma ...
in service of racial ideology. Trosper has taken Ellingson's analysis a step further, attributing to Crawfurd a conscious "spin" put on the idea of primitive culture, a rhetorically sophisticated use of a "
straw man A straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead replaced with a false o ...
" fallacy, achieved by bringing in, irrelevantly but for the sake of incongruity, the figure of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...
. Crawfurd dedicated considerable effort to a critique of Darwin's theories of
human evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of ...
; as a proponent of polygenism, who believed that human races did not share common ancestors, Crawfurd was an early and prominent critic of Darwin's ideas. Ellingson, p. 318. Right at the end of his life, in 1868, Crawfurd was using a " missing link" argument against Sir John Lubbock, in what Ellingson describes as a misrepresentation of a Darwinist viewpoint based on the idea that a precursor of humans must still be extant. Ellingson points to a 1781 work of William Falconer, ''On the Influence of Climate'', with an attack on Rousseau, as a possible source of Crawfurd's thinking; while also pointing out some differences. Ellingson also places Crawfurd in a British group among those of his period whose anthropological views not only turned on
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, but who also drew conclusions of superiority from those views, others being Luke Burke, James Hunt,
Robert Knox Robert Knox (4 September 1791 – 20 December 1862) was a Scottish anatomist and ethnologist best known for his involvement in the Burke and Hare murders. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Knox eventually partnered with anatomist and former teach ...
, and Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie. Crawfurd's attitudes were not, however, based on
human skin colour Human skin color ranges from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. Differences in skin color among individuals is caused by variation in pigmentation, which is the result of genetics (inherited from one's biological parents and or indiv ...
; and he was an opponent of slavery, having written an article "Sugar without Slavery" with Thomas Perronet Thompson in 1833 in the ''Westminster Review''. In dismissing Crawfurd's notes and suggestions on his work as "quite unimportant", Charles Darwin identified Crawfurd's racial views as "Pallasian", i.e. the analogue for humankind of the theories of
Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Si ...
. The predominant approach in the ESL went back to
James Cowles Prichard James Cowles Prichard, FRS (11 February 1786 – 23 December 1848) was a British physician and ethnologist with broad interests in physical anthropology and psychiatry. His influential ''Researches into the Physical History of Mankind'' touched ...
. In the view of
Thomas Trautmann Thomas Roger Trautmann is an American historian, cultural anthropologist, and Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He is considered a leading expert on the ''Arthashastra'', the ancient Hindu text on sta ...
, in Crawfurd's attack on the Aryan theory there is a final rejection of the "languages and nations" approach, which was Prichard's, and a consequent freeing of (polygenist) racial theory.


Family

Crawfurd married Horatia Ann, daughter of James Perry. From 1821 to 1822, Mrs. Crawfurd had accompanied the Mission to Siam and Cochin China aboard the ''John Adam''. As the ship made way from Bangkok to Hué, Mrs. Crawfurd went ashore on an island in the Gulf of Siam, where she made a considerable impression upon the natives. The writer Oswald John Frederick Crawfurd, born in 1834, was their son. The couple knew John Sterling, and the Carlyles. Thomas Carlyle met
Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson (17 ...
at dinner at the Crawfurds (25 November 1837, at 27
Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent is a street in central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and are now Grade ...
), making a poor impression. Note 14.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *Knapman, Gareth (2017)
Race and British Colonialism in South-East Asia: John Crawfurd and the politics of equality
Routledge.


Further reading

*Ernest C. T. Chew (2002), "Dr John Crawfurd (1783–1868): The Scotsman Who Made Singapore British", ''Raffles Town Club'', vol. 8 (July–Sept). Singapore : Raffles Town Club. *Knapman, Gareth (2017)
Race and British Colonialism in South-East Asia: John Crawfurd and the politics of equality
Routledge.


External links

* *
Royal Geographical Society ObituaryObituary
from the '' Sydney Herald''
Infopedia page
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawfurd, John 1783 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors People from Islay Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Historians of India British East India Company civil servants Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Ethnological Society of London Scottish politicians Scottish diplomats Scottish economics writers British ethnologists Scottish geographers 20th-century Scottish historians Scottish linguists Scottish orientalists Scottish colonial officials Scottish surgeons Scottish travel writers Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Administrators in British Malaya Administrators in British Singapore Governors of the Straits Settlements