Leyden's Death in Raffles' Arms

COMPARED to the other grand-looking tombstones lining up at Museum Taman Prasasti, Central Jakarta, the tomb of John Casper Leyden looks rather humble. His last resting place is only a small, knee-length, square structure made from granite that evidently is less remarkable and elegant than the tomb to its left: the last home of Olivia Mariamne, the first wife of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Governor of Java (1811-1816) and the founder of Singapore.

A lyrical verse was inscribed to Leyden’ tomb, written as a tribute from Walter Scott, a Scottish acclaimed poet.

Scenes sung by him who sings no more

His bright and brief career is o'er

And mute his tuneful strains

Quench'd is his harp of varied lore

That loved the light of song to pour

A distant and a deadly shore

Has Leyden's cold remains.

Leyden was definitely not an ordinary man. Museum Taman Prasasti (literally means Museum of Memorial Stone Park), which was located at the Kerkhoflaan in the old days, is a graveyard for the elites of the colonial era. "Not all Europeans can be buried there, only the officials and the nobles. It's basically San Diego Hill," explained Lilie Suratminto, Dutch Studies lecturer at University of Indonesia to Historia, referring to the memorial park located in Karawang, West Java that offers luxurious services and facilities to the Jakartan elite.

Leyden was a Scottish linguist whose prowess brought him to Batavia to assist the British conquest of Java more than two centuries ago. His tomb being adjacent to Olivia's proves Leyden's closeness with Raffles and his dear wife.

A Shepherd's Son

Leyden was born to a shepherd father on 8 September 1775 in Denholm, a village on the Scottish border. From a young age, Leyden was very keen with books, having memorized all stories in the Bible, both the Old and New Testament. His reading extended from history to literature.

Leyden himself studied Divinity at Edinburgh University despite theology being his least favorite subject among many topics that interested him. Although he successfully obtained a license to be a preacher from the pastorate of St. Andrews, he chose to indulge in the field of medicine and literature, with a growing interest in becoming a naturalist. His acquaintanceship with several poets and philologists also encouraged Leyden to study Eastern languages.

One of those poets Leyden made friends with was Walter Scott, the famous Scottish poet with whom Leyden collaborated and produced the anthology Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border in 1802. "Leyden's verse is monumentally awful–all leafy bowers and fiery breasts–but it was the kind of stuff that went down well at the turn of the 19th century," Tim Hannigan wrote in Raffles and the British Invasion of Java.

It was in conversation with John Leyden that Raffles first came to think of Java as 'the Land of Promise'.

A chance for Leyden to explore the Eastern territory came up. In early 1803, Leyden got a job as a doctor and head of the hospital in Madras, India. He spent his free time satiating his interest in botany, ethnography, and linguistics. However, due to illness, Leyden decided to go to Penang in October 1805 to improve his health. There he met Raffles, then the assistant secretary to the governor of Penang, and Raffles' wife Olivia.

Leyden stayed in Raffles' house in Runnymede, the residence of the British officials, where he was treated and nursed by Olivia. Leyden’s admiration for Olivia ignited his passion as a poet, and he later produced verses to express his praise to her. This attraction to Olivia never ceased even after Leyden returned to India.

With Raffles, Leyden often discussed Eastern culture. "He (Raffles) doted on him, he sat at his feet and heard tales of eastern philosophy and of Asian literary traditions every bit as convoluted and complex as the Greek," Hannigan wrote. "It was in conversation with John Leyden that Raffles first came to think of Java as 'the Land of Promise', the place where all his own dreams of glory might eventually be realised."

Leyden didn't spend considerable time in Penang. In 1806, after his health was restored, he went back to India while still maintaining close friendship with Raffles and his wife through letters.

The Conquest of Java

Leyden's career skyrocketed upon his arrival in Calcutta, India. His skill as a linguist was recognized after he successfully obtained a degree as professor of Hindustani from the University of Calcutta in 1806. His mastery of Asian culture wasn't limited to Hindustan as he was also proficient in Malay Studies, and it cemented his position as a respected member of the Asiatic society.

Leyden's finesse amused Lord Minto, governor-general of British India, with whom Leyden established a friendship and patronage. Later, Leyden was consecutively appointed to hold several positions: judge in Parganas, Calcutta; commissioner who conducted research at the new British possession in Mysore; and commissioner in the Court of Requests, for which Leyden had to be fluent in several Eastern languages.

All those duties made Leyden extremely busy. "But he was now in good health, and he devoted every interval of business to the laborious study of the languages and literature of the East," wrote James Morton in The Poetical Remains of The Late dr. John Leyden.

Through Leyden's recommendation, Raffles visited Lord Minto. After the meeting, Raffles was assigned to lead the invasion of Java.

In 1810, Leyden was being stationed by Lord Minto as an Assay Master in the Mint, Calcutta, during which he managed to complete his translations of manuscripts from Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. Besides that, he also wrote books about philology and grammar, including Malay. Some of his translation works are Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber, Emperor of Hindustan and Malay Annals.

In the same year, through Leyden's recommendation, Raffles came to Calcutta to visit Lord Minto. After the meeting, Raffles was assigned to lead the invasion of Java. The Java conquest had become a subject of discussion for quite some time, especially after the British successfully clenched the Maluku Islands (the Moluccas) as the hub of spices.

Raffles subsequently departed for Malacca to gather information about Java, but his disfluency in Malay proved to be a problem. In the early 1811, Raffles wrote a letter to Leyden about his difficulty in reading manuscripts and letters in Javanese.

Leyden, Lord Minto and some other troops came to help Raffles. From Calcutta, they sailed to Madras where they gathered more troops before continuing their voyage.

"They touched at Penang, Malacca, and other places on their route, where he found laborious employment in translating the letters which had arrived from the Rajahs of different nations, in the neighborhood, and in dictating proclamations to send forward in the Malay, Javanese, Bugis, and Bali languages," Morton wrote.

The Untimely Death

The British troops landed in Cilincing, six miles from Batavia, on 4 August 1811. They quickly controlled every post in Ancol and later in Tanjung Priok. After facing a little resistance, they seized Meester Cornelis Fort on 27 August 1811, making the success of the Java conquest almost certain.

Unfortunately, the eventual glory was missed by Leyden. Due to his great passion and curiosity, Leyden was very eager to explore Batavia. One day, he took a walk around Cilincing and found a closed building he thought was storing orientalist texts. Leyden entered the building. "Upon leaving this place he was suddenly affected with shivering and sickness, the first symptoms of a mortal fever," Hannigan wrote.

After being sick for three days, on 28 August 1811, Leyden passed away in the arms of his best friend, Raffles. Raffles and Leyden's plan to study about life in Java was cut short. "He had certainly expected to have Leyden on hand as a creative partner for all the grand projects (in Java) to come," wrote Hannigan.

Perhaps there was a fear in Raffles that his position might be taken by Leyden considering Leyden's closeness to Lord Minto.

Lord Minto was one of those that delivered a tribute speech at Leyden's funeral. Walter Scott, Leyden’s poet friend, wrote a special poem for him titled The Lord of Isles. According to Hannigan, the poem was a lengthy epic on the subject of Robert the Bruce, a soldier who led the liberation of Scotland from England who was later proclaimed as a king. Leyden's name appears on the eleventh verse of the fourth canto; the same verse that was inscribed into Leyden's tomb in Museum Taman Prasasti, Central Jakarta.

The British troops were unstoppable. After repelling the attack as much as he could, General Governor of the Dutch East Indies Jan Willem Janssens surrendered to the British on 18 September 1811. The French regime in Java ultimately ended for good, and Raffles was  appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Java.

However, Lilie Suratminto is skeptical about Leyden's cause of death which was said to be malaria. "Malaria usually takes a long time, around two or three weeks," said Lilie.

Despite the absence of strong proof, Lilie’s suspicion is that Leyden was killed by Raffles. He argued that Raffles was an ambitious man, and Leyden's link with Lord Minto was disadvantageous for Raffles. "Perhaps there was a fear in Raffles that his position might be taken by Leyden considering Leyden's closeness with Lord Minto," said Lilie. However, Lilie didn't mention the close relationship between Leyden and Olivia as the other motif.

What's for sure is that Raffles didn't disregard Leyden's great influence on him. In the introduction of his book History of Java which was written when he was the ruler of Java, Raffles wrote: "There was one (JC Leyden), who accompanied the expedition to Batavia in 1811, and expired in my arms a few days after the landing of the troops, dear to me in private friendship and esteem, who, had he lived, was of all men best calculated to have supplied those deficiencies which will be apparent in the very imperfect work now presented to the Public."

As another form of respect, Raffles didn't let Leyden be alone in Taman Prasasti. He buried his wife Olivia next to Leyden, which was a request coming from Olivia herself before her death.

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