Editing Stamford Raffles (section)

==Founding of modern Singapore==
{{Main|Founding of modern Singapore}}
[[File:Stamford Raffles statue Crop.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|right|Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles in Singapore, based on the original by [[Thomas Woolner]]]]
Major-General [[William Farquhar]], the [[Resident (title)|British Resident]] of Malacca, had been attempting to negotiate [[Commercial treaty|commercial treaties]] with the local chiefs of the [[Riau Archipelago]], especially before Raffles' arrival. Farquhar was compelled to sign the treaty not with the official head of the sultanate, but rather, the [[Riau-Lingga Sultanate|Raja Muda (Regent or Crown Prince) of Riau]]. He noted it as a success, and reported it as such to Raffles.

Raffles sailed to [[Malacca]] in late 1818, to personally secure a British presence in the Riau area, especially ''Singapura'', which was favoured by him both through the readings of [[Malay language|Malayan]] histories, and by Farquhar's explorations. Despite [[Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|Lord Hastings]]' less-than-stellar opinion of Raffles before (which had necessitated his trip to England to clear his name at the end of his tenure as Lieutenant-Governor of Java), the now well-connected and successful Raffles was able to secure permission to set up a settlement. At this point in [[History of Singapore|Singaporean history]], the name ''Lion City'' was applied. The city was in a strategically advantageous position; however, he was ordered not to provoke the Dutch, and his subsequent actions were officially disavowed by the British government.

In London, [[Viscount Castlereagh|Lord Castlereagh]] attempted to quell Dutch fears, and continuing efforts were made to reach an agreement between the nations that eventually became the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824|Anglo-Dutch Treaty]] of London of 1824. As well as the treaty, instructions were sent out to Raffles to undertake far less intrusive actions; however, the long distance between the Far East and Europe meant that the orders had no chance of reaching Raffles in time.

===Establishment===
After a brief survey of the [[Karimun Islands]], on 29 January 1819, he established a post at the southern tip of the [[Malay Peninsula]]. It was established that there was no Dutch presence on the island of Singapore. [[Johor]] also no longer had any control of the area, so contact was made with the [[Temenggong Abdul Rahman]]. The contacts were friendly, and Raffles, knowledgeable about the muddled political situation, took advantage to provide a rudimentary treaty between the nominal chiefs of the area that called for the exclusivity of trade, and the British protection of the area. Members of Raffles's party [[surveying|surveyed]] the island, and proceeded to request the presence of the sultan, or whoever at the time had supreme nominal power, to sign a formal treaty, while Major Farquhar was ordered to do the same in Rhio (Riau). 

The writings of Raffles and Farquhar indicate that the British found Temenggong Abdul Rahman with 400 to 500 residents in Singapore in January 1819. Another member of the 1819 expedition party, Captain John Crawford, recalled in his diary an encounter with “upwards of 100” of Chinese. British colonial documentations revealed that Temenggong Abdul Rahman had provided these Chinese who were Teochews the cost and expenses of opening gambier plantations at Mount Stamford (now Pearl’s Hill) prior to British arrival. He had also “in some instances” advanced money to the Teochew cultivators on the understanding he would be repaid in the form of gambier or other produce. Farquhar had the impressions that the Temenggong’s interests in these plantations were represented by a brother-in-law of his named Baba Ketchil and the first Captain China of Singapore, a Teochew merchant named Tan Heng Kim ((陈亨钦), was “one of the principal persons concerned”. <ref>{{cite book |last=Heng|first=Jason|date=2018 |editor-last=Singapore |editor-first=National Library Board |title=Chapters on Asia: selected papers from the Lee Kong Chian Research Fellowship (2014–2016) |publisher=National Library Board, Singapore. |pages=191–231 |chapter=Chapter 7: An Old Teochew Oral Account Sheds New Light on the 1819 Founding of Singapore |isbn=9789811163456}}</ref>  

A few days later, the formal treaty was signed by [[Hussein Shah of Johor|Hussein Shah]] who claimed to be the "lawful sovereign of the whole of territories extending from [[Lingga Islands|Lingga]] and [[Johor]] to Mount Muar". Although Hussein Shah had had no previous contact with the British, he had certainly heard of the strength of the [[Royal Navy]], and was in no position to argue against the terms. Raffles reassured him that the Dutch posed no threat in the area. Hussein Shah had been the crown Prince of Johor, but while he was away in [[Pahang]] to get married, his father died, and his younger brother was made sultan, supported by some of the court officials and the Dutch. To circumvent the situation of having to negotiate with a sultan influenced by the Dutch, Raffles decided to recognise, on behalf of the British Crown, Hussein Shah as being the rightful ruler of Johor.

Farquhar's attempt to establish a more favourable treaty in Rhio (Riau) was met with greater challenge, as the Dutch were present, and made for a rather awkward position. The Dutch were alarmed, and sent a small contingent to the island. Despite a covert offer of [[wikt:subterfuge|subterfuge]] against the Dutch offered by the Raja of Rhio (Riau), Farquhar returned, and an official protest was sent by the Raja to Java regarding the matter.

Raffles declared the foundation of what was to become modern Singapore on 6 February, securing the transfer of control of the island to the [[East India Company]]. With much pomp and ceremony, the official treaty was read aloud in languages representing all nations present, as well as the Malay and Chinese inhabitants.

Sultan Hussein Shah was paid 5,000 [[Spanish dollar]]s a year, while Temenggong Abdul Rahman received 3,000 a year, both massive sums at the time, roughly equivalent to [[British pound|£]]287,000 and £172,000 now.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blagden|first=C.O.|year=1921|editor-last=Makepeace|editor-first=Walter|title=One Hundred Years of Singapore: being some account of the capital of the straits from its foundation by Sir Stamford Raffles on the 6th February 1819 to the 6th February 1919|url=https://Archive.org/details/onehundredyearso01braduoft|publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]|location=London|pages=[https://Archive.org/details/onehundredyearso01braduoft/page/n37 10]|chapter=Historical: Singapore prior to 1819}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.NationalArchives.Gov.uk/currency-converter/|title=Currency converter: 1270–2017|website=NationalArchives.Gov.uk|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref><!--I mean we need an actual conversion rate-->

Farquhar was officially named the [[Resident of Singapore]], and Raffles was named as 'Agent to the Most Noble the Governor-General with the States of Rhio (Riau), Lingin (Lingga) and Johor'. Although ownership of the post was to be exclusively British, explicit orders were given to Farquhar to maintain free passage of ships through the [[Strait of Singapore]], and a small military presence was established alongside the trading post. After issuing orders to Farquhar and the remaining Europeans, Raffles left the next day, 7 February 1819.

===Achin, and the early conflict with the Dutch===
Raffles also planned to start a British presence in [[Acheh|Achin]], on the northern tip of [[Sumatra]]. As soon as he had departed, the Raja of Rhio (Riau) sent letters to the Dutch, disclaiming the deal, protesting innocence, and blaming British encroachment. Meanwhile, in [[Malacca]], the Dutch acted at once, commanding that no Malays could go to Singapore. Raffles's bold claim of Singapore created a curious geographic situation: although [[Penang]] was clearly closer in distance to Singapore, Raffles, in his capacity as Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, was nominally still in control. This undoubtedly irked the authorities in Penang, to the point where they refused to send any [[sepoy]]s to Singapore to complete the garrison.

Official Dutch complaints came before the end of the month, and Raffles attempted to appease the situation by instructing Farquhar to not interfere with the politics of surrounding islands. Despite numerous threats and serious considerations by the Dutch governor-general [[Godert van der Capellen|Van der Capellen]] in Java, they did not take any military action. The confused political situation in Johore and Rhio also created a certain uneasiness and instability for the two nations. [[Tengku Long]] was claimed to be a [[pretender]] to the throne, and, since the [[Order of succession|succession]] laws in the Malay sultanates were not clear cut, treaties signed between native rulers and the European powers always seemed to be on the verge of invalidation; especially if a sultan should be deposed by one of his siblings or other pretenders.

Nonetheless, amidst uncertainty and intrigue, Raffles landed in Achin on 14 March 1819, with begrudging help of Penang. Once again, it seems that multiple people were in power, but none wanted to formally deal with the British. The hostile atmosphere created allowed Raffles to cancel the only meeting he was able to arrange, with [[Panglima Polim]], a powerful divisional chief, fearing [[wikt:treachery|treachery]]. As the influential merchant [[John Palmer (merchant)|John Palmer]], Raffles, and fellow commissioner [[John Monckton Coombs]] of Penang sat offshore, awaiting a response, [[Calcutta]] debated whether to reinforce the port city. Evacuation plans were made, but the Dutch never acted, and ultimately Lord Hastings prompted Colonel Bannerman, the [[governor of Penang]], to send funds to bolster Singapore. Finally Raffles was capable of convincing his fellow commissioners to sign a treaty with [[Jauhar al-Alam Shah]], the ruler of Achin, which installed a [[Resident minister|British Resident]], as well as guaranteeing the exclusivity of bilateral trade.

By the time Raffles had returned to Singapore, on 31 May, much of the immediate crisis that the colony had caused in Penang and Calcutta had passed. By then, the initial five-hundred villagers had grown to become five-thousand merchants, soldiers, and administrators, packed onto the island. Raffles was determined to destroy the Dutch mercantile monopoly in the area, to replace it with a gateway for trade with China and Japan. The latter he had attempted but failed to reach an agreement with while governing Java.

===First year of Singapore===
While in Singapore, Raffles established schools and churches in the local languages. He allowed [[missionaries]] and local businesses to flourish. Certain colonial aspects remained: a European town was quickly built to [[Ethnic segregation|segregate]] the population, separated by a river; carriage roads were built, and [[cantonment]]s constructed for the soldiers. Otherwise, no other duties were imposed.

Confident that Farquhar would follow his instructions well, Raffles sailed for Bencoolen once again on 28 June.