The Naning War, 1831-1832: Colonial authority and Malay resistance in the early period of British expansion

Modern Asian Studies

Volumn 32, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 351-387

  Chew, Emrys ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 11744318761     PISSN: 0026749X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X9800287X     Document Type: Article

References (144)

1. L. A. Mills, 'British Malaya, 1824-67', Journal of the Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), 33, 3 (1960), p. 137; R. O. Winstedt (ed.), Malaya (London, 1923). P. 143; C. D. Cowan, Nineteenth-Century Malaya (London, 1961), p. 13.
2. L. A. Mills, 'British Malaya, 1824-67', Journal of the Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), 33, 3 (1960), p. 137; R. O. Winstedt (ed.), Malaya (London, 1923). P. 143; C. D. Cowan, Nineteenth-Century Malaya (London, 1961), p. 13.
3. L. A. Mills, 'British Malaya, 1824-67', Journal of the Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), 33, 3 (1960), p. 137; R. O. Winstedt (ed.), Malaya (London, 1923). P. 143; C. D. Cowan, Nineteenth-Century Malaya (London, 1961), p. 13.
4. N. Tarling (ed.), Cambridge History of Southeast Asia (CHSEA), 2 (Cambridge, 1992), pp. 14-19.
5. Seminal work by Khoo Kay Kim, e.g. The Western Malay States, 1850-1873 (London, 1972), and that of other historians of British Malaya warrants reconsideration in the light of the dynamics of expansion advanced in this article.
6. Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register (SCCR), 1 December 1831.
7. Straits Settlements Records (SSR), 169: 8 Aug. 1829.
8. J. Crawfurd, Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries (London, 1856), p. 290.
9. SCCR, 11 Aug. 1831.
10. See Kanya-Forstner, 'French Expansion in Africa: the mythical theory' in R. Owen and B. Sutcliffe (eds), Studies in the Theory of Imperialism (London, 1972), pp. 277-94.
11. SSR, A 33, 13 March 1827; SSR, O 3, 24 July 1828.
12. SSR, A 33, 7 March 1827; SSR, A 63: Resident Councillor minutes, 26 Feb. 1829.
13. SSR, A 57: Penang Council minutes, 3 Nov. 1828; SSR, I 32: Penang Council to Resident Councillor, Malacca, 1 Nov. 1828.
14. P. J. Begbie, The Malayan Peninsula (Madras, 1834; reprinted, Kuala Lumpur, 1967), PP. 157-8.
15. Ibid., p. 161.
16. Bengal Political Consultations (B.Pol.) 126/22: 17 Jan. 1831; B.Pol. 126/27: 2 April 1831.
17. SCCR, 11 Aug. 1831.
18. T. Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', Journal of the Indian Archipelago (JIA), new series, 1 (1856), p. 232.
19. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, pp. 138-42, 162-3, 167-8. During this period the activities of many such adventurer-types in the western archipelago grew more pervasive.
20. N. Tarling, 'British Policy in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago', JMBRAS, 30, 3 (1957), pp. 38-9; Bengal Secret and Political Consultations (B.Sec.Pol.) 362: 14 Oct. 1831, nos 22-5.
21. T. J. Newbold, Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, 1 (London, 1839; reprinted Kuala Lumpur, 1971), pp. 232-5.
22. C. M. Turnbull, The Straits Settlements, 1826-67 (Singapore, 1972), p. 271.20
23. J. R. Logan, 'Five Days in Naning', JIA, 3 (1849), pp. 278-87.
24. See C. A. Bayly, New Cambridge History of India, vol. 2.1: The Making of the British Empire and Indian Society (Cambridge, 1988); Imperial Meridian (London, 1989); and 'The British Military-Fiscal State and Indigenous Resistance' in L. Stone (ed.), An Imperial State at War (London, 1994). The last of these works explores the implications of John Brewer's thesis on Britain's 'Sinews of Power' for the periphery.
25. See C. A. Bayly, New Cambridge History of India, vol. 2.1: The Making of the British Empire and Indian Society (Cambridge, 1988); Imperial Meridian (London, 1989); and 'The British Military-Fiscal State and Indigenous Resistance' in L. Stone (ed.), An Imperial State at War (London, 1994). The last of these works explores the implications of John Brewer's thesis on Britain's 'Sinews of Power' for the periphery.
26. See C. A. Bayly, New Cambridge History of India, vol. 2.1: The Making of the British Empire and Indian Society (Cambridge, 1988); Imperial Meridian (London, 1989); and 'The British Military-Fiscal State and Indigenous Resistance' in L. Stone (ed.), An Imperial State at War (London, 1994). The last of these works explores the implications of John Brewer's thesis on Britain's 'Sinews of Power' for the periphery.
27. Bayly, Imperial Meridian, pp. 235-47.
28. R. Hyam, Britain's Imperial Century, 1815-1914 (London, 1993), pp. 97-133.
29. D. Gillard, The Struggle for Asia, 1828-1914 (London, 1977), pp. 26, 34, 43.
30. Raffles was one of the first empire-builders to promote a regenerative programme using Benthamite ideas; see J. Bastin, The Native Policies of Sir Stamford Raffles in Sumatra and Java (Oxford, 1957).
31. J. Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago, 3 (Edinburgh, 1820; reprinted London, 1967), pp. 1-28.
32. A case-in-point was Ceylon, already being seen as a model colony, where a careful commission of enquiry (1829-31) was undertaken by William Colebrooke and C. H. Cameron. The Colebrooke-Cameron proposals, elaborated in five reports (1831-32), stressed the importance of economic freedoms and education; cf. G. C. Mendis (ed.), The Colebrooke-Cameron Papers, 2 vols (Oxford, 1956).
33. V. Purcell, Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, 1967), pp. 69-70.
34. Cowan, Nineteenth-Century Malaya, pp. 11-12. Bunga mas: 'Flowers of Gold', but actually a tree adorned with gold and other precious ornaments sent regularly as a tribute from vassal states to the Thai court.
35. SSR, A 39: Governor-General to Penang Council, 23 July 1827; Turnbull, Straits Settlements, p. 266.
36. The Directors' letter, dated 2 June 1830, supported Fullerton's proposals in principle (Public Letters to Bengal, 1830-31, 14, 18). Across 2,000 miles separating the Straits from India, and a further 8,000 miles between India and London in a pre-Suez age, some ten months elapsed before the official go-ahead was given (B.Pol. 126/27; SSR, M6: Bengal to Singapore Resident, 2 April 1831).
37. The Wurtzburg Collection (Mrs Drake's Letters): Raffles to the duchess of Somerset, 21 Dec. 1824.
38. During this time Fullerton retired, the fourth presidency was abolished, and the Straits Settlements placed under a Resident at Singapore, Robert Ibbetson (SSR, M6, p. 12; Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', pp. 203-4).
39. Mills, 'British Malaya', p. 140; M. C. Sheppard, A Short History of Negri Sembilan (Singapore, 1965), p. 26.
40. Mills, 'British Malaya', p. 140; M. C. Sheppard, A Short History of Negri Sembilan (Singapore, 1965), p. 26.
41. F. J. Moorhead, History of Malaya, 2 (Kuala Lumpur, 1963), p. 156.
42. Board of Control - Board's Collections, part 4 (BoC-BC): F/4/1310 (52134/ 5): Public Letter to Bengal, 2 June 1830.
43. SCCR, 11 Nov. 1831.
44. B.Sec.Pol. 363: 25 Nov. 1831, nos 69-70.
45. A local fruit (Lancium domesticum) containing small, sweet pips.
46. C. O. Blagden, 'Malay Documents relating to the Naning War', JMBRAS, 3, 2 (1925), Y. F. Liaw (trans., 1994), nos 14 and 16: Letters from Garling to Dol Syed, 13 and 19 Oct. 1830.
47. C. O. Blagden, 'Malay Documents relating to the Naning War', JMBRAS, 3, 2 (1925), Y. F. Liaw (trans., 1994), nos 14 and 16: Letters from Garling to Dol Syed, 13 and 19 Oct. 1830.
48. Royal Commonwealth Society Papers: Assistant Resident's report, Malacca, 28 Jan. 1828.
49. SSR, 169, p. 77.
50. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
51. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
52. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
53. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
54. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
55. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
56. See Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, 1, pp. 649-52; 2, p. 348; 3, pp. 1144-5; 4, pp. 1302-3; 9, pp. 587-8; 12, pp. 1276-7; 13, pp. 34-98, 1180-1, 1242-7.
57. Blagden, 'Malay Documents', no. 2: Article g of the Treaty, 16 July 1801.
58. The Malacca Observer, 21 April 1829.
59. B.Pol. 126/4: 23 Oct. 1829.
60. SSR 169: see debate in Malacca Diary, pp. 30-2, 88-94, 249, 263, 271, 283, 311-12.
61. SSR, 166, Malacca Diary, pp. 148, 312; SSR, 167, Malacca Diary, p. 521; Boc-BC: F/4/1315 (52446).
62. SSR, 166, Malacca Diary, pp. 148, 312; SSR, 167, Malacca Diary, p. 521; Boc-BC: F/4/1315 (52446).
63. B.Sec.Pol. 362: 14 Oct. 1831: Excerpt from Ibbetson's proclamation, 15 July 1831.
64. B.Sec.Pol. 363: 25 Now. 1831: Ibbetson to George Swinton, Chief Secretary to the Bengal Government, 24 Sept. 1831.
65. Ibid.,: Metcalfe's minute, 5 Nov. 1831.
66. SSR, M6, Letter no. 148, paras 2-16; B.Sec.Pol. 363: 25 Nov. 1831, nos 74-7.
67. B.Sec.Pol. 366: 4June 1832: Swinton to Ibbetson, 31 May 1832.
68. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 50.
69. Logan, 'Five Days in Naning', p. 34.
70. J. Cave, Naning in Melaka (Petaling Jaya, 1989), pp. 10-12.
71. J. M. Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems of Western Malaya (revised edition, London, 1988), pp. 7-9.
72. Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', p. 195.
73. Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, The Hikayat Abdullah, A. H. Hill (trans. and ed.) (reprinted Kuala Lumpur, 1970), p. 261.
74. Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, p. xi.
75. A. C. Milner, Kerajaan (Tucson, 1982), pp. 113-14. Similar features have been observed elsewhere, leading one historian recently to describe pre-colonial Malay society as 'semi-feudal'; see B. K. Cheah, 'Feudalism in Pre-Colonial Malaya',Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 25, 2 (1994), p. 269. The debate is far from over, but this article attempts to understand Malay society on its own terms rather than those borrowed from the history of medieval Europe.
76. A. C. Milner, Kerajaan (Tucson, 1982), pp. 113-14. Similar features have been observed elsewhere, leading one historian recently to describe pre-colonial Malay society as 'semi-feudal'; see B. K. Cheah, 'Feudalism in Pre-Colonial Malaya',Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 25, 2 (1994), p. 269. The debate is far from over, but this article attempts to understand Malay society on its own terms rather than those borrowed from the history of medieval Europe.
77. P. E. de Josselin de Jong, 'The Dynastic Myth of Negri Sembilan', Bijdragen, 131, 2/3 (1975), pp. 277ff; M. G. Swift, Malay Peasant Society in Jelebu (London, 1965), pp. 9-12.
78. P. E. de Josselin de Jong, 'The Dynastic Myth of Negri Sembilan', Bijdragen, 131, 2/3 (1975), pp. 277ff; M. G. Swift, Malay Peasant Society in Jelebu (London, 1965), pp. 9-12.
79. Swift, Malay Peasant Society, p. 146.
80. Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 259.
81. Sheppard, Short History of Negri Sembilan, p. 25; Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', pp. 196-7.
82. Sheppard, Short History of Negri Sembilan, p. 25; Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', pp. 196-7.
83. Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 97-105.
84. M. G. Peletz, A Share of the Harvest (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1988), pp. 29, 39-40. Also cf. B. W. Andaya, To Live as Brothers (Honolulu, Hawaii, 1993), a recent, related study of kingship and kinship in Jambi and Palembang from the seventeenth to early nineteenth century, revealing the spectrum of reciprocity and rivalry in the 'forced fraternity' of Malay, Minangkabau, aboriginal (batin), and Javanese cultures of southeastern Sumatra.
85. M. G. Peletz, A Share of the Harvest (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1988), pp. 29, 39-40. Also cf. B. W. Andaya, To Live as Brothers (Honolulu, Hawaii, 1993), a recent, related study of kingship and kinship in Jambi and Palembang from the seventeenth to early nineteenth century, revealing the spectrum of reciprocity and rivalry in the 'forced fraternity' of Malay, Minangkabau, aboriginal (batin), and Javanese cultures of southeastern Sumatra.
86. B.Sec.Pol. 362: 14 Oct. 1831, nos 16-17.
87. B.Sec.Pol. 366: 4 June 1832, no. 22.
88. Blagden, 'Malay Documents', no. 32: Letter from Garling to the chiefs of Rembau, Sungei Ujong, Johol, and Muar, 29 May 1832.
89. B.Sec.Pol. 362: 14 Oct. 1831: Letters from Syed Sabban to Westerhout dated 19, 22 and 25 Aug. 1831.
90. Turnbull, Straits Settlements, p. 269.
91. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 134.
92. Cited in footnotes, Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 260; Newbold, British Settlements, 1, p. 222, but also see pp. 235, 238-40, and Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 9, 16, 38 for detailed evidence and the significance of adat perpatih.
93. Cited in footnotes, Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 260; Newbold, British Settlements, 1, p. 222, but also see pp. 235, 238-40, and Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 9, 16, 38 for detailed evidence and the significance of adat perpatih.
94. Cited in footnotes, Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 260; Newbold, British Settlements, 1, p. 222, but also see pp. 235, 238-40, and Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 9, 16, 38 for detailed evidence and the significance of adat perpatih.
95. Peletz, Share of the Harvest, pp. 88-90.
96. B.Sec.Pol. 366: 4 June 1832: Garling's letter to Colonel Herbert, 14 April 1832.
97. Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', pp. 230-1.
98. G. W. Earl, The Eastern Seas (London, 1837), p. 186; Winstedt (ed.), Malaya, pp. 106-7.
99. G. W. Earl, The Eastern Seas (London, 1837), p. 186; Winstedt (ed.), Malaya, pp. 106-7.
100. There were two archetypal Malay 'heros': the hero of Malacca's Golden Age, Hang Tuah, and the rebellious anti-hero, Hang Jebat. Cf. Chandra Muzaffar, Protector? (Penang, 1979), p. vii, 1, on the traditional 'Malay protector-protected relationship', and P. B. Carey, 'Waiting for the "Just King"', MAS, 20, 1 (1986), pp. 65, 131-5.
101. There were two archetypal Malay 'heros': the hero of Malacca's Golden Age, Hang Tuah, and the rebellious anti-hero, Hang Jebat. Cf. Chandra Muzaffar, Protector? (Penang, 1979), p. vii, 1, on the traditional 'Malay protector-protected relationship', and P. B. Carey, 'Waiting for the "Just King"', MAS, 20, 1 (1986), pp. 65, 131-5.
102. SCCR, 11 Aug. 1831.
103. Ileto, 'Religion and Anti-Colonial Movements' in CHSEA, 2, p. 230.
104. begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 150; Cave, Naning in Melaka, p. 154.
105. begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 150; Cave, Naning in Melaka, p. 154.
106. Bayly, 'Two Colonial Revolts' in C. A. Bayly and D. H. A. Kolff, Two Colonial Empires (Dordrecht, 1986), p. 112.
107. Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', p. 203.
108. SCCR, 1 Dec. 1831.
109. Newbold, British Settlements, 1, pp. 217-21, 229, 235; Begbie,Malayan Peninsula, pp. 150-1, 157-8.
110. Newbold, British Settlements, 1, pp. 217-21, 229, 235; Begbie,Malayan Peninsula, pp. 150-1, 157-8.
111. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, pp. 193, 202-3.
112. B.Sec.Pol. 366: 4 June 1832, no. 1.
113. Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 125-31.
114. L. K. Wong, The Malayan Tin Industry to 1914 (Tucson, 1965), pp. 18-28.
115. Blagden, 'Malay Documents', nos 14 and 15: Letter from Garling to Dol Syed, 13 Oct. 1830, and Dol Syed's undated reply.
116. B.Pol. 126/22; B.Pol. 126/27: 2 April 1831.
117. Malacca Observer, 30 June/14 July 1829; see BoC-BC: F/4/1271 (51004), for indication of the political turmoil caused by the leakage of information and its security implications.
118. Braddell, 'Notes on Naning', p. 204.
119. Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 259.
120. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, pp. 165, 182.
121. Logan, 'Five Days in Naning', p. 33. The poem, unfortunately, has not survived.
122. J. A. de Moor and H. L. Wesseling (eds), Imperialism and War (Leiden, 1989), P-7.
123. L. M. Crowell, 'Logistics in the Madras Army circa 1830', War & Society, 10, 2 (1992), pp. 1-4, 22-4.
124. Callwell, 1902, cited in de Moor and Wesseling (eds), Imperialism and War,p. 7.
125. Winstedt (ed.), Malaya, p. 25: 'Sumatras' are violent squalls of wind and rain from the west, typical of the Straits of Malacca.
126. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, pp. 220, 187-9.
127. BoC-BC: F/4/1334 (52858/9): Madras Mil. Dept., 1 Feb.-15 March 1832, nos 2, 4, 13. Newbold also noted that the climate of the interior was unfavourable to the long occupation of the country by Indian troops (British Settlements, 1, p. 197). During the earlier Anglo-Burmese campaign, the Company lost three-quarters of their men largely from disease. Only after the 1850s did quinine prophylaxis become more widely available in British military circles for treating malaria; see D. R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire (New York, 1981), pp. 20, 66-70.
128. BoC-BC: F/4/1334 (52858/9): Madras Mil. Dept., 1 Feb.-15 March 1832, nos 2, 4, 13. Newbold also noted that the climate of the interior was unfavourable to the long occupation of the country by Indian troops (British Settlements, 1, p. 197). During the earlier Anglo-Burmese campaign, the Company lost three-quarters of their men largely from disease. Only after the 1850s did quinine prophylaxis become more widely available in British military circles for treating malaria; see D. R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire (New York, 1981), pp. 20, 66-70.
129. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 234.
130. Winstedt, 'Negri Sembilan',JMBRAS, 12, 3 (1934), p. 67.
131. de Moor and Wesseling (eds), Imperialism and War, pp. 6, 65-6.
132. Hikayat Abdullah, Hill (trans. and ed.), p. 259.
133. B. W. Andaya and L. Y. Andaya, A History of Malaysia (London, 1982), p. 144; Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 120-2.
134. B. W. Andaya and L. Y. Andaya, A History of Malaysia (London, 1982), p. 144; Gullick, Indigenous Political Systems, pp. 120-2.
135. Cf. studies on indigenous warfare in Madagascar and Vietnam by Paillard and Fourniau in de Moor and Wesseling (eds), Imperialism and War, pp. 4, 72ff and 167ff.
136. SSR, U1, pp. 74-9; Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, pp. 162, 164.
137. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula, p. 179.
138. SSR, M6, Letter no. 152, para. 4.
139. Acve, Naning in Melaka, pp. 156-7.
140. Newbold, Bntish Settlements, 1, p. 233.
141. Winstedt, 'Negri Sembilan', pp. 67-9.
142. See K. H. Lee, The Sultanate of Aceh (Kuala Lumpur, 1995).
143. Andaya and Andaya, History of Malaysia, pp. 122-4.
144. Cf. Wilkinson, A Malay-English Dictionary, 2 vols (London, 1901; reprinted Kuala Lumpur, 1955).