Swettenham, Sir Frank

Swettenham, Sir Frank

▪ British colonial official
born March 28, 1850, Belper, Derbyshire, Eng.
died June 11, 1946, London

      British colonial official in Malaya who was highly influential in shaping British policy and the structure of British administration in the Malay Peninsula.

      In 1871 Swettenham was sent to Singapore as a cadet in the civil service of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca, and Penang Island). He learned the Malay language and played a major role as British-Malay intermediary in the events surrounding British intervention in the peninsular Malay states in the 1870s. In 1882 he was appointed resident (adviser) to the Malay state of Selangor. He successfully promoted the development of coffee and tobacco estates in the state and helped boost tin earnings by constructing a railway from Kuala Lumpur, capital of Selangor, to the port of Klang. Subsequently he served as resident of Perak state and in 1895 secured an agreement of federation from the states of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang; he headed the federation, with the title of resident-general. In 1897 he was knighted, and in 1901, three years before retiring, he was made high commissioner for the Malay states and governor of the Straits Settlements.

      It was largely through Swettenham's efforts that the British Foreign Office reversed its policy of accepting Siamese control of the northern tier of Malay states. His portrayal of their maladministration under native rulers and his warnings of possible intervention by rival European powers led to British penetration of those states in the early 1900s.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sir Frank — Athelstane Swettenham, lexicographer of Malaya and its one time colonial administrator …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • Frank Swettenham — Infobox Politician name = Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham honorific suffix = GCMG CH caption = Oil painting of Swettenham by John Singer Sargent birth date = birth date|1850|3|28|df=y birth place = Belper, Derbyshire, England spouse = Sydney… …   Wikipedia

  • Clifford, Sir Hugh Charles — ▪ British colonial governor and writer born March 5, 1866, London died Dec. 18, 1941, Roehampton, London       British colonial official and governor, especially associated with Malaya, novelist, and essayist.       A descendant of Clifford of… …   Universalium

  • Liste der britischen Residenten in Perak — Dies ist eine Liste der Britischen Residenten des Malaiischen Staates von Perak, Britisch Malaysia.[1] Das Amt des Residenten war ein Verwaltungsposten. Nach den Konditionen des Vertrags von Pangkor, war der Resident ein Berater seiner Hoheit des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Malaysia — /meuh lay zheuh, sheuh/, n. 1. a constitutional monarchy in SE Asia: a federation, comprising the former British territories of Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak: member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 20,376,235; 126,310 sq. mi. (327,143 sq. km). Cap …   Universalium

  • Kuala Lumpur — /kwah leuh loom poor / a city in and the capital of Malaysia, in the SW Malay Peninsula. 937,875. * * * City (pop., 2000 prelim.: 1,297,526), capital of Malaysia. Founded as a tin mining camp in 1857, it was made capital of the Federated Malay… …   Universalium

  • Edward Tyas Cook — Sir Edward Tyas Cook (12 May 1857 – 30 September 1919), was an English journalist, biographer, and man of letters. He was born at Brighton and died at South Stoke, Goring.He was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford. Whilst at Oxford he… …   Wikipedia

  • Federated Malay States — This article is not to be confused with the Unfederated Malay States. Federated Malay States نڬري٢ ملايو برسكوتو Negeri negeri Melayu Bersekutu Protectorate of the United Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Chung Keng Quee — 鄭景貴 Traditional Chinese 鄭 …   Wikipedia

  • Carcosa Seri Negara — is a luxury hotel on two adjacent hills inside the Lake Gardens park in Kuala Lumpur. It is owned by the Malaysian Government. The hotel includes two colonial mansions, one named Carcosa, the other Seri Negara. Carcosa The Carcosa mansion was… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”