Contested Colonial Metrological Sovereignty
The daching riot and the regulation of weights and measures in British Malaya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3667102 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Por Heong Hong (0000-0001-8362-0202, Universiti Sains Malaysia), Tan Miau Ing (0000-0001-9129-6641, University of Malaya) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 407-426 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0026749x21000019 |
| OpenAlex | W3171942499 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
Drawing on materials from the National Archives of Malaysia, newspapers, literature on historical metrology, and the colonial history of Malaya, this article weaves a social history of Malaya's colonial metrological reform by taking into account the roles of both European and Asian historical actors. Prior to the 1894 reform, people in Malaya used customary scales and weight units, which varied across districts, for commercial transactions. Initiated by colonial administrators, the reform was both welcomed and resisted. In 1897, a riot against the Sanitary Board broke out in Kuala Lumpur for its attempt to mandate that previously exempted traders use only government-verified and -stamped scales. The colonial government managed to maintain order and restore its authority at the end of the riot, but four types of merchants-goldsmiths, silversmiths, opium dealers, and drug sellers-managed to remain exempted. Metrological reform continued to be contested in the following century, but the central concerns of the regulation moved from easing taxation, facilitating cross-district trade, and taming Chinese traders to protecting consumers. More emphasis was placed on educating the public to be able to read scales, in addition to using police force to raid businesses. The enforcement was, however, compromised due to inadequate funds. The reality on the ground contradicts the image of an omnipresent colonial authority and reveals the fragility of colonial administration
Colonialism · Enforcement · Government (linguistics · Mandate · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · Asian Studies and History · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law · Public Administration
Victorian Science in Context
Measures and Men
Metrology
From the Moral Thermometer to Money
Towards the History of Malayan Society
Notes on social measurement
Between gluckman and foucault
The Role of Rumour in History Writing
The Demise of the Revenue Farm System in the Federated Malay States
Seeing Like a State
A World of Standards but not a Standard World
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |