Early life
Although a qualified medical doctor, Crawfurd's interests lay in languages, history and political administration. He joined the East India Company's medical service in 1803 at the age of twenty and served in Penang and Java under Raffles. In 1821, he was sent as an envoy to Siam and Cochin-China in an effort to open these areas to British trade, albeit not very successfully. He was appointed Resident of Singapore in June 1823 after the departures of Raffles and Farquhar.