J. G. Scott
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Sir James George Scott (pseudonym Shway Yoe, 25 December 1851 – 4 April 1935) was a Scottish
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
and colonial administrator who helped establish
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
colonial rule in Burma, and in addition introduced football 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 ...
.


Life

He was born in
Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (cal ...
, the second son of Mary Forsyth and Rev. George Scott, a Presbyterian minister. His elder brother was
Robert Forsyth Scott Sir Robert Forsyth Scott (28 July 1849 – 18 November 1933) was a mathematician, barrister and Master of St John's College, Cambridge Life Scott was born in Leith, near Edinburgh, the eldest son of Reverend George Scott, a Minister in the c ...
, who was to become Master of St John's College, Cambridge. Three years after the death of Rev. Scott, Mary moved with her two sons to Stuttgart, where they lived until the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War. After returning to the United Kingdom, Scott was educated at
King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...
. He went on to Lincoln College, but was unable to complete his studies there due to a decline in the family fortune. He worked first as a journalist. For the London ''
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'' he covered the
reprisal A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extreme ...
s for the murder of J. W. W. Birch, in Perak, in 1875. He then reported from
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 ...
, usually in Rangoon but also travelling to Mandalay, for the London '' Daily News'' and the ''
St James's Gazette The ''St James's Gazette'' was a London evening newspaper published from 1880 to 1905. It was founded by the Conservative Henry Hucks Gibbs, later Baron Aldenham, a director of the Bank of England 1853–1901 and its governor 1875–1877; the ...
''. He remained in Burma until 1882, and during most of this period was a schoolmaster (briefly acting headmaster) at St John's College, Rangoon. His most famous book, '' The Burman: his life and notions'', was published at this period, under a pseudonym which mystified literary London but was no secret to people in Rangoon. In 1884 Scott was again a full-time journalist, reporting, once more for the ''Evening Standard'', on the French invasion of
Tongking Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...
(now northern Vietnam). This was when he began his collecting of manuscripts, documents and ephemera, which eventually became the Scott Collection at
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
. On the British annexation of
Upper Burma Upper Myanmar ( my, အထက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Upper Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar, traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery (modern Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway Regions), or more broadly speak ...
he was invited to join the Burma Commission, the nucleus of the colonial civil service; he returned to Burma in 1886, stationed initially at Mandalay,
Meiktila Meiktila (; ) is a city in central Burma on the banks of Meiktila Lake in the Mandalay Region at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Ai ...
and Hlaingdet. He was a Deputy Commissioner in Burma, and was knighted as a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...
(KCIE) in November 1901. In ''The Trouser People: a Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire'', Andrew Marshall recounts Scott's adventures as he cajoled and bullied his way through uncharted jungle to establish British colonial rule in the
Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called '' muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was fi ...
, where the administration was initially established at
Fort Stedman The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pr ...
but soon moved to
Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth la ...
. Scott wrote more than 15 articles for the 1911
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
. s:Author:James George Scott His collection of manuscripts and documents was given by his brother's widow to Cambridge University Library in 1934, and, long afterwards, was catalogued by Sao Saimong and Andrew Dalby. His photographs and some of his diaries are in the India Office Library. Bogyoke Market in Rangoon, originally called "Scott Market", was not named after James George Scott but after the municipal commissioner of the time, Mr. Gavin Scott, who was commissioner from 1922 to 1930.


Family

He was married three times. His third wife was the author
Geraldine Mitton Geraldine Edith Mitton (14 October 186825 March 1955), pen name G. E. Mitton, was an English novelist, biographer, editor, and guide-book writer. Born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, she was the third daughter of Rev. Henry Arthur Mitton, a ma ...
, who survived him and wrote his biography.


Published works

*1882 '' The Burman: His Life and Notions'' (under the pseudonym Shway Yoe) **New edition: New York: The Norton Library, 1963 *1885 ''France and
Tongking Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...
'' *1900-1901 ''Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States''. 5 vols *1906 ''Burma: a handbook of practical information'' *1908 ''Cursed Luck'' *1911 ''Wholly Without Morals: A Romance of Indo-Burman Life and Racing (under the pseudonym Shway Dinga)'' *1924 ''Burma: from the earliest times to the present day'' *1932 ''Burma and beyond''


Jointly with G. E. Mitton

*1913 ''In the Grip of the Wild Wa'' *1922 ''The Green Moth'' *1923 ''A Frontier Man'' *1924 ''Under an Eastern Sky''


Bibliography

*
Charles Crosthwaite Sir Charles Haukes Todd Crosthwaite (5 December 1835, Dublin – 28 May 1915) served as Chief Commissioner of the British Crown Colony of Burma from March 1887 to December 1890. Early life He was born in Dublin, educated at Merchant Taylors ...
, ''The Pacification of Burma''. London, 1912 * G. E. Mitton, ''Scott of the Shan Hills''. London: John Murray, 1936. * Sao Saimong, ''The Shan States and the British Annexation''. Cornell: Cornell University, 1969 (2nd ed.) *Andrew Dalby, "La collection Scott de Cambridge et l'imprimerie dans le Sud-Est asiatique" in ''Revue française de l'histoire du livre'' (April–June 1984). *Stephen Wheeler, ''History of the Delhi Coronation Durbar''. Delhi, 1991 *Andrew Dalby, "Sir George Scott, 1851-1935: explorer of Burma's eastern borders" in ''Explorers of South-East Asia'' ed. V.T. King (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press/Penerbit Fajar Bakti, 1995) pp. 108–157. * Andrew Marshall, ''The Trouser People: a Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire''. London: Penguin; Washington: Counterpoint, 2002. *B.R.Pearn, "A History of Rangoon". Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press, 1939


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James George History of Myanmar 1851 births 1935 deaths Scottish diplomats Football people in Myanmar Administrators in British Burma Tai history London Scottish F.C. players Scottish colonial officials Scottish journalists Scottish Presbyterians Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire