The American author William Eleroy Curtis (1850-1911) was a very productive writer with an output of over 30 books and countless articles. He was working as a traveling correspondent for two newspapers based in Chicago, namely The Inter-Ocean from 1873 to 1886, and the Record Herald from 1887 to his death in 1911. Curtis was widely acknowledged as a prolific expert especially for South America. His experience and interest in Latin America even led to appointments as a Secretary of the South American Commission by President Chester A. Arthur, with the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, in 1884, Director of the Bureau of the American Republics in 1890, and Chief of the Latin American Department of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
In 1905, he published a book entitled "Egypt, Burma, British Malaysia" of which this e-book reprints the chapter that deals with the latter. In the original edition, these are the pages 349-372. Indeed, the section about "British Malaysia" continues until page 386, with the last 14 pages dealing with Hong Kong which is not part of this e-book, though, for obvious (geographical) reasons.
As it is the case with so many of his contemporary writers, the view given on Malaysia and its peoples is that of a colonialist—patronizing and sometimes even impertinent. On the other hand, Curtis is objectively enough to praise the peacefulness of the inhabitants—in stark contrast to his fellow Americans: "There are more homicides in Chicago every week than there have been in Sarawak for ten years. Indeed, the record of murders throughout the entire East is much below that of Chicago or New York, while during 1903 more human lives have been taken by violence in the city of Washington, which to us represents the highest degree of civilization ever reached by man, than in all the East Indian colonies. This is not flattering to the Caucasian race, but it is a fact that the teachers of Christianity should reflect upon. We send out missionaries to teach heathen races the Gospel of Peace and Love and Brotherly Kindness, but fail to furnish examples of our ideals."
All in all, the book provides a well-composed historical perspective of British Malaysia that contains loads of information, especially when it comes to figures. And, it sometimes surprises the reader, either with facts that he might not have expected—for instance, when he learns that the free port of Singapore in those days earned half of its revenue through tax on opium, of all the goods in the world—or with predictions that later were to be proved absolutely wrong, such as this quotation: "English officials declare that the germ of self-government does not exist in the tropical races; that the atmosphere is not conducive to the development of character in the native, and that he will never be any better than he is now." But then again, this was half a century before Malaysia became independent and later on one of the most successful economies in the world.
In 1905, he published a book entitled "Egypt, Burma, British Malaysia" of which this e-book reprints the chapter that deals with the latter. In the original edition, these are the pages 349-372. Indeed, the section about "British Malaysia" continues until page 386, with the last 14 pages dealing with Hong Kong which is not part of this e-book, though, for obvious (geographical) reasons.
As it is the case with so many of his contemporary writers, the view given on Malaysia and its peoples is that of a colonialist—patronizing and sometimes even impertinent. On the other hand, Curtis is objectively enough to praise the peacefulness of the inhabitants—in stark contrast to his fellow Americans: "There are more homicides in Chicago every week than there have been in Sarawak for ten years. Indeed, the record of murders throughout the entire East is much below that of Chicago or New York, while during 1903 more human lives have been taken by violence in the city of Washington, which to us represents the highest degree of civilization ever reached by man, than in all the East Indian colonies. This is not flattering to the Caucasian race, but it is a fact that the teachers of Christianity should reflect upon. We send out missionaries to teach heathen races the Gospel of Peace and Love and Brotherly Kindness, but fail to furnish examples of our ideals."
All in all, the book provides a well-composed historical perspective of British Malaysia that contains loads of information, especially when it comes to figures. And, it sometimes surprises the reader, either with facts that he might not have expected—for instance, when he learns that the free port of Singapore in those days earned half of its revenue through tax on opium, of all the goods in the world—or with predictions that later were to be proved absolutely wrong, such as this quotation: "English officials declare that the germ of self-government does not exist in the tropical races; that the atmosphere is not conducive to the development of character in the native, and that he will never be any better than he is now." But then again, this was half a century before Malaysia became independent and later on one of the most successful economies in the world.
