Between truth and fiction: the story by Abdullah Munshi about the British mission to Java (January–May 1811)

Abstract

The article deals with one of the episodes regarding the British preparation measurements for the Java invasion in 1811. It is mentionedin extensoin the memoirs of the Malay writer Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munshi (1796/7–1854). The author mentions a mission dispatched to Java by the British colonial administrator T. S. Raffles. He masterminded the invasion in order to gain support from the local rulers. The keypoint of this episode is the exposure of the alleged traitor the Crown Prince of the Siak Principality, Tengku Pangeran Sukma Dilaga (aka Sayyid Zain) who happened to be the Head of the mission. The story about the betrayal originated from the Javanese prince, the participant in the mission of Sayyid Zain. The story was considered to be true and therefore included into the memoirs by their author Abdullah ibn Abdulkadir Munshi. The author of the article offers an analysis of the documentary evidences and on their basis argues the authenticity of the original description by Sayyid Zain and discusses various reasons, which caused its oigin.