Prior to establishing the British trading settlement on Singapore in 1819, Raffles was Lieutenant Governor of Java from 1811 to 1816. After his term in Java, Raffles returned to England and published his book, the two volume The History of Java in 1817. Upon leaving England for Bencoolen, Raffles tasked his cousin Elton Hammond to publish a second edition of the book. Hammond committed suicide in 1819 and left Raffles’ papers in disarray. The only printed account of Hammond is found in this published diary of Henry Crabb Robinson.
