Olivia Mariamne Devenish

Olivia Mariamne Devenish (1771–1814), was the spouse of Thomas Stamford Raffles, vice governor of Java in 1811-1816. A memorial monument was erected to her memory in the botanical garden of Buitenzorg (Bogor).

The daughter of George Devenish, she was married in Madras in 1793 to Jacob Cassivelaun Fancourt (d. 1800), and in 1805 in London to Thomas Stamford Raffles. She was born in India but was raised in Ireland. It was commonly said that her second spouse was helped in his career through her relationship with his superior.

During the tenure of her spouse as governor on Java, she introduced many social reforms in her capacity as a so called first lady: she showed herself by the side of her husband at official occasions, such as visits at the native rulers, and held receptions for people of all sexes and ethnicity, which was new on Java, where white women had previously isolated themselves from the native population. She banned the use of Areca catechu for western women but also advocated the use of a sarong for them.

References

• http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/DVN/lemmata/data/Devenish

Persondata
Name	Devenish, Olivia Mariamne
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Short description
Date of birth	1771
Place of birth
Date of death	1814
Place of death