Civilizing the people of Southeast Asia: Sir Stamford Raffles’ town plan for Singapore, 1819–23

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded the city of Singapore as a trading centre for the British East India Company. His achievement and the events surrounding the city's origins are well known to historians. Thus far, however, no one has analysed the social theories which motivated Raffles as he laid out the town's physical plan, created kampongs or villages for the various non‐European groups, established a botanical gardens and a college, and wrote a constitution for the colony. This article explores his ideas regarding the hierarchical structure of society, his economic theories regarding free trade, and his view of history.

Raffles was no ordinary colonizer seeking only to make a profit. Rather he attempted to use the natives’ history to persuade them of the value of Western ideas regarding democracy, free trade, and the administration of justice. In doing so he hoped to break the cyclical pattern of history to achieve lasting progress. Raffles’ goal in the establishment of Singapore was to uplift the natives morally and materially, ultimately to civilize them.