James W.W. Birch
| James Wheeler Woodford Birch | |
|---|---|
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| 1st British Resident of Perak | |
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In office 4 November 1874 – 2 November 1875 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Frank A. Swettenham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 April 1826 |
| Died | 2 November 1875 (aged 49) Pasir Salak, British Malaya |
| Religion | Christian |
James Wheeler Woodford Birch, commonly known as J. W. W. Birch (3 April 1826 – 2 November 1875) was the first British Resident in Perak, Malaysia. He was appointed to the post on 4 November 1874 as the government custodian to the Sultan of Perak following the signing of the famous Pangkor Treaty on 20 January 1874, which established Perak as a British protectorate state. He was the Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements between 1870 and 1874.
Birch was killed on 2 November 1875 by followers of a local Malay chief, Dato Maharajalela, including Seputum, who speared him to death while he was in the bath-house of his boat, SS Dragon, moored on the Perak river-bank below the Maharajela's house, in Pasir Salak, near today's Teluk Intan (Teluk Anson). Birch was assassinated because of the disrespect he showed to local customs and traditions, and conflict with local Malay chiefs. Birch was arrogant and disrespectful of local customs and even of the "pretender" Sultan Abdullah who soon tired of Birch and conspired with Sultan Ismail that Ismail should not surrender the royal regalia to him, Abdullah, or to the British, so that he could not be installed to the benefit of Birch and the British.
Richard O. Winstead in his "A History of Malaya" on page 226 published in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, reprinted in 1986, wrote that a Malay deputation entreated with Governor-General Andrew Clarke in Singapore "to prevent the Resident from interfering with religion and custom, from acting without consulting Sultan and chiefs, and from depriving them of their property, namely fugitive slaves and feudal dues." Clarke had already observed on 25 March 1875 that, "I am very much annoyed with Birch and the heads-over-heels way in which he does things; he and I will come to sorrow yet, if he does not mind." On 21 July 1875 Abdullah the Pretender Sultan, in despair, called a meeting of chiefs where after a talk of poisoning Birch accepted the Maharajalela's offer to stab Birch to death.
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