History Notes 2023
Chapter 3: How Did British Rule And External Developments Affect
Singapore’s Growth As A Port City From 1819 to 1942?
Overview of chapter:
–How the British rule helped Singapore develop into a port city
–How external developments impacted Singapore’s growth as a port city
How did the British help develop Singapore into
a port city?
➔ Free port status
➔ Administrative Changes
➔ Law and Order
➔ Education
➔ Healthcare
➔ Facilities
Free Port Status:
Definition: Traders who came to Singapore could trade freely with one
another in Singapore and were not required to pay taxes on the goods they
carried.
The free port status was a key factor that attracted traders to come and
trade in Singapore. It was put in place by the British in 1819.
What did the ports in Singapore do besides facilitating trade itself?
–Transshipment
–Entrepot trade
Transshipment:
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Refers to the transfer of goods from one trading ship to another while in
transit at the port.
Entrepot trade:
Refers to the repackaging and redistribution of imported manufactured
goods and regional produce. Profits were made by processing and
packaging goods before they were re-exported elsewhere.
What were the reasons for transshipment and entrepot
trade?
● Singapore provided an easily accessible, tax-free and centrally
located place for both Western and Asian goods to be collected and
exchanged.
● Trade almost tripled between 1830 and 1867. When Singapore was
handed over to the Colonial Office in 1867, it was already one of the
most important and prosperous ports of the British Empire.
Administrative Changes:
Administrative changes influenced Singapore’s growth as a port city.
● Timeline of administrative changes:
★ 1819–1823, all decisions regarding Singapore had to be approved by
Sir Stamford Raffles. (Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen)
★ Raffles returned back to England for good in 1823, Singapore was
placed under the control of India (also another British colony).
★ 1824, Singapore was formally transferred to the East India Company
(EIC). They controlled Singapore from 1824–1858.
Administration by EIC and British India Government
(1819–1867):
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➢ Government in Singapore had difficulty in managing the needs
of the growing population and increasing size of Singapore’s
trade.
➢ At the same time, had trouble raising money to pay for better
port facilities, security and social services (eg. education).
➢ Unable to impose taxes on Singapore’s trade (because this
would affect the free port status), government turned to taxing
gambling, opium and liquor. Owners of the gambling houses,
opium and liquor shops that could offer the largest amount of
money to the government were granted the right to collect
taxes.
➢ Gambling banned in 1829, tax on gambling houses could no
longer be collected. Greatly reduced the government's revenue.
➢ Insufficient money for improving conditions in Singapore and
for providing social services.
➢ Make up for the shortage, EIC supplied the government with
money. Changed in the 1830s when they lost dominant control
of trade with China as the British government opened it up to
other British traders.
Administration as a Crown Colony (1867–1942):
1867 was an important year in Singapore’s history as the colony was put
under direct control of the Colonial Office. The conversion of the Straits
Settlements into a Crown Colony1 of Britain allowed Singapore to enjoy
nearly 75 years of peaceful administration.
1 A Crown Colony refers to a place or territory directly ruled by the British government on behalf of the
British King/Queen
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Law and Order:
Maintaining law and order was challenging due to the influx of migrants
and the growth of trade which led to more robberies, murders and other
crimes.
Police Force:
1820, William Farqhuar, made his son-in-law, Francis James Bernard,
chief police officer. However Bernard had other duties, could not give all
his time and attention to police work. The police force was small. In 1843,
traders–European and Asian–wrote to the Governor to ask for a stronger
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police force, pointing out that the many crimes on the island made not only
their lives dangerous, it also made their property unsafe. Thus, Thomas
Dunman was appointed Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Superintendent of
Police in 1843. In 1857, he was appointed as Singapore’s first full time
Commissioner of Police.
What did Duman do to improve the police force?
Dunman fought for higher wages and better working conditions to attract
potential recruits. Because of this, he managed to enlarge the police force
by taking in more men, especially those of good character.
Was Dunman successful in solving the problems?
Dunman, despite his best efforts, could not solve all the problems of crime
and disorder. When there were riots, the government had to send soldiers
to help the police. Still, by the time Dunman retired in 1871, he had
achieved much by reducing gang robberies and improving the quality and
morale of the police officers.
Were there more improvements to the police force
after Dunman’s retirement?
By the 1930s, with the use of telephones, motor cars and radio
communications, the work of the police force had become more efficient.
Officers that had gone through professional training under the police cadet
system took up senior posts in the force.
Secret Society:
Form of mutual aid for migrants that came to Singapore to work. Members
enjoyed protection from the society. The secret societies numbers
increased as more Chinese came to Singapore to find a living.
Problems brought about by secret societies:
➔ Gang robberies
–Gangs carry out armed robberies on homes of the rich, usually at night but also in
broad daylight.
➔ Gang fights
➔ Other forms of lawlessness
➔ Riots
–Happened when the secret societies fought for control of territory and illegal vice
trade
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➔ Illegal vice trades (gambling and prostitution)
Prostitution:
Great demand for prostitutes=brothel owners and traffickers could make
large profits. Latter part of the 19th century saw many young female
migrants from China coming to Singapore getting tricked into becoming
prostitutes. Had been promised well paid jobs but upon arrival in
Singapore, were sold to keepers of brothels and forced to earn money for
them.
Education: (1819-1867)
–Little attention was given to it by the British
–British did not control the English or vernacular education2.
–Although, British provided free primary education in the Malay language,
the other languages had little to none help from them.
–British established very few Tamil language schools. Schools established
by the British for the Chinese were non-existent.
–Establishment of schools was mainly left to the Christian missionary
groups and European traders.
How were schools run?
➢ Schools were given free hand in how they were run. Esp. for schools
established by Christian missionaries.
+ Schools devised their ways of organising classes, the number and choice of subjects
and how the subjects were taught.
Education: (1867-1942)
–Educational activities grew to meet the needs of the British colonial
administration.
–Singapore’s rapid socio-economic development after 1867 made it
necessary for English to be a medium of instruction in schools, so that
there would be a supply of English speaking workers for companies and
the government.
2 Vernacular education refers to education conducted in the native language of the main
communities.
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–British government provided grants to schools that taught English to
students whose native language was not English→motivation for schools
to teach their students English.
What happened to schools that did not help with the
trade and government administration?
● Left to the non-governmental agencies, eg. missionaries
Repercussions:
➔ Led to growth of many Chinese schools run by the Chinese
and they did not tolerate the British interference
➔ Christian missionaries were given a free hand in how schools
were run.
In short, while there were improvements in the education system, there
was still a lack of quality education for the local population. The British
made educational opportunities so that they could meet the needs of the
trade industry and government administration.
Healthcare:
❖ Before 1860s, Asian population had high death rate
↓
Because of …
↓
-Malnutrition
-Overcrowding
-Poor sanitation
❖ 1867→coordinated attempts made to improve public health
❖ 1882→New general hospital built on Outram road to provide
some form of public healthcare. (The original hospital was a shed
near Bras Basah road and Stamford road. Proper buildings were
erected in 1821)
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❖ 1886→Quarantine order was passed whereby passengers arriving
in Singapore by sea had to be checked by a doctor.
❖ 1887→government sets up Public Health Department to tackle
health issues in town.
+Measures included setting up a malaria committee to supervise draining of
swamps(amongst others), reduce overcrowding in the living quarters in Chinatown
Why was the death rate so high?
1) Overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions of the poor in the
town area.
2) Shophouses, where the workers lived, were often overcrowded and
unsanitary with poor ventilation giving rise to the spread of highly
infectious diseases.
3)Poor understanding of certain diseases in the 19th century
4) Most Asians could not seek treatment because of lack of money.
5) Most Asians mistrusted Western medicine.
Improvements made to the Healthcare sector:
By the 1940s healthcare improved due to two reasons:
1) Economic growth allowed government to generate more money
which led to a greater spending of healthcare.
2) Increased awareness of the need to improve healthcare led to calls by
the locals for government to tackle the spread of diseases in
Singapore.
What impact did external developments have on
Singapore’s growth as a port city?
2nd half of 19th century, Singapore’s trade significantly expanded due to
the opening of the Suez Canal and expansion of tin and rubber industries.
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But with onset of Great Depression, the industries and trade in Singapore
took a hit.
Impact of opening of Suez Canal on Singapore:
Singapore benefited from the opening of the Suez Canal greatly:
Firstly, the time for people, mail or cargo to travel from Europe to
Singapore was shortened leading to lower shipping costs because of the
savings in distance and time.
Secondly, with an increased volume of ships passing through Straits of
Melaka, more ships stopped at Singapore’s port to refuel and collect food
supplies.
Thirdly, increased use of steamships enhanced Singapore’s role as a
coaling station.
Expansion of Tin industry and the impact of
Singapore:
Expansion of tin trade largely due to external developments. Spread of
British control to parts of Malaya after 1874 leading to peaceful conditions
there facilitated development of tin mining and tin trade. Same time,
canning industry in the US expanding resulting in an increasing demand
for tin.
This led to growth of trade between Malaya and Straits Settlements, esp.
Singapore. Growing trade added great deal to volume of trade Singapore
already conducting with the rest of the world. The tin smelting and trade
industries brought handsome profits to many businessmen in Singapore. It
also increased the general prosperity of the island.
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