Brief History of Singapore Immigrants (1819 to 1939)

Chapter 4: How was life different for the various people in

colonial Singapore before World War Two?

Singapore- Crossroads of the East (1938)

• http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history• http://www.nas.gov.sg/nas/• http://goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.sg/• http

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvhY6DtfZs

Raffles Town Plan

• Town plan developed by Lieutenant Philip Jackson under the instructions of Raffles– Different races were assigned to

different areas near the Singapore River

– Each community had its own kapitan (captain)

• Aim: Ensure that each migrant community had their own space to prevent confusion and disputes.

Why was this book written?Singapore is certainly the most convenient city I ever saw … It is like a big desk, full of drawers and pigeon holes, where everything has its place, and can always be found in it. Around the Esplanade you find the European hotels; around commercial square are shipping offices, warehouses and shops owned by European merchants; and along Boat Quay are all the ship chandlers. Nearby, you will find large Chinese medicine shops, cloth shops, tin shops, and shops kept by blacksmiths, tailors and carpenters. There are also people selling fruit, vegetables, grain, and so on … Because of the many different trades, one can do more business in less time in Singapore than any other town in the world.

Adapted from Two Years in the Jungle, a book widely found in the British colonies, by William Temple Hornaday

The roles that the various people played in colonial

Singapore before World War Two

The Chinese

The Chinese Middlemen• Traders from Europe and the

Malay Archipelago bought and sold their goods mainly through Chinese middlemen in Singapore

• The Chinese middlemen could speak sufficient English, Malay and local dialects to communicate with their clients.

• This allowed trade to take place easily as people could understand each other

Boat Quay

Coolies• Worked for traders and merchants

• These workers provided the much-needed manual labour

• Worked long hours

• As trade prospered, more workers were brought into Singapore– Increase in population

Merchants

• With increasing population support services were needed for the immigrants

• Merchants opened shops that catered to the daily needs of the community – Transportation– Provision of daily necessities (e.g. medicine, snacks)

- Created employment for the immigrants who came

Highlights: Raffl es Place (Commercial Square)

• Wealthy merchants set up warehouses• Built offices and residential buildings• New banks (e.g. Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank)• Many departmental stores: e.g. John Little and

Robinsons (sources 5-8, pg 147)

Chinatown: Telok Ayer &

Kreta Ayer (bullock water-carts)

Sources 33, 34, 35, 36 (pg 162-163)

Amoy Street – Chinese opium dens(Sources 39, 40, pg 165)

Chin Chew Street main residential area for Sam Sui women (from Guangdong)

The Indians

• The Indians were mostly Money lenders (Source 10, pg 147)

or Transport Providers • They were successful in the

areas of banking and transportation

• They held the monopoly of transportation in Singapore until the 1860s

TELOK AYER MARKET

Indian Chettiars

Chulia Street – home to many Indians

Serangoon Road (most Indians eventually moved here)

Tamil labourers and coolies @ Hindoo Road (sources 51, 52 pg 174-175)

The Malays

• They became gardeners and huntsmen

• The Malays mostly provided basic necessities like firewood and foodstuff

• Some were skilled shipbuilders– Made ships and boats for the

Malay traders to ferry their goods to neighbouring islands

Kampong Glam – gelam trees

Kampong Bugis & Kampong Gelam

Arab Street, Haji Lane (allocated to the Arabs)

Sources 61-66, pg 180-183

Sultan Mosque @ Arab Street

Geylang Serai – (home of the Orang Laut)

coconut plantations, mills, growth of lemongrass plants

Sources 70-74, pg 186-187

The Europeans

• Set up trading companies and agency houses

• Some worked as government officials who served as administrators of the settlement to maintain law and order

Colonial Town Centre (Empress Place)

European buildings used for government, commercial, residential and entertainment purposes

Old Orchard and Tanglin areas

Many European families moved out to less crowded Orchard and Tanglin areas.*Sources 30, 31, pg 160

High Street

• Important government buildings (e.g. Old Supreme Court) found here

• Many British officials worked here

High Street• Colonial Office sent British officials to work in Singapore.• They had to learn Malay and Chinese dialects• They tried to improve Singapore’s living conditions

(building roads, hospitals and maintaining law and order)

Old Supreme Court

The Padang (Esplanade)

• Venue for social gatherings and sporting events for the Europeans (Sources 21, 22, pg 155)

Beach Road: Raffles Institution

• Beach Road/ Bras Basah Road: Residential area for European merchants

• First school set up (British education)

Raffles Hotel (centre for social events)

Source 27, pg 159

Eurasians & Peranakans

Katong area

• Telok Kurau, East Coast and Joo Chiat• Many Europeans and Peranakan families

settled here

Joo Chiat road