Title
Letter from Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
Year/Period
12 January 1823
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Dimension
Object size: H31.3 x W23.6 x D1.3cm
Accession No.
2005-01281-001
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Ms Eva Lee Yee Wai
This rare letter of Raffles’, probably one of the first letters he wrote in his official residence on Government Hill (present-day Fort Canning) in January 1823, was addressed to his cousin in England, the Reverend Dr Thomas Raffles. It provides a vivid impression of Raffles’ strong optimism about the future of Singapore as a great emporium. He also mentions his plan for what would later become Raffles Institution. Yet he sounds physically exhausted, looking forward to leaving Singapore by the end of the year to retire in England.
![The History of Java, first edition [two volumes], Thomas Stamford Raffles, London, 1817](https://www.roots.gov.sg/api/media/6972aac8-d668-488a-88b7-56301f9f392a/00-cultural-connections.jpg)
