John Crawfurd
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The Honourable John Crawfurd |
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| 2nd Resident of Singapore | |
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In office 27 May 1823 – 15 August 1826 |
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| Monarch | George IV (1820–1830) |
| Preceded by | Major-Gen. William Farquhar |
| Succeeded by | Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 August 1783 Islay, Argyll, Scotland |
| Died | 11 May 1868 (aged 84) South Kensington, London, England |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Profession | Colonial Administrator |
John Crawfurd FRS (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a Scottish physician, colonial administrator and diplomat, and author. He is now best known for his work on Asian languages, his History of the Indian Archipelago, and his role in founding Singapore as the last British Resident of Singapore; the position of Resident was replaced by the Governor of the Straits Settlements.
He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of Samuel Campbell, a physician, and Margaret Campbell; and was educated at the school in Bowmore. He followed his father's footsteps in the study of medicine and completed his medical course at the University of Edinburgh in 1803, at the age of 20.
Crawfurd joined the East India Company, as a Company surgeon, and was posted to India's Northwestern Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), working in the area around Delhi and Agra from 1803–1808. He saw service in the campaigns of Baron Lake.
Crawfurd was sent in 1808 to Penang, where he applied himself to the study of the Malay language and culture. In Penang he met Stamford Raffles for the first time.
In 1811, Crawfurd accompanied Raffles on Lord Minto's Java Invasion, which overcame the Dutch. Raffles was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Java by Minto during the 45-day operation, and Crawfurd was appointed the post of Resident Governor at the Court of Yogyakarta in November 1811. There he took a firm line against Sultan Hamengkubuwana II. The Sultan was encouraged by Pakubuwono IV of Surakarta to assume he had support in resisting the British; who sided with his opponents his son the Crown Prince and Pangeran Natsukusuma. The Sultan's palace, the Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, was besieged and taken by British-led forces in June 1812.
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