Hugh Low

Infobox President
name =Hugh Low
honorific-suffix =
CMG, KCMG, GCMG


image_size =60px
caption =Hugh Low
order =4th British Resident of Perak
term_start =1877
term_end =1889
predecessor =James G. Davidson
successor =Frank A. Swettenham
birth_date =birth date|1824|5|10|mf=y
birth_place =Clapton, United Kingdom
death_date =death date and age|1905|4|18|1824|5|10
death_place =Alassio, Italy
spouse =Catherine Napier
religion =Christian
constituency =
party =
languagesspoken =English

Hugh Low CMG, KCMG, GCMG (May 10, 1824 - April 18, 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. He was the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula. His methods became models for future administrators. He made the first documented ascent of Mount Kinabalu in 1851. Both, Kinabalu's highest peak as well as the deep gully on the other side of the mountain are named after him.Encyclopædia Britannica.] [Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei By Simon Richmond, Damian Harper, Tom Parkinson, Richard Watkins Published by Lonely Planet, 2007; ISBN 1740597087, ISBN 9781740597081]

Career

Low was born in Clapton, England, the son of a Scottish horticulturist. At an early age, he acquired botanical expertise working in the family nursery. At 20, his father sent him on a collecting expedition to South East Asia. He based himself in Singapore and concentrated particularly on the Borneo flora. While in Singapore, Low came in contact with the nephew of Sir James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. In the months following he became an interior of Sarawak. In 1847, Brooke was appointed Governor of the recently established British colony of Labuan and Consul General of Borneo. He gave Low the post of Colonial Secretary (1848-1850). In 1848, Low returned to Far East, meeting and marrying on the way Catherine Napier, daughter of Colonel William Napier, newly appointed as Lt. Governor of Labuan. In Labuan Low acquired administrative experience, fluency in Malay and an enduring reputation as a naturalist. He was Police Magistrate from 1850 to 1877. It was also from Labuan he made his three visits to Mount Kinabalu, the first in March 1851 and twice with Spenser St. John, the consul General of Brunei, in 1858. [The Living Age By Eliakim Littell, Making of America Project, Robert S. Littell Published by Living Age Co., 1848] [The Annual Register Published by Rivingtons, 1906; Item notes: 1905] [Miss Catherine Napier was married in St. Andrew's Church, Singapore, on the 12th August, 1848, to Mr. Hugh Low: An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: From the Foundation of the ... by Charles Burton Buckley - Singapore - 1965 - Page 485]

In April 1877, Low was transferred to the Malay Peninsula and became the third Resident of Perak (1877 — 1889). By the terms of the Pangkor Treaty, the Resident was an adviser whose decision were binding in all matters except for custom or religion. The first Resident had been murdered in 1874, precipitating a war that left nearly all high-ranking Malay officials either dead or in exile. Low's appointment marked a return to civil authority. [Sir Hugh Low G.C.M.G. by Sir Geoffrey Cator C.M.G. published in Malaya: The journal of the British Association of Malaya, the British Association of Malaya and Singapore, Great Britain Colonial Office, Malaya Published by British Association of Malaya, 1958; Item notes: 1958 Feb-Dec; pp. 13, 34, 36, 59]

In his first year (1877) he laid down the principle that in order to retain their right to the mining land that they owned, owners of mining land were obliged to see that their land was worked. Within eight years, he saw slavery abolished in the state. [The Making of Modern South-East Asia By D. J. M. Tate Published by Oxford University Press, 1971; Item notes: v.2] In 1885 he established the first railway line in the Malay Peninsula from Taiping to Port Weld (now Kuala Sepetang). [Asian Transformation: A History of South-East, South, and East Asia By Gilbert Khoo, Dorothy Lo Published by Heinemann Educational Books (Asia), 1977]

In his 12 years in Perak, Low firmly established a peaceful administration. He created a state council that included the principal Malay, Chinese and British leaders and was notably successful in making use of prominent local leaders at most levels of his administration.

For example he cultivated the friendship of Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee who was his confidant and his means of getting other Chinese miners in Perak to use modern British mining equipment by first having Ah Quee experiment with them so all could see the results to be benefitted from. So close was this relationship that when Ah Quee was done an injustice through an article published in Harpers Magazine in 1891, Sir hugh felt compelled to write in and set the record straight. [Chung Keng Quee]

He worked closely with Raja Yusef (the Raja Muda) and Raja Dris (later Sultan Idris) to restore order, pay off the state's debt of 800,000 Straits Dollars, and reestablish confidence in the British residential system.Letters to Henrietta By Isabella Lucy Bird, Kay Chubbuck, Henrietta Amelia Bird Contributor Kay Chubbuck Published by UPNE, 2003; ISBN 1555535542, ISBN 9781555535544] Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor By Keat Gin Ooi Contributor Keat Gin Ooi Published by ABC-CLIO, 2004; ISBN 1576077705, ISBN 9781576077702]

Apart from his administrative achievements, Low was also involved in the experimental planting and research on commercial tropical crops including rubber, coffee, black pepper and tea. Rubber cultivation in Malaysia began with Sir Hugh Low. In 1882 he planted rubber seeds and grew seven trees at the gardens at Kuala Kangsar. [Journal of Macromolecular Science By Taylor & Francis Published by M. Dekker, 1981; Item notes: v.15 1981 pp.683-1636; p. 1283]

Low also helped set up the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. For his contributions to the British Empire he was honored with the CMG in 1879, the KCMG in 1883 and the GCMG in 1889. He is often considered the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula, whose methods became models for subsequent British colonial operation in the entire South East Asia Region.

During his time there was a controversy between James Innes, British magistrate in Selangor, and Sir Hugh Low, Resident of Perak, over the issue of debt-slavery in Malaya. Innes attempted to implicate Low, accusing him of abetting the practice of slavery in Perak when he was actually trying to abolish it.

Sir Hugh Low retired from his post as Resident of Perak in 1889, leaving a credit balance of 1.5 million Straits Dollars. [British Malaya: An Account of the Origin and Progress of British Influence in Malaya By Frank Athelstane Swettenham Published by J. Lane, 1907]

Low died on April 18, 1905 in Alassio, Italy.

The tropical pitcher plant species "Nepenthes lowii" and the slipper orchid "Paphiopedilum lowii" are named after him.

External links

* [http://www.orchids.co.in/orchidologists/hugh-low.shtm Hugh Low] Hugh Low's work on orchids

Books by Hugh Low

* Sarawak, Its Inhabitants and Productions: Being Notes During a Residence in that Country with His Excellency Mr. Brooke By Hugh Low Published by Adamant Media Corporation; ISBN 1402190433, ISBN 9781402190438
* A Botanist in Borneo: Hugh Low's Sarawak Journals, 1844-1846 By Hugh Low, Bob Reece, Phillip Cribb Contributor Bob Reece, Phillip Cribb Published by Natual History Publications (Borneo), 2002; ISBN 9838120650, ISBN 9789838120654
* Sĕlĕsǐlah (book of the Descent) of the Rajas of Brunei By Hugh Low Published by [s.n.] , 1880
* The Journal of Sir Hugh Low; Perak, 1887: Perak, 1887 By Hugh Low, transcribed and edited by Emily Sadka Published by Govt. Print. Off., 1955

Books about Hugh Low

* Sir Hugh Low, 1824-1905 By Charles F. Cowan Published by , 1969

ources and Notes

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