Swettenham was a British colonial official in
British Malaya, who was famous as highly influential in shaping British policy and the structure of British administration in the
Malay Peninsula. In 1871 Swettenham was first sent to Singapore as a cadet in the civil service of the
Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca, and Penang Island). He learned the
Malay language and played a major role as British-Malay intermediary in the events surrounding British intervention in the peninsular Malay states in the 1870s. He was a member of the
Commission for the Pacification of Larut set up following the signing of the
Pangkor Treaty of 1874 and he served alongside
John Frederick Adolphus McNair, and Chinese
Kapitan Chung Keng Quee and Chin Seng Yam. The commission was successful in freeing many women taken as captives during the Larut Wars (1862–73), getting stockades dismantled and getting the
tin mining business going again. More than a decade later, in 1882, he was appointed Resident (adviser) to the Malay state of Selangor. During his time in office in Selangor, he successfully promoted the development of coffee and tobacco estates and helped boost tin earnings by constructing a railway from Kuala Lumpur (it was capital of Selangor at that time), to the port of Klang, which was later named
Port Swettenham in his honour. He acquired the title of Resident-General after he secured an agreement of federation from the states of
Perak,
Selangor,
Negri Sembilan, and
Pahang in 1895, when he was Resident of Perak state. In the
1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours he was appointed a Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) by Queen Victoria, and in October 1901, three years before his retirement, he was appointed
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the
Straits Settlements. Swettenham had long been critical of the influence of
Siam in the northern Malay states of
Kelantan and
Trengganu, which had traditionally recognised the suzerainty of Siam by sending a tribute of a
golden flower to the
King of Siam every three years. After his appointment as Governor of the Straits Settlements, he attempted to negotiate with Siam for greater British influence over the affairs of these states. Siam reluctantly agreed to appoint British advisors, but only on the condition that they were appointed by Bangkok, not by the
Foreign Office as he had hoped. However, the process had been initiated whereby these two states and eventually
Kedah would eventually accept British Residents. Swettenham was disappointed in his ultimate goal of bringing the southern Thai region of
Patani under British control. He was one of close to forty former
British Empire officials to oppose the
Malayan Union. == Writings ==