Visit to Kelantan and Southern Siam in 1888

Editor's Note

In 1888 C. F. Bozzolo, an official employed by the colonial administration in Perak, travelled from Upper Perak overland into Kelantan, and returned to Perak through some of the small Malay states that lay along the border between Kelantan and Perak, and Siam. His notes provide significant details about conditions in the area during the late nineteenth century, a period when borders had yet to be determined and the political situation was in flux. Local rulers maintained relations both with Bangkok and with the new British administration in Perak.

Bozzolo arrived in Kelantan during the brief reign of Sultan Ahmad (r. 1886-1890), the eldest son of the long-serving Sultan Muhammad II (r. 1837-1886). Kelantan was a tributary state, a pratesaraj, of Siam, one of a number of self-governing territories that regularly sent tribute payments to the Siamese government. Prior to his accession to the throne, Sultan Ahmad represented Siam in Kelantan, which may account in part for the cool reception Bozzolo received, and his somewhat strained interactions with the Sultan. The timing of his trip was also far from ideal in that he arrived during the fasting month.

Introduction

After 1870, British officials posted in the Malay states carried out exploratory journeys in the territories they administered, along with routine visits and trips recording route information such as details about key landmarks, altitude readings and various physical features. Most of these journeys have little historical significance, but the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the predecessor to JMBRAS, published some of the more important accounts.

The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 established a relationship with the Sultan of Perak with regard to the administration of the state. In 1886, an officer named Cerlo Ferdinando Bozzolo, a member of the British administrative service in Perak, visited Upper Perak and the state of Reman at the request of the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Frederick Weld. Perak's northern boundary was not clearly determined, and the border zone contained a number of small entities under Malay rulers who were to some degree autonomous. Bozzolo visited Kroh, Betong, Kapas and other locations claimed by Perak, following up on a visit to the area by the British Resident of Perak in 1883. Bozzolo had some familiarity with the area, where he had worked previously as an engineer. Upon completing his journey, he reported that residents had given him a warm welcome and seemed well disposed toward the British, so much so that some of them were contemplating migrating into Perak to escape oppressive tax collections by a local Chinese revenue farmer.¹

Two years later, between April and July 1888, Bozzolo made another trip, traveling overland into Kelantan and returning through Patani and what one official described as "the debatable territory on the North of Perak". The latter area included the states of Reman, Say, Legais, Jalor, and Jering, an area the same official characterized as "practically unknown".²

Bozzolo's report was rich with detail and the new Governor, Cecil Clementi Smith, had it printed for circulation among government officials, but it was not published for general distribution. In forwarding the report to London, the governor noted that Bozzolo was Italian and asked officials "not to criticize the language of the journal" since the writer "does not pretend to anything like a perfect knowledge of the English language."³

Bozzolo supplied six sketch maps of the places he visited, one of which (no. 5) is not in the archived files, and a drawing illustrating Malay mining methods. Two months after sending Bozzolo's report to London, the governor forwarded a "Route Plan of Time & Compass Survey" showing his movements in Kelantan.⁴ The maps have been redrawn for the present publication. There are inconsistencies between the spellings of place names on the maps and in the text, and the words have diacritics that are not used in modern Malay and have not been reproduced in the redrawn maps.

At the time of...