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BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2017 Vol. 13 / Issue 01 / Feature

Wilbert Wong is currently a second-year (Facing page) Portrait of John Crawfurd, 1857. Courtesy of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. doctoral candidate at the Australian National (Below) Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China is a record of John Crawfurd’s commercial and University's School of History, where he is diplomatic mission to the courts of Siam and Cochin China from 1821–22. The frontispiece shows a black-and-white version of the painting titled “A View of researching British colonial writings on the the Town and Roads of Singapore from the Government Hill” by Captain Robert James Elliot. All rights reserved, Crawfurd, J. (1828). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China: Exhibiting a View of the Actual State of Those Kingdoms. : Henry Colburn. Malay Peninsula. He hopes to specialise in the field of world history, with emphasis on cross- TheDoctor cultural encounters. TurnedDiplomat John Crawfurd’s Writings on the Malay Peninsula The National Library, Singapore, has in its collection a number of items relating to John Crawfurd’s writings on Asia. In 2016, the collection was further enriched by an acquisition from Dr John Bastin – a noted tauthority on and author of numerous books and articles on the his- tory of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Among the 19th-century British to fuel his scientific debates on ethnology of India, to accompany him on a military tensions and suspicions raised among the scholar-administrators of the Malay Pen- – in other words, the study of societies, expedition against the Dutch in .7 This local authorities there.11 insula, Crawfurd (1783–1868) was one of cultures and the nature of mankind. marked a major turning point in Crawfurd’s the most accomplished. He was highly career; he would become, as the anthro- Crawfurd’s Achievements in Singapore regarded by the scholarly community for Crawfurd’s Early Life and Career pologist Ter Ellingson wrote in his book, his formidable intellect and contributions to The Myth of the , “a doctor- On 9 June 1823, Crawfurd succeeded the field of ethnology, linguistics and Asian Crawfurd was born on 13 August 1783 on turned-colonial-diplomat”.8 as the second Resident subjects – especially on Southeast Asia. the island of in .2 He was the Crawfurd held various senior admin- of Singapore – Crawfurd had first visited newspaper noted in son of Samuel Crawfurd, a physician and a istrative posts during the brief British the island in 1822 enroute from India to 1834 that “Crawfurd [was] well known by his “man of sense and prudence”, and Marga- occupation of Java between 1811 and Siam – and remained in office until 1826. writings on Eastern manners and statistics, ret Campbell.3 Crawfurd was educated in 1816 due to his command of the Malay It was during this period that Crawfurd and his exertions to open the British trade a village school in Bowmore, Islay. In 1799, language, including an appointment as made his biggest political achievement: with China and India”.1 he enrolled in medical school in Edinburgh; Resident at the royal court of the Sultan of he was instrumental in the proposal and Crawfurd's writings on Southeast medicine was a field for which, according . He befriended the Javanese negotiation of the Treaty of Friendship Asia provided a wealth of information for to his 1868 obituary in The Sydney Morning aristocratic literati and studied both Kawi, and Alliance on 2 August 1824, which saw those with a keen interest in the region, Herald, he “never had much taste, having an ancient form of Javanese as well as Singapore being effectively ceded by its especially merchants, intellectuals, and been chosen for him” – presumably by his contemporary Javanese. rulers, Sultan Hussein Shah and Temeng- aspiring imperial civil servants and offi- father. 4 It later became evident that young On his return to Britain in 1817, Craw- gong Abdul Rahman, to the British East cials. His body of scholarly work, however Crawfurd’s interest lay in languages, furd became a fellow of the Royal Society. India Company. flawed and imperfect it may seem from history, ethnology, natural sciences and His position and local connections in the Singapore flourished under Craw- a contemporary perspective, is a major political administration. Malay Peninsula and Java enabled him to furd’s administration, which was marked contribution to our understanding of After completing his medical studies acquire a decent collection of local manu- by rapid growth in trade, population and the socio-political and cultural milieu of in 1803, Crawfurd left for Calcutta, India, scripts. Putting together the information revenue. Remarkably, by 1826, Singapore’s colonial Malaya. as an assistant surgeon in the East India he had gathered during his sojourn in revenue had outstripped that of . Colonial sources invariably provide Company’s Bengal medical service, where Southeast Asia, Crawfurd published his Given his administrative accomplishments, the only means of historical information on he was assigned to the army.5 In 1808, on widely acclaimed three-volume History of historian C. M. Turnbull may be justified Malaya in the 19th and early 20th centuries. completion of five years of active service in the Indian Archipelago in 1820.9 This seminal in praising Crawfurd as one of the three Like many of his contemporaries, such as the northwestern provinces of British India, work, according to a review in The Journal outstanding pioneer administrators of Sin- John Crawfurd, the 19th-century British the British orientalist and linguist, William Crawfurd was appointed to the medical of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia gapore, after Raffles and William Farquhar Marsden (1754–1836), and Stamford Raffles service at Prince of Wales Island, present- in 1856, placed him among “the first rank (see text box on page 45).12 colonial administrator, was known for his (1781–1826), Crawfurd sought to understand day Penang. Never one to sit on his laurels, of ethnographers".10 Crawfurd continued to play an active the interplay between mankind and its Crawfurd used his time there to study the In 1821, Crawfurd left again role in the British on insightful writings on ethnology and history in history, and the inhabitants of the Malay and its people.6 for India; this time he was assigned to head completion of his tenure as Resident of the Malay Peninsula. Wilbert Wong examines Peninsula often featured in his writings on In 1811, Crawfurd, together with Raf- a mission to Siam (now ) and Cochin Singapore in 1826, undertaking diplomatic ethnology and world history. The knowledge fles and another Scottish intellectual John China (), with the chief objective assignments in Burma (now ), the ideas of this visionary scholar and thinker. gained from his experiences and observa- Leyden (1775–1811), was invited by Lord of opening up these countries to trade. before retiring permanently to England in tions on the region would eventually be used Minto (1751–1814), then Governor-General However, he failed because of regional 1827.13 Although Crawfurd left the region for

42 43 BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2017 Vol. 13 / Issue 01 / Feature good, he continued to take a keen interest not backed by historical or archaeological language spoken by the Archipelago’s philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment in matters concerning the Far East until the evidence.33 A recent 2016 study by Gareth “Oriental Negroes” was distinct from the of measuring the progress of mankind – end of his life, becoming the first president Knapman has furthermore revealed that brown-coloured races of the region, which which was not surprising given Crawfurd’s of the London-based Straits Settlements Crawfurd opposed Darwinism because would mark them out as separate races.42 background and education in Edinburgh – he Association on 31 January 1868.14 Crawfurd it promoted a hierarchy of races, which Crawfurd’s direct examination of the divided the cultures of the world into dif- passed away on 11 May 1868 at his residence Crawfurd, as an advocate of racial equality, aboriginals of the Malay Peninsula, the ferent stages of civilisation. These stages in South Kensington, London, at the age of was completely against.34 Orang Asli, seemed to have been limited ranged from the refined to the savage, and 85, leaving behind a son and two daughters.15 Crawfurd assumed that each race was to the three Semang people he saw in he used cultural and material indicators to equally as old as any other, and the reason Penang and Singapore, as well as the few measure their level of progress, such as the The Malay Peninsula in Crawfurd’s behind their distribution across the globe Orang Laut (or “sea gypsies”) he came development of language and numerals, Writings was a cosmic mystery “beyond the power across, which was understandable since advancement of social order, the advance- of our comprehension”.35 He distinguished he had never ventured into the interior of ment of the arts, tools used, weaponry, An examination of Crawfurd’s obituar- each race according to their outer physical Malaya.43 Instead, Crawfurd had to rely on and the state of agriculture, technology, ies would give the impression that his appearances, such as the colour of the skin, the findings of other Orientalists, such as architecture and so forth.48 literary fame continued to rise after he hair and eyes, average height, hair texture James Richardson Logan (1819–69) and Crawfurd argued that (civilised) ended his career in Asia, to the extent and facial features.36 But in spite of their John Turnbull Thomson (1821–84), when Malays were more advanced than the that it seemed to have outshone his civil differences, he argued, they all belonged studying the other Aslian tribes.44 Those “Oriental Negroes” of the Malay Peninsula service accomplishments in the Far East.16 to the same genus, Homo (modern humans who possessed Malay-like features – the because they had learnt how to domesticate In spite of several unsuccessful attempts are classified as Homo sapiens), just like the Jakun for instance – were deemed to belong animals and cultivate plants, possessed the to enter British politics, he continued mak- different breeds of dogs, although having to the Malay group, which Crawfurd labelled art of writing and the use of numerals, and ing headlines in the intellectual world by different physical features, are all from the as “uncultivated Malays”.45 The other two had knowledge of useful metals and how producing notable publications such as same family, Canidae.37 Malay classes were the “civilised Malays” to work them. The “Oriental Negroes” in A Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Crawfurd was against using anatomy and the Orang Laut.46 contrast, who “wander the forests in quest Language with A Preliminary Dissertation to distinguish the “species” of mankind, In his views on the global progress of of a precarious subsistence, without fixed (1852)17 and A Descriptive Dictionary of more specifically the classification of races mankind, Crawfurd regarded the Malays habitation” had not yet developed letters the Indian Islands & Adjacent Countries according to the shape of the skull that and the Javanese to be the most civilised of and numbers, and had either achieved lit- (1856),18 and through his journal contri- was being promoted by the anatomist and the inhabitants of the Indian Archipelago.47 tle or none of the other cultural markers butions to the scholarly periodical of the (Above left) Page xviii of A Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language with a Preliminary Disserta- naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach In a manner that was consistent with the mentioned above. Crawfurd also drew a Ethnological Society of London – which tion shows the primary consonants, secondary consonants and vowel marks of the letter “K” in Javanese (1752–1840), with the launch of his publi- script. All rights reserved, Crawfurd, J. (1852). A Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language with a 19 he led in 1861 as president. As a leading Preliminary Dissertation. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. cation De Generis humani varietate nativa ethnographer and expert on Southeast (Above right) A Papua or Negro of the Indian Islands (left) and Katut, a native of (right). All rights (On the Natural Variety of Mankind), in singapore’s other founder: lamps began to emerge during his Asia, Crawfurd was well known among reserved, Crawfurd, J. (1820). History of the Indian Archipelago: Containing an Account of the Manners, 1795. Crawfurd, perhaps also drawing his john crawfurd administration.7 prominent intellectuals of the time, and Arts, Languages, Religions, Institutions, and Commerce of its Inhabitants (Vol. I). Edinburgh: Printed conclusion from his knowledge of medicine, for Archibald Constable and Co. As an enlightened liberal, Crawfurd was counted among ’s stressed that regardless of race, one would Historian C.M. Turnbull is right in continued Raffles’ efforts at suppress- circle of friends.20 not be able to tell the difference between pointing out that John Crawfurd, along ing slavery and promoted Crawfurd’s publications on the Far Asia, “which multiply just as fast as do the race of the “inferior” parent, but inferior to the skull of a “Hindu-Chinese” and that of a with Singapore’s first British Resident with a level of zeal that was greater than East were the result of his extensive jour- parent stocks from which they derived”.23 the race of the “superior” one, would seem Malay.38 This was why Crawfurd thought it William Farquhar, has faded into ob- his predecessor. By reducing adminis- neys and voyages made during his time in He would have also drawn this conclusion somewhat more controversial.27 When best to catalogue the different races accord- scurity.1 We often attribute the success trative expense, he was able to abolish the region, where he amassed a diversity from his observation of the mixed-race discussing the Peranakan communities of ing to their external physical features, and and founding of modern Singapore to anchorage and other levies, making of materials on ethnology, natural history, communities in the Malay Peninsula – as the Malay Peninsula, he pointed out that this was how he would distinguish between the man whose iconic bronze statue Singapore a unique port that was free local history, geography and geology.21 As an suggested in his other ethnological article, “these half-castes speak the language of the inhabitants of the Indian Archipelago39 stands in Empress Place – Sir Thomas from tariffs and port charges. By the active participant in the lively 19th-century On the Commixture of the Races of Man the father as well as that of the mother, and the Malay Peninsula in his studies. Stamford Raffles. As Singapore’s sec- end of his administration, Singapore scientific and philosophical debates on the as Affecting the Progress of Civilisation.24 and are distinguished from the pure Malay The inhabitants of the Indian Archi- ond British Resident from 1823 to 1826, was the wealthiest of all British set- nature of mankind, he took advantage of Here, pointing to the Peranakan communi- by superior intelligence”.28 In History of pelago, in Crawfurd’s observation, consist Crawfurd was an excellent adminis- tlements in Southeast Asia. his observations in Asia to roundly debunk ties of the Malay Peninsula, Crawfurd wrote: the Indian Archipelago, Crawfurd found of many different races, which he divided trator who, in the words of Turnbull, Not all of Raffles plans for Singa- the idea that offspring produced from the that the Chinese who intermarry “with into three groups based on appearance: “provided the efficient administration pore were followed, however. Crawfurd union or “commixture” of two different “The intercourse and settlement the natives of the country, generate a the brown-complexioned, straight-haired that Raffles could not supply”.2 reversed Raffles’ ban on gambling, races would become sterile and incapable are still in progress, and out of it has race inferior in energy and spirit” to the men, such as the Malays; men of dark com- Crawfurd guided Singapore during regulating the practice through the sale of producing healthy children of their own. sprung a cross-breed known, as in Chinese.29 He also wrote supportively of plexion with woolly hair, whom Crawfurd a time of rapid economic and population of licences to gambling establishments.8 In his article in the journal of the the colonising Arabs and Chinese, mixed-racial unions between Europeans termed the “Oriental Negroes” because expansion.3 He promoted agriculture, Ethnological Society of London, On the by the term Páranakan [sic], with and native inhabitants in European colo- their features were similar to the “African battled against piracy as far as his Supposed Infecundity of Human Hybrids the national designation of the father nies because he saw it as a laudable, if Negroes” (although Crawfurd believed scanty means permitted and dealt 4 or Crosses, which was read in 1864 and annexed, and literally signifying patronising, way of improving the existing that the two were not of the same race with Singapore’s lawlessness. He was Notes published in 1865, Crawfurd highlighted the ‘offspring of the womb,’...”25 indigenous societies.30 due to the differences in their physical instrumental in turning Raffles’ town 1 Turnbull, C. M. (2009). A history of modern theory that “mongrels resulting from the In his scientific views, Crawfurd was characteristics and language); and men plan of Singapore into a reality, enfor­ Singapore: 1819–2005 (p. 50). Singapore: NUS union of two different races of the human In Malacca, which had been colonised a believer in polygenesis, a theory that of brown complexion with frizzled hair, like cing standards laid down by Raffles for Press. (Call no. RSING 959.57 TUR-[HIS]) 2 Turnbull, 2009, p. 50. 40 5 family” were sterile (like a mule – a hybrid by the Portuguese since 1511, he observed supposes the multiple origins of man- the inhabitants of Timor. “beauty, regularity and cleanliness”. 3 Turnbull, 2009, p. 46. 31 between two opposite species of the same that a cross-race of Eurasians had sprung kind. Mankind, according to the tenets of The people of the Malay Peninsula Commercial Square (present- 4 Mills, L. A. (2003). : 1824–67 (p. 78). genus of lower animals). The idea had up, and they had “so much of Malay blood polygenesis, consists of different races or consisted of the brown-complexioned day Raffles Place) was developed Selangor, Malaysia: Malaysian Branch of the “lately sprung up” and was beginning to as to be hardly distinguishable from the species that are spread across different Malays and the dark, woolly-haired, “Ori- and a "bridge was constructed across Royal Asiatic Society. (Call no.: RSING 959.5 MIL) 22 26 32 6 5 Turnbull, 2009, p. 46. obtain currency in France and America. Malays themselves”. geographical locations around the world. ental Negroes”, also known locally as the the river". The settlement’s streets 6 Turnbull, 2009, p. 46. 41 Crawfurd saw this theory as one that was Crawfurd’s view that the children He opposed Darwinism because of its stand “Sámang” (Semang) or “Bila”. In History were both widened and levelled and 7 Turnbull, 2009, p. 46. “without a shadow of foundation”, citing of mixed racial unions would become an on the common origins of man, consider- of the Indian Archipelago, Crawfurd noted given English street signs, and street 8 Turnbull, 2009, pp. 45–46. evidence in the mixed-race communities in “intermediate” offspring, superior to the ing it to be without firm foundation and that, besides their appearance, even the

44 45 BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2017 Vol. 13 / Issue 01 / Feature

applied his ideas about the progress of supremacy, but a closer look at his complex University Press. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC-[HIS]); physical and mental characteristics of the negro, p. 237. mankind to explain the history of the Malay works would reveal that he was probably Turnbull, 2009, p. 49. 42 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 15 Mr John Crawfurd. (1868, May 16). The Examiner, issue 3146. 2, p. 80; Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary of the Peninsula’s inhabitants, framing it within a more of a realist and a practical visionary 16 The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Jul 1868, p. 6; The Indian islands & adjacent countries, p. 207. global context. The “Oriental Negroes” of who was more concerned about finding Examiner, 1868, issue 3146; Thomson, T. (1870). A 43 Crawfurd, 1848, On the Malayan and Polynesian the Malay Peninsula were on a lower scale logical explanations to the different condi- biography of eminent Scotsmen (Vol. III) (pp. 592–594). Languages, p. 333. of civilisation because of their isolation in tions of mankind. Glasgow, Blackie and Son. Retrieved from Google Books. 44 Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary of the Indian 17 See Ang, S. L. (2016, Jan–Mar). A bilingual dictionary islands & adjacent countries, pp. 41, 49–50, 257. the dense forests and mountains of the by a Scotsman. BiblioAsia, 11(4), pp. 14–15. Call no.: 45 Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary of the Indian 58 interior. The Malays, on the other hand, R 027.495957 SNBBA) islands & adjacent countries, pp. 161, 192. had attained a certain degree of advance- 18 See Lee, Jan–Mar 2016, pp. 16–17. 46 Crawfurd, J. (1967). Journal of an embassy to the courts of Wilbert Wong was awarded the ment in their superior Sumatran homeland 19 Murchison, 1868, cl. Siam and Cochin China (pp. 42–44, 52–55). Kuala Lumpur, National Library’s Lee Kong Chian 20 Knapman, G. (2016). Race, polygenesis and equality: London, New York: Oxford University Press. (Call no. before migrating to the more geographically Research Fellowship in 2016. This John Crawfurd and nineteenth-century resistance to RSEA 959.3 CRA); Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary hostile Malay Peninsula that was shrouded article is a condensed version of a evolution. History of European Ideas, 42(7), pp. 1, 11. of the Indian islands & adjacent Countries, p. 250. in dense forest, “a serious and almost (Not available in NLB holdings) 47 Crawfurd, 1848, On the Malayan and Polynesian more in-depth research paper sub- insuperable obstacle to the early progress 21 Murchison, 1868, p. clxix languages, p. 338. mitted as part of the fellowship. The of civilisation”.59 22 Crawfurd, J. (1865). On the supposed infecundity 48 The Scottish Enlightenment, an 18th-century movement author would like to thank his subject of human hybrids or crosses. Transactions of the that flourished in Scotland, was still influential during Crawfurd thought that the Malay civi- reviewer, Associate Professor Syed Ethnological Society of London, 3, p. 365. Retrieved Crawfurd’s time and when its impact was still felt. lisation was much improved by its contact Muhammad Khairudin Aljunied, of from Internet Archive website. Edinburgh, where Crawfurd obtained his medical degree, with Hinduism and, later, Islam, from where 23 Crawfurd, 1865, On the supposed infecundity of human was one of the centres of the Scottish Enlightenment. the National University of Singapore, it obtained its letters and culture.60 Raffles, hybrids or crosses. p. 357. See Broadie, A. (Ed). (2003). The Cambridge companion Dr Gareth Knapman of the Australian 24 Crawfurd, J. (1865). On the commixture of the races to the Scottish Enlightenment (pp. 1, 3, 5–6). Cambridge: on the contrary, opined that Islam degraded National University, and Dr Austin of man as affecting the progress of civilisation. Cambridge University Press. (Call no.: R 001.0941109033 the Malays61, as did the British orientalist Gee of the University of Otago, for Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, 3, CAM); Pittock, M. G. H. (2003). Historiography. In A. William Marsden.62 pp. 116–117. Retrieved from Internet Archive website. Broadie. (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to the Scottish their feedback on the article. The 25 Crawfurd, 1865, On the commixture of the races of man Enlightenment (p. 262). Cambridge: Cambridge University author is also grateful for the as- as affecting the progress of civilisation, p. 116. Press. (Call no. R 001.0941109033 CAM). For an example of Crawfurd’s Perceptions of the sistance provided by Gracie­ Lee, 26 Crawfurd, 1865, On the commixture of the races of man how Crawfurd measured progress, see Crawfurd, 1820, Malay Peninsula Senior Librarian, National Library, as affecting the progress of civilisation, p. 117. History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 1, p. 9; vol. 2, p. 276. Singapore, towards this research. 27 Crawfurd, J. (1861). On the classification of the races of 49 Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary of the Indian The Malay Peninsula and its inhabitants man. Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, islands & adjacent countries, pp.17, 29. A group of Orang Asli, the indigenous people of the Malay Peninsula, late 19th century. Courtesy of 1, p. 356. Retrieved from Internet Archive website. 50 Crawfurd, J. (1861). On the conditions which favour, the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. played an important role in Crawfurd’s writings and in shaping his views on 28 Crawfurd, 1865, On the commixture of the races of man retard, or obstruct the early civilization of man. as affecting the progress of civilisation, p. 116. Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, 1, p. ethnology and world history. Crawfurd’s Notes 29 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 154. Retrieved from Internet Archive website. connection between the practice of wearing cross-cultural contacts, and geographi- ideas and views discussed in this essay 1 Mr John Crawfurd. (1834, January 11). The Spectator, p. 1, p. 135. 51 Crawfurd, J. (1863). On the connexion between ethnology and scant clothing and savagery.49 cal barriers could prevent a culture from are only a fragment of the many ways in 32. Retrieved from The Spectator Archive website. 30 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. physical geography. Transactions of the Ethnological Society obtaining the resources it needed for which they informed his writings. They 2 Knapman, G. (2017). Race and British colonialism in 2, p. 448. of London, 2, p. 4. Retrieved from Internet Archive website. Southeast Asia 1770–1870: John Crawfurd and the politics of 31 Knapman, 2016, pp. 1, 11. 52 Crawfurd, J. (1869). On The Malayan race of man and advancement. Crawfurd often referred featured regularly in his scientific ar- The Crawfurdian World View equality (p. 20). New York: Routledge. (Call no.: RSING 325.01 32 Crawfurd, J. (1869). On the theory of the origin of species its prehistoric career. Transactions of the Ethnological to the Eskimos to corroborate his view, guments, as seen in his position on the KNA); Lee, G. (2016, Jan–Mar). Crawfurd on Southeast Asia. by natural selection in the struggle for life. Transactions Society of London, 7, pp. 123, 125. Retrieved from Crawfurd used material and cultural stating that the indigenous peoples of the children of mixed-race unions, where he BiblioAsia, 11(4), pp.16–17. (Call no.: R 027.495957 SNBBA) of the Ethnological Society of London, 7, p. 37. Retrieved Internet Archive website. measures to assess the state of civilisation Arctic and subarctic regions could hardly used his observations of the Peranakan 3 Mr John Crawfurd. (1868, July 23). The Sydney Morning from Internet Archive website; Knapman, 2016, p. 2. 53 Crawfurd, 1863, On the connexion between ethnology that a race had attained. When it came to be expected to progress in the isolated and communities in the British settlements Herald, p. 6. Retrieved from website; Turnbull, C. M. 33 Crawfurd, J. (1865). On Sir Charles Lyell’s “Antiquity of and physical geography, pp. 4–5, 8, 10–11, 14. (2009). A history of modern Singapore: 1819–2005 (p. 42). Man”, and on Professor Huxley’s evidence as to man’s 54 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 3, explaining how people got to where they frozen lands they inhabited where scant to support his stand. Singapore: NUS Press. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR-[HIS]) place in nature. Transactions of the Ethnological Society p. 149; Crawfurd, 1861, On the conditions which favour, were in society, he would identify access plants and animals were available to help It is likely that Crawfurd’s perceptions 4 The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Jul 1868, p. 6. of London, 3, p. 60. Retrieved from Internet Archive retard, or obstruct the early civilization of man, p. 166. to domesticated animals and cultivated spur growth.53 would have been different if he had never 5 The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Jul 1868, p. 6; Turnbull, website; Crawfurd, 1868, On the theory of the origin of 55 Crawfurd, J. (1863). On the commixture of the races of plants, cross-cultural engagements with Crawfurd also offered an interesting stepped foot in the region. But he did, and C. M. (2004). Crawfurd, John (1783–1868), orientalist species by natural selection in the struggle for life, p. 28. man in western and central Asia. Transactions of the and colonial administrator. Retrieved from Oxford 34 Knapman, 2016, pp 10–14. Ethnological Society of London, 1, pp. 159–60. Retrieved a “superior” race, geography and the intel- theory about the inhabitants of Britain: he based on his first-hand knowledge, Craw- Dictionary of National Biography website. 35 Crawfurd, J. (1863). On colour as a test of the races of man. from Internet Archive website. lectual capacity of a race as the underlying believed that they would still be in a savage furd applied his ethnological and scientific 6 Crawfurd, J. (1820). Advertisement. In History of the Indian Transactions of the Ethnology Society of London, 2, p. 253. 56 Crawfurd, 1863, On the connexion between ethnology forces that determined racial progress.50 state, isolated in their lush forests, if the theories on race to his understanding of the Archipelago: Containing an account of the manners, arts, Retrieved from Internet Archive website; Crawfurd, J. and physical geography, pp. 4, 14; Crawfurd, 1861, On the In order for a culture to develop, superior Romans – who introduced letters Malay Peninsula’s history, and connected languages, religions, institutions, and commerce of its (1866). On the physical and mental characteristics of the classification of the races of man, p. 370; Crawfurd, 1866, On according to Crawfurd’s theory, it would and numerals to the savage and barbaric its inhabitants to the rest of mankind to inhabitants (Vol. 1). Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and negro. Transactions of the Ethnology Society of London, 4, the physical and mental characteristics of the negro, p. 214. Co. (Microfilm no.: NL 25440); Murchison, R. I. (1868). p. 213. Retrieved from Internet Archive website. 57 Crawfurd, 1863, On the connexion between ethnology need access to resources that are neces- tribes of Europe – had not conquered formulate and advance his ideas on the Address to the Royal Geographical Society. The Journal 36 Crawfurd, J. (1868). On the skin, the hair, and the and physical geography, p. 16. sary to engineer growth, such as animals Britain.54 But Crawfurd was curious about history of human origins and progress. of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 38, p. clxvii. eyes, as tests of the races of man. Transactions of the 58 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. that can be domesticated for work and the reason why some races had advanced It is clear that Crawfurd was no petty Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website. Ethnology Society of London, 6, pp. 144–49. Retrieved 1, p. 118; Crawfurd, 1863, On the connexion between consumption, and plants that can be culti- more quickly than others, despite having the intellectual figure of the 19th century. 7 Crawfurd, 1820, Advertisement History of the Indian from Internet Archive website. ethnology and physical geography, p. 11. Archipelago, vol. 1. 37 Crawfurd, 1861, On the classification of the races of 59 Crawfurd, J. (1865). On the early migrations of man. 51 55 vated. Contact with a superior civilisation, same civilisational advantages. Europe, Because his works were highly regarded 8 Ellingson, T. J. (2001). The myth of the noble savage (p. man, pp. 354, 364. Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, whether through cross-cultural engage- for instance, seemed to be progressing at a and were widely read, he would have 268). Berkeley: University of California Press. (Call no.: 38 Crawfurd, 1861, On the classification of the races of 3, p. 339. Retrieved from Internet Archive website; ments or conquest, could also improve faster pace than China. He reasoned that it influenced how others saw the Malay RSEA 301.01 ELL) man, pp. 127, 132. Crawfurd, 1863, On the connexion between ethnology a race.52 was because each race had different intel- Peninsula and its place in world history. 9 The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Jul 1868, p. 6; Turnbull, 39 The term “Indian Archipelago” is used by Crawfurd to and physical geography, p. 10. Cultures that thrive are invariably lectual capacities, or in Crawfurd’s words, The Malay Peninsula, despite what many 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. refer to all countries in Southeast Asia today except 60 Crawfurd, 1820, History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 2, p. 27; 10 Notice of Mr Crawfurd’s Descriptive Dictionary. (1856). , Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. Crawfurd, 1856, A descriptive dictionary of the Indian islands 56 located in places that encourage develop- “the quality of the race”. Europeans, he in the West thought, was far from being a The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern 40 Crawfurd, J. (1856). A descriptive dictionary of the Indian & adjacent countries, pp. 36, 263–264; Crawfurd, 1868, On ment and have few geographical barri- concluded, had the highest mental aptitude, literary backwater of the British Empire, Asia (new series), 1, p. 293. Retrieved from Hathi Trust islands & adjacent countries (pp. 295–296). London: Bradbury The Malayan race of man and its prehistoric career, p. 125. ers that would impede growth, such as which explained their rapid advancement and there were others like Crawfurd – such Digital Library website. & Evans. Retrieved from Book SG; Crawfurd, J. (1848). On 61 Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied. (2005). Sir Stamford impregnable forests or mountains. Access and dominance during Crawfurd’s lifetime.57 as the British naturalist and anthropologist 11 Turnbull, 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. the Malayan and Polynesian languages. Transactions of the Raffles’ discourse on the : A revisionist 12 Turnbull, 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Ethnological Society of London, 1, pp. 330, 333. Retrieved perspective. Sojourn, 2(1), pp. 6–8; Turnbull, 2009, p. 42. to domesticated plants and animals and Crawfurd’s theory, in a nutshell, was Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) – who Biography; Turnbull, 2009, pp. 46–47, 50. from Internet Archive website; Crawfurd, 1866, On the 62 Quilty, M. (1998). Textual empires: A reading of early cross-cultural engagements are also that racial advancement was on the whole would feature the region in their scientific 13 The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Jul 1868, p. 6. physical and mental characteristics of the negro, pp. 230, 238. British histories of Southeast Asia (p. 52). Clayton, directly tied to geography – isolated cul- decided by a combination of geographical, works. Crawfurd’s ideas on mankind may 14 Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times 41 Crawfurd, 1848, On the Malayan and Polynesian Victoria, : Monash Asia Institute. (Call no. tures cannot be expected to benefit from cultural and biological factors. He then have promoted the idea of European racial in Singapore 1819–1867 (p. 141). Singapore: Oxford languages, pp. 333–334; Crawfurd, 1866, On the RSING 959. 0072 QUI)

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