Nicholas Tarling
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Tarling is a historian
, academic, and author. He specializes in Southeast Asia
n history, and has written on eighteenth and nineteenth century Malaysia; North Borneo
; Philippines
; Laos
, especially foreign involvement in these countries.
. As an undergraduate at Christ's College
, Cambridge
, he was supervised- by among others- the late Sir John H. Plumb. He also earned his Ph.D.
at Cambridge, supervised by Dr. Victor Purcell
.
in Gordon Greenwood's Department of History and Political Science. There, he taught courses in both European and Asian history. During those years he visited Southeast Asia
and the U.S., and published three books: a revised version of his thesis; Anglo-Dutch Relations in the Malay World; Piracy and Politics in the Malay World.
In 1965 Tarling was appointed associate professor at the University of Auckland
in New Zealand
, and in 1968 he became a full professor, still as a European and Asian history teacher. He also held posts as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Chairman of the Deans Committee, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. He also served on a number of inter-university and government committees.
He was the founder and president of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society (NZASIA) and also had two terms as President of the Association of University Teachers of New Zealand. His interest in the arts led to his appointment to Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, to the chairmanship of the Symphonia of Auckland, to a directorship of Opera New Zealand. He was a busy amateur actor and served for many years as University Orator.
He retired in 1996, since which he has been a Fellow of the New Zealand Asia Institute and served for a while as Director of the Institute and later of the International Office. He was also a visiting Professor at UBD and honorary professor at University of Hull
.
He was awarded the Cambridge Litt.D.
in 1974 and given an honorary Litt.D.by the University of Auckland
in 1996, when he was also made Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
(MNZM).
He also edited the Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. In retirement he has completed a trilogy on British policy in Southeast Asia during the Pacific War
, the Cold War
and the Korean War
, and also published a book on the Japanese interregnum, A Sudden Rampage. A second trilogy, on imperialism, nationalism and regionalism in Southeast Asia, is almost complete. He has also published books on university policy, including one on overseas students, and on opera.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, academic, and author. He specializes in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n history, and has written on eighteenth and nineteenth century Malaysia; North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
; Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
; Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, especially foreign involvement in these countries.
Early life
Nicholas Tarling was born in 1931 and obtained his secondary education at St. Albans SchoolSt Albans School (Hertfordshire)
St Albans School is an independent school in the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, in the East of England. Entry before Sixth Form is for boys only, and co-educational thereafter. Founded in 948 by Wulsin , St Albans School is not only the oldest school in Hertfordshire but also one of the oldest...
. As an undergraduate at Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, he was supervised- by among others- the late Sir John H. Plumb. He also earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Cambridge, supervised by Dr. Victor Purcell
Victor Purcell
Victor William Williams Saunders Purcell CMG, PhD, Litt.D was a British colonial public servant, historian, poet and Sinologist in Malaya ....
.
Career
In 1957 he took up a teaching post at the University of QueenslandUniversity of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in Gordon Greenwood's Department of History and Political Science. There, he taught courses in both European and Asian history. During those years he visited Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and the U.S., and published three books: a revised version of his thesis; Anglo-Dutch Relations in the Malay World; Piracy and Politics in the Malay World.
In 1965 Tarling was appointed associate professor at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and in 1968 he became a full professor, still as a European and Asian history teacher. He also held posts as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Chairman of the Deans Committee, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. He also served on a number of inter-university and government committees.
He was the founder and president of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society (NZASIA) and also had two terms as President of the Association of University Teachers of New Zealand. His interest in the arts led to his appointment to Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, to the chairmanship of the Symphonia of Auckland, to a directorship of Opera New Zealand. He was a busy amateur actor and served for many years as University Orator.
He retired in 1996, since which he has been a Fellow of the New Zealand Asia Institute and served for a while as Director of the Institute and later of the International Office. He was also a visiting Professor at UBD and honorary professor at University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
.
He was awarded the Cambridge Litt.D.
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
in 1974 and given an honorary Litt.D.by the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
in 1996, when he was also made Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
(MNZM).
Publications
He has published some 36 books. Those in Asian history include Britain, the Brookes and Brunei (1971), Sulu and Sabah (1978), The Burthen, The Risk and the Glory (1982), and The Fourth Anglo-Burman War (1987).He also edited the Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. In retirement he has completed a trilogy on British policy in Southeast Asia during the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and also published a book on the Japanese interregnum, A Sudden Rampage. A second trilogy, on imperialism, nationalism and regionalism in Southeast Asia, is almost complete. He has also published books on university policy, including one on overseas students, and on opera.
Selected publications
- Tarling, Nicholas. Anglo-Dutch rivalry in the Malay world, 1780-1824. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- Tarling, Nicholas. Historians and Southeast Asian history. Auckland, N.Z.: New Zealand Asia Institute, University of Auckland, c2000. ISBN 0908689667 (pbk.)
- Tarling, Nicholas. Sulu and Sabah : a study of British policy towards the Philippines and North Borneo from the late eighteenth century . Kuala Lumpur ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1978.ISBN 019580337X
- Tarling, Nicholas. History Boy : a memoir. Wellington, N.Z.: Dunmore Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-1-877399-45-9
- Tarling, Nicholas. The State, Development and Identity in Multi-ethnic Societies: Ethnicity, Equity and the Nation. London: Routledge, 2010. ISBN 9780415586917