•Bencoolen is a place in Sumatra
where Sir Stamford Raffles was appointed as Governor-General in 1817
by
East India Company.
•East
India Company received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600.
•Wealthy
merchants and aristocrats owned shares in the company.
•The
company is incorporated to do trade with East Indies / Indies which is
comprised of Southeast Asia. However, ended up having trading mainly with
India.
•The
company maintained private armies and assisted princely states in their
warfare. Eventually the company ended up taking control of small states and
rule them.
•After
1857 Indian Sepoy Mutiny, the British crown took control of governing India and
other states/provinces around Southeast Asia.
•Sir Stamford Raffles was sent on an
expedition by British India Company, to find a suitable place for the British
ships to take a break and fill fresh water on their way from far East to India
and other British ports.
•He found Singapore island in 1819
and by entering into a treaty with the sultan found a new settlement for
British trading and eventually which ended up under the control of the crown.
•Sir Stamford Raffles greatest
interests were, Botany and Zoology.
•At that
time, spices were as valuable as gold
among the
English, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
European nations fought for control over
the sources
and routes
in
the East.
•Raffles had noble ambitions for Singapore's
agricultural development, and had sent from Bencoolen spices like clove saplings and nutmeg seeds to develop plantations.
•He returned to Singapore in 1822, built house on top of Fort Canning and
established his first experimental garden, The Spice Garden at Fort Canning.
•The first spices at the garden were
– Clove, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.
•After Sir Stamford Raffles left
Singapore in 1824, never returned.
•He passed away at Highwood House in Mill Hill, north London in 1826 at the age of 44.
•Now, the garden at Fort Canning,
maintained in the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles is under National Parks Board
and has more different varieties of spice specimens from around Southeast Asia
than
the original.
Note: In the above list, I have chosen only some from the actual available on the ground. You may find other plants or trees or shrubs that are more interesting to you. Spice Garden at Fort Canning goes through regular upgrades and a possibility of change in the list of plants mentioned above. At the time of my posting, the list is updated.
