(2) Colonial Accounts
The founding and the rapid progress of the British colony of Singapore was also described by visitors to the port over the many decades following 1819. In their own journals, diaries, travelogues and books, these observers, often from Britain and themselves a part of the larger colonial society, chronicled the stunning rise of the island as a vital centre of trade.
In reading the following descriptive accounts, think about how the importance of trade to Singapore in her history and even at this present times.
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1832 - "The Most Thriving Colony in the East Indies," by Benjamin Morrell (A Narrative of Four Voyages)
What does the variety of goods to be found in Singapore tell you about the economic progress of the colony?
How had life in Singapore changed between 1819 and 1832?
"For the short period it has been in existence, Singapore is, without an exception, the most thriving colony which the British have in the East Indies; being admirably situated for all the purposes of trade; and is, in fact, a centre depot for the commerce of the Chinese and Javanese seas. Among the valuable articles brought to this mrket are tortoiseshells, pearls, and pearl-shell, ambergris, gold-dust, edible birds' nests, birds of paradise, minerals, biclie-de-mer, shells, pepper, coffee, sugar, hemp, indigo, many valuable gums and drugs, precious woods, many of which are readily purchased by the British merchants who have establishments at this place.... Within the last ten years. this place has increased and flourished beyond all calculation. An Indian village of forty or fifty bamboo huts has given place to a splendid well-built little city."
1846 - "A Free Port," by G.F. Davidson (Trade and Travel in the Far East)
As the colony developed, what else was needed in order for trade to flourish?
"Singapore is a free port; and vessels of all kinds and from all nations come and go, without paying one penny to Government in any shape. All that is required of them is to give a list of the goods they either land or ship. This regulation is intended to enable the authorities to keep a correct statement of the trace of the place; but it is, I am sorry to add, often evaded by ship-masters and their consignees, who seem to think that no trade can be profitably conducted without a certain portion of mystery attaching to it."
Singapore River, dated around 1860. Note the order and symmetry in the buildings surrounding the River.
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1864 - "Singapore Ahoy!" by J.T. Thomson (Glimpses Into Life in the Far East)
Compare this description of Singapore harbour with the painting, done in 1850, below. What similarities do you find in these two accounts?
"'Singapore ahoy!' exclaimed the man at the mast as the white houses and shipping rose above the horizon while we were abreast of the large red cliffs. We hailed the 'Queen of the East' with no small pleasure.... In the foreground, busy canoes, sampans and tongkangs bore their noisy and laughing native crews about the harbour. The stately 'Hyacinth' showed the pennant amongst numbers of English merchantmen [ships]. Hundreds of Chinese junks, and Malay prows, lay further in shore. Behind these, stretched a sandy beach, glistening in the sun, and overhung by teh graceful palm trees, the glory of Singapore planters. In the centre of the landscape was Government Hill, with its verdant lawns and snug bungalows; and at its base were the warehouses and mansions or the merchant princes. Behind these was to be seen the comely undulating background, alternately covered with the mighty forest trees, and gambier and pepper gardens.
A view of Singapore from the sea in 1850, barely three decades after Raffles arrived. Observe the different vessels in the harbour, the imposing white buildings, rising hills and vast skies above. A typical imperial scene.
1906 - "Singapore - Early History - Stamford Raffles" by Frank Swettenham (British Malaya: An Account of the Origin and Progress of British Influence in Malaya)
"Comparatively few people in England know the name of Stamford Raffles or what it stands for; and yet to him we owe the possession of Singapore, the Gate of the Farther East, a naval base of the highest importance, a great commercial centre, and the most prosperous of British Crown Colonies. Indirectly, the foresight which secured Singapore for the British Empire led also to the extension of British influence throughout the States of the Malay Peninsula, a territory which, under British protection and guidance, has not only far surpassed in rapid development the progress of Raffles' Settlement, but has enormously contributed to the prosperity of both Pinang and Singapore, and proved itself to be, in proportion to its area, one of the richest countries in the world.The man to whom credit belongs gave his talents and his life to achieve an end which he believed to be necessary to the prestige, the power and the trade of England in the Far East."
Frank Athelstane Swettenham. This famous portrait was painted in 1904, just before he wrote British Malaya. He served for many years in Malaya, as Resident of Perak and then of Selangor, the first Resident-General of the Federated Malay States 1896-1901 and Governor of the Straits Settlements 1901-1904.
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1907 - By G.M. Reith (Handbook to Singapore)
To what factor or to whom does Reith attribute Singapore's success?
"While acting in this capacity (as Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen in 1817), Raffles was impressed with the necessity that the British should have a port in the Malay Archipelago to protect their trade, which was increasing yearly, between the Far East (China and Japan) and Europe and India..... Ships from India held their course down the Straits of Malacca, and through the Strait between Johore and the island of Singapore....
The population of Singapore, when Sir Stamford Raffles hoisted the British flag in the island, was under 200. A Malay kampong or village at Teluk Blangah, where the P & O wharf now is, seems to have been the only inhabited spot, for the island was wooded to the water's edge. At that time, there were not fifty Chinamen in the place. It is hard to realise as we pass through the streets of the busy, populous city, that ninety years ago there was hardly one man to every square miles on the island. Only a year after the landing of Sir Stamford Raffles the population had risen to 5000.
From the beginning, Singapore has been a free port; no duties of any kind are levied. The policy of Sir Stamford Raffles in this respect finds its justification in a comparison of the progress and general importance of the Dutch and French with the British Settlements in the Far East.
Sketch map of Singapore as it was in 1907. Compare this with the Jackson Plan. What changes had occured in the colony within the 80 years of so?