Was Singapore’s Prosperity Threatened? The British link to Singapore’s growth

Remember Sir Stamford Raffles? Needed to find a new port for British trade Began to search for a new British settlement Landed on the island of Singapore on 28 January 1819

The British set up a Trading Settlement in 1819

British Rule in Singapore 1819 Raffles signed a treaty allowing the British to build a settlement in Singapore 1824 British signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty and acquired Singapore 1826 British combined Penang, Melaka and Singapore into 1 single administrative unit known as the Straits Settlements 1867 Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony Flag of the Straits Settlements

Population Growth  1819: Around 500 people in Singapore  1901: More than 223,500 people in Singapore  The population in Singapore had increased by more than 400 times in less than 100 years.

What did the British do to attract immigrants to leave their homelands and move to Singapore?

British link to Singapore’s Population Growth 1.Free Immigration Policy 2.Free Port & Free Trade 3.Availability of Jobs

Free Immigration Policy  Immigrants could come and go as they please without having to pay for immigrant passes and papers.  Came and went according to demand for their services. Impact: Why would this policy attract immigrants e.g poor immigrants and traders?  Traders: Did not need to pay money for paperwork and passes  Cheaper  More profit 1. Free Immigration Policy

2.Free Port & Free Trade 3.Availability of Jobs British link to Singapore’s Population Growth

2. Free Port & Free Trade The British government made Singapore different from other nearby ports like the ones owned by the Dutch. What do you think were the differences?

 Free Port: Traders did not have to pay any custom duties or taxes on the goods they carried to and from the port to the government  Free Trade: Traders of all nations were free to call at the port and could trade freely with one another. 2. Free Port & Free Trade

Why did these differences attract traders/immigrants to Singapore? Discuss. Answer:  Free Port: Merchants made more profit as it was a free port. They did not have to use portions of their profits to pay off the custom duties and taxes they would owe to the government of the port they stopped at.  Free Trade: Moreover, merchants found it much easier to do business and to make profit in Singapore than in other ports due to free trade. They were not restricted by the kinds of trade they could engage nor how frequently they could trade. 2. Free Port & Free Trade

1.Free Immigration Policy 2.Free Port & Free Trade 3.Availability of Jobs British link to Singapore’s Population Growth

 Many employers were looking for workers.  From these pictures, what kind of jobs were available in Singapore as a port? 3. Availability of Jobs

Workers were needed to load and unload goods. In the picture above, you can see Chinese labourers, known as coolies, loading and unloading goods from the lighters anchored at the bank of the Singapore River.

Photograph of South Boat Quay in 1910 The buildings along the bank of the river were known as ‘godowns’. The goods unloaded were stored in these godowns.

Loading and unloading goods Goods unloaded were stored in these godowns

Can you think of other possible jobs in Singapore? Clearing of land for plantations Building of roads, houses and offices Working in vegetable gardens and plantations owned by rich planters Selling foodstuffs and other goods to the new settlers

Different Occupations for the Indians

Different Occupations for the Chinese

Singapore is certainly the most convenient city I ever saw […] 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 who sell supplies and equipment to the ships. 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 son 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 Year in the Jungle, a book about the colonies by William Temple Hornaday

Source A: An oral account by a Boyanese When we were living on Bawean as peasants and fishermen, we had at best one single sarong to wear, and if we could change clothes once a week, we felt ourselves to be privileged. We did not go to Singapore because we were hungry on Bawean; on the contrary our land’s production was sufficient, and in addition we could go fishing after the rice harvest and then make extra money.

What do the following lines tell you about the life for the people of Bawean? “on the contrary our land’s production was sufficient, and in addition we could go fishing after the rice harvest and then make extra money.” Answer: Life was comfortable for them. However…

Source A: An oral account by a Boyanese (continued) Still this never gave us the same income as our village-mates, who returned from Singapore. They came back wearing splendid clothes, and they also brought back presents for their relatives which we would never manage to do on Bawean. Is it not reasonable that we, too, preferred going to Singapore to find work there, rather than continue toiling on the land?

What do the following lines tell you about what the people of Bawean desired? “never gave us the same income as our village-mates […] Is it not reasonable that we, too, preferred going to Singapore to find work there, rather than continue toiling on the land? Answer: They desired what they saw was a better life in Singapore where they could earn a higher income than their fellow villagers. By working in Singapore, they could enjoy higher benefits than those villagers who were already working in Singapore.

Conclusion With the arrival of the British, Singapore was revived as a hub for entrepot trade. Singapore was like a magnet which attracted people from different parts of the world. Businessmen and traders came here to trade while others came to look for jobs. This attracted immigrants from China, India, the Malay Archipelago, and beyond.