Tim Hannigan is an author and journalist specialising in Indonesia and the Indian subcontinent. His first book, Murder in the Hindu Kush is a biography of the intriguing 19th century British explorer George Hayward, and was shortlisted for the 2011 Boardman Tasker Prize. For more information about the author and his work on Raffles and Java, please visit : www.rafflesandjava.com
It was 4 August 1811. A short way from the landing spot was the ramshackle fishing village of Cilincing, a cluster of stilt huts at the mouth of a muddy river on the north coast of the great green island of Java.