Stamford Raffles

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles FRS FRAS (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British colonial official and the founder of modern Singapore in 1819. Raffles also played a role in further establishing the British Empire's reach in East and Southeast Asia. The signing of the Treaty of Singapore on 6 February 1819 is officially recognised as the founding of modern-day Singapore. The Treaty allowed the British East India Company to open up a trading post in Singapore, marking the beginning of a British settlement. When Major-General William Farquhar, the British Resident of Malacca, had been attempting to negotiate commercial treaties with the local chiefs of the Riau Archipelago, especially before Raffles' arrival. Farquhar was compelled to sign the treaty not with the official head of the sultanate, but rather, the Raja Muda (Regent or Crown Prince) of Riau. Singapore was named as the name Lion City. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 finally settled the score in the East Indies. The British gained dominance in the north, while the entirety of Sumatra became Dutch. The Malay Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent were both free of Dutch interference. Raffles finally returned to England on 22 August 1824, over a year after he left Singapore. His longest tenure in Singapore was only eight months, but he was considered the founder of Singapore. After his death in 1826, the hotel was named after him in 1887.