Lithographic print depicting cockfighting in Java

Cockfights were a customary practice in the Malay Archipelago, and it was common to gamble on the outcome of such fights. In the early 1820s, British Resident William Farquhar allowed cockfighting to take place in Singapore even though his superior, Sir Stamford Raffles, had strictly prohibited it. This was one example of the conflicting views between Farquhar and Raffles over the morality of various customary practices. Such practices were also a point of disagreement between Farquhar’s successor as Resident, Dr. John Crawfurd, and the local Malay chiefs.

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