Raffles and the British Invasion of Java

On a hot August afternoon in 1811 an army of 10,000 British redcoats splashed ashore through the muddy shallows off Batavia (Jakarta) to conquer the Dutch colony of Java. They would remain there for five turbulent years. Told in full for the first time, this is the story of how the British attempted to bring the full force of European colonialism to a tropical island where Muslim sultans claimed descent from Hindu gods. It is also the story of the man who presided over that attempt - Thomas Stamford Raffles, destined for future fame as the founder of Singapore.