refer to "The Unchanging East," it is borne in upon one that
in the large group of islands comprised in the Philippine and Malay
Archipelagoes, from Luzon in the north to Java in the south, from Samar
in the east to Sumatra in the west, centuries of western contact has
left but a slight impress upon the characters of the people. Changes
there are, undoubtedly. Modern civilisation has advanced like a
resistless wave and gradually engulfed an older civilisation, but here
in Java one feels that the change has not been so decisive; and railways
and canals and cultivation notwithstanding, the difference in general
advancement between the Javanese and the Japanese is most marked, and
even the Chinese, conservative though they are in most ways, have more
character and look more hopeful soil for the reception and development
of western ideas.

A solid foundation for the trip to Java may be laid by perusing Sir
Stamford Raffles' history, the second edition of which, published in
1830, will be found in Raffles Library. It covers the whole period from
the time the Portuguese arrived in the Farther East in 1510 to the
British occupation. Making Malacca his headquarters, Albuquerque sent
various expeditions to the surrounding islands, and Antonio de Abrew was
his emissary to Java and the Moluccas. The Dutch appeared in 1595,
obtaining their first footing in the East Indies at Bantam, the English
East India Company establishing a factory at the same place in 1602.

Of the capture of Java by the British troops brief details have already
been given.

An interesting account of "The Conquest of Java" is given by Captain
William Thorn, a Dragoon officer, who served on the staff of one of the
brigadiers. It was written in 1815 while he was on his way back to
England, and is so plentifully illustrated with field maps as to add
interest to one's visit to Batavia and Buitenzorg and the seaports of
Samarang and Sourabaya.

We are indebted to Dr. Hanitsch, the Curator, for the following list of
books on Java in Raffles Library:--

The Dutch in Java; 1904, by Clive Day.

Java, Facts and Fancies; 1905, by Augusta de Wit.

Facts and Fancies about Java; 1908, by Augusta de Wit.

Life in Java, 2 vols; 1864, by W. B. d'Almeida.

Voyage Round the World; 1870, by Marquis de Beauvoir.

With the Dutch in the East; 1897, by W. Cool.

Geschiedenis der Nederlanders of Java; 1887, by M. L. Deventer.

From Jungle