Changes

Although Raffles has gone down in history as the founder of Singapore his roots were far from grand. He had no advantages apart from his own drive and determination and his professional life began with a lowly clerkship with the East india India Company, then as large and ungainly as many a government. When he went abroad on behalf of the Company he quickly learned the merits of doing something and asking permission afterwards, not least because of the time taken to contact London and then receive a reply. Even if all went well this could take the best part of a year - by which time the original question could well be academic.

After various minor postings in South East Asia , his first major responsibility was as Governor of Java. Victoria Glendinning has a talent for bringing to life the disease-ridden settings and climate in which Raffles would live most of his life. This is particularly true of Singapore where the phrase 'wretchedly unpromising' probably shows the island in its best light. It was another occasion when Raffles acted first and sought permission afterwards although here it was in the knowledge that the East India Company would not want the responsibility - governing cost money then as now - and it's unlikely that they would have had the vision to see what Singapore would become.

Raffles returned to the UK and concentrated on his other great interests - botany and zoology - and founded London Zoo in 1826, the year of his death at the age of forty -four. It's salutary to consider how much he packed into such a short life.