Taming the Jungle - The Men Who Made British Malaya

In this book, Pat Barr describes the history of the British in nineteenth-century Malaya, rounding out the stories of the past with an account of her own recent journeys in the country. She uses a wealth of fascinating contemporary material to describe the lives and times of some of the Victorians who went to administer, exploit and modernise the country. The careers of the leading personalities - Frank Swettenham, Hugh Low, William Maxwell and Hugh Clifford - were packed with interest and excitement, whatever the political and moral judgments later made of them. The author's scene shifts from the riverine jungle settlements of Perak and Pahang and the 'number of thatched hovels' that represented the foundation of Kuala Lumpur., to the later development of that city, and of the mines, railways, roads and rubber plantations that so drastically and rapidly changed the face of the land. It is an eventful, fast-moving story that vividly illustrates the drive of Victorian colonialism at its most effective and self assured....