Buying Options
Kindle Price: | $12.50 |
includes tax, if applicable |

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Raffles and the British Invasion of Java Kindle Edition
Tim Hannigan (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMonsoon Books Pte. Ltd.
- Publication date1 November 2012
- File size1199 KB
Product description
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00A2SQU3G
- Publisher : Monsoon Books Pte. Ltd. (1 November 2012)
- Language : English
- File size : 1199 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 384 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 546,296 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 81 in History of Indonesia
- 228 in Southeast Asia History
- 499 in History of Southeast Asia
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Tim Hannigan is an author and travel journalist. He was born in Penzance in Cornwall in the far west of the United Kingdom and specialises in writing about Indonesia and the Indian Subcontinent.
Tim formerly worked as a professional chef, before studying journalism at the University of Gloucestershire. He also worked as an English teacher and a tour guide before becoming a full-time writer.
He is the author of three books of narrative history: Murder in the Hindu Kush (The History Press, 2011), which was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize, Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (Monsoon Books, 2012) which won the 2013 John Brooks Award, and A Brief History of Indonesia (Tuttle Publishing, 2015).
Customers who bought this item also bought
Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries

The book starts with the observation that the Javanese, in a general sense the people who live on the island of Java, lament the fact that the Dutch were the colonial power and not the British, but then goes on to describe the five years that the British were in charge from 1811 until 1816, and then ends the book with the same observation that the people who today live on the island of Java think that if they had been colonised by the British instead of the Dutch things would have been so much better in Indonesia. Without ever have been to Indonesia (yet) I have heard the same thing, and the excellent travelogue Indonesia etc: Exploring the improbable nation by Elisabeth Pisani makes pretty much the same point. Without really delving into the reason why, Tim Hannigan does in effect say that they are mistaken on two counts. Firstly, there are plenty of countries colonised by the British that have done badly, and, secondly, the British did colonise / run Indonesia. In fact, the British ran Indonesia twice. In 1811 - 1816 and arguably again in 1945 - 1946.
Yes, Tim Hannigan does appear to be highly critical of Thomas Stamford Raffles, and maybe that is no bad thing.
If I have a criticism of this particular book is that it does seem a bit thin, but at well over 350 pages long maybe to have delved more deeply into the situation before the British invasion, during the fives years the British were there, and what the consequences were in the short, medium, and long-term, other than a general observation that people drive on the left in Indonesia because of the five years the British were there, would have meant a multi-volume work out of keeping with Tim Hannigan's style? This is a book after the style of the excellent Brief History of Indonesia.
Anyway, I, personally, thoroughly enjoyed reading Raffles and the British Invasion of Java. Tim Hannigan says that he was in Java teaching English, and I think that he is a teacher. He appears to me to have a nose for knowing what many a reader is going to know about Java, in particular, and Indonesia, in general, viz sometimes little to nothing, and explains points that other authors assume people will know. This is, therefore, a good stand-alone book, and I don't think you need to have read around the topic to be able to follow what is being said, although it is highly likely that you'll be reading this book because you have an interest in Singapore and / or in Indonesia, and then in the overall mix of books on those two countries this one is definitely worth buying and reading ... maybe even at the top or near the top of the list. It is such an easy, entertaining, and generally informative read.


Back in Indonesia on holiday this summer I finally got round to reading this book. It is a fascinating read, written in an accessible style which keeps up your interest throughout. It not only deals with this less well-known period in Raffles' life but with many side characters and also with contemporary Javanese culture. For me there were many recognisable descriptions and several `aha! moments' where I discovered (or had confirmed) explanations for various Javanese quirks that still endure to today.
If you are merely looking for a highly-detailed account of British military manoeuvres in Java, you will probably be disappointed. If you are a committed Rafflesophile, you will likely baulk at the critical handling of the man and his dubious actions during this time. If however, like the author, you have a passion for this bewitching country and are looking for insight into this period, the people and the culture, you will thoroughly enjoy this read.

Having stayed in Asia for some time, I particularly enjoyed this book as a way to broaden cultural knowledge of the region.
Standing against the bulwark of Raffle's blindfolded supporters, this book is a much needed contradictory view on the "hero of Singapore",

This is an account of a short lived campaign of the British army at the height of its empire and according to Hannigan, Raffles comes out of it with an extremely tarnished reputation. Raffles is famous as the founder of Singapore and London zoo. But it seems he was an opportunist out to make a quick buck. He was involved with corruption, turned a blind eye to slavery and complicit in inciting the massacre of Dutch citizens. This is all the more shocking because of the high esteem in which his memory is held by many.
This book is an extremely good read and I highly recommend it.