Areca catechu
While Stamford Raffles was governor on Java, she introduced many social reforms in her capacity as first lady, which set the standard for the rest of the century. She showed herself by the side of her husband at official occasions, such as visits to the native rulers, and held receptions for people of all sexes and ethnicity, which was new on Java, as white women had previously isolated themselves from the native population. At this point, the Western colonists at Java mixed their European habits with East Indian ones: for example, white women born in the East Indies used "Areca catechu", and they only dressed in European fashion on official occasions, such as going to church, receptions and visits, and otherwise wore the more comfortable Asian dress "Kebaya" and sarong. These habits contributed to what European visitors regarded to be the decadence of the colonial lifestyle in the Dutch East Indies. Devenish banned the common use of chewing "Areca catechu" by Western women, and removed the pots for this from the reception rooms of the Governor's residence to prevent her guests from using it. She also banned the wearing of the Asian sarong and kebaya gowns by Western women. These informal social reforms remained in place for the rest of the 19th century, but it was not until the late 19th-century, however, that it became common for Western women in Java to always dress in Western clothes in their everyday life, the climate making the Western corset and many skirts uncomfortable.