This is a translation of The Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach's account of the British conquest of t he Dutch island of Java in 1811.

In 1811, an army of 10,000 British redcoats splashed ashore through the muddy shallows off Batavia (now Jakarta) to conquer the Dutch colony of Java. They would remain there for five turbulent years. Drawing on both British and Javanese archival sources, this narrative history-cum-biography explores the bloody battles and furious controversies that marked British rule in Java, and reveals the future founder of Singapore, Thomas Stamford Raffles in a shocking new light.

Originally published in 1815, Major William Thorn's The Conquest of Java describes the military and naval elements of the British expeditionary force to Java in 1811. It was a time of unrest in Europe. Napoleon was at the height of his power and had taken control of Holland and its colonies in Asia. In August 1810, Britain's Lord Minto, Governor General of India, was ordered by the English East India Company to expel "the enemy" from the Island of Java. On August 4, 1811 a fleet of 100 British ships, carrying 12,000 soldiers, landing in the Bay of Batavia. Among the landing party was the ambitious young company employee from Penang who originally masterminded the plan to take Java, and become Lieutenant–Governor of the island at the tender age of 30. This was none other than Thomas Stamford Raffles who, eight years later, would found Singapore. The Conquest of Java provides a unique and scrupulously detailed account of the British military campaign to wrest control of the island. Written by an officer who took part, Major William Thorn, and lavishly illustrated with 35 color plates, this historically important book provides a wealth of statistical and anecdotal information about Java and its environs.

This is the first and most important book about the Island of Java and is essential reading for anyone interested in Javanese history and culture. Originally published in 1811, Island of Java was the first popular work in English to describe what for many centuries was the most important island in the vast Indonesian archipelago. Like most works published during this time, Island of Java recounts everything that was known at the time about the island and its inhabitants. Detailed descriptions are given of Java's ecology, history and culture, including methods of tribute and tazation used by the Dutch colonists and the design of the fortifications surrounding Batavia. Also described are such things as the dining habits of the Dutch administrators, the execution of thirteen of the ruler's concubines in Surakarta, and the notorious Upas or "Poison Tree of Java", believed to exude a foul odor which routinely annihilated all living things for miles around. This reprint is enhanced by a scholarly Introduction by Dr. John Bastin, former Reader at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a world authority on nineteenth century Java.

Presents a new approach to heritage formation in Asia, conveying the power of the material remains of the past.