| History of Singapore | |||||||||||||||||
| 1) Founding of Singapore |
The British Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen at that time was a man named Sir Stamford Raffles. Raffles felt that the British needed a new port to the south of the Malay Peninsula. Together with his assistant, Major William Farquhar , Raffles began his search for a good place in the area to set up a British port. On 28 January 1819, Raffles caught sight of the island of Singapore. Raffles decided that the island of Singapore was the very place he had been looking for. It lay on the main trade route between Europe, India and China. With its excellent harbour and good supply of drinking water, the island was suitable as a port. On 6 February 1819, Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong then signed a treaty with the British, allowing them to build a settlement in the southern part os Singapore. In return, the Sultan and Temenggong would be paid $5000 and $3000 respectively. After the signing of the treaty, a flag-raising ceremony was held at the beach. As the British flag was hoisted on a tall flagpole, volleys of gunfire thundered from all the guns on the ships in the harbour and all the guns on shore. This ceremony marked the founding of modern Singapore. | ||||||||||||||||
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a) Government and Commercial AreasThe north bank of the Singapore river was reserved for the use of the government and public uses. The south bank was a swampy area occupied by many Chinese huts. In order to make the south bank suitable as a business area, Raffles ordered the Chinese settlers there to move southwards, away from the river bank, to the Telok Ayer area where a small market was built over the sea. A hill at the entrance of the Singapore river was levelled or flattened to provide earth for filling up the muddy south bank. The area of the hill itself was turned into a business area called Commercial Square (presently Raffles Place). After the south bank had been drained of water and filled with earth, Boat Quay was built. The Chinese and Europeans then built houses and storehouses an the reclaimed land. Raffles thus started the first reclamation project in Singapore.b) Residential areasMalays & Muslims --- Kampong GlamIn this area, there were a kampong for the Sultan, his relatives and followers, a kampong for the Arabs and Bugis respectively. The Sultan built his palace in the Sultan's Compound. Mosques were also built.Europeans & Rich Asians --- European TownThis was an area northeast of the government area. Beach Road, North Bridge Road and other roads were laid out. Raffles Hotel was also built in this area.Indians --- Chulia KampongChulia Kampong was on the south bank of the Singapore River, but further upstream than Boat Quay.Chinese --- ChinatownThis was the whole area south of the river beyond Commercail Square and Boat Quay. Chinatown itself was divided into separate areas for the different dialect groups who had come from different parts of China. | Raffles' Town Plan | ||||||||||||||||
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| 3) The Japanese Occupation |
The British did not think that Singapore could be attacked from the land because the jungles of Johor were difficult for enemy troops to move in. thus little was done to protect Singapore in the north. The naval base, underground bunkers, big guns and natural protection of the Johor jungles led the British to believe that Singapore was as strong as a fortress. Unfortunately, they were wrong. The Japanese soldiers were well-trained in jungle welfare and so the jungles of Malaya were not a problem to them. While they were invading Malaya, they also dropped bombs on Singapore. The obsolete British planes were also no match for the 'Zero' fighter planes of the Japanese. Also, to prevent the Japanese from using the naval base in Singapore, they destroyed it. With that, they surrendered any hope of air and naval superiority. By 31 January 1942, the Japanese were already at the doorstep of Singapore -Johor Bahru. The occupation of Singapore by the Japanese was a nightmare that lasted for three and a half years. During this period, people suffered and lived in constant fear of the Japanese. The Japanese had told the people of Singapore that they had come to set them free from British rule. In reality, they were not. Barbed wire was put across to form roadblocks. Japanese guards then bullied the people passing by, sometimes making them kneel on the roadside for hours. The Malays suffered under the Japanese. Some Malays were arrested from the streets by Japanese soldiers and sent to Thailand to build the Death Railway. The Japanese wanted the Indians to join the Indian National Army to fight the British in India. Those who refused were killed. The Eurasians also suffered because they looked like Europeans. Many were put in prison camps. Several of the Eurasians were members of the Singapore Volunteer Corps and had fought against the Japanese. Those suspected of helping the Japanese were shot. It was the Chinese who suffered the most. They had actively helped China in its fight against Japan. To punish them, the Japanese told all Chinese men between 18 to 50 years old to report at certain centres. There, they were examined to find out who was anti-Japanese. Those who were not anti-Japanese were allowed to go home. They were given " Peace Living Certificates" and the men of the household was responsible for all of his family's actions. | ||||||||||||||||
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