History of British Colonization of Singapore:

http://apworldsingapore.edublogs.org/history-of-singapore-colonization/ 27/05/2011 Little is known about Singapore before the British colonized it; only about a thousand inhabitants occupied the island before colonization, mostly indigenous tribesmen and a few Chinese merchants. However, Singapore was a site of trade and piracy before the British, and was ruled over by the Sultan. Essentially, Britain decided to colonize Singapore because it was competing with the Dutch over trade. Britain was forced to return all of the East Indies trading ports to Holland after about 1815, and so the Dutch ships and ports held almost complete power over the East Indies. A man named Sir Stamford Raffles recognized the need for a British port in South East Asia because it would allow them to compete with the Dutch traders and access the Straits of Melaka and China. Singapore was a perfect destination for traders from Europe to East Asia. British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles stated in Statement of the Services of Sir Stamford Raffles, Singapore secures a position which is confessedly advantageous for embracing the benefit of the Eastern trade. As said by Nicholas Roosevelt in The Strategy of Singapore, Singapore is so favored by geography that ships plying between Suez and Japan as well as between India and Australia must pass within a mile of it it is one of the great focal points of shipping, where geography forces far-flung lines of communication to converge. So in 1819, Raffles founded the colony of Singapore by signing a treaty with the ruler Sultan Hussein of Johor. Singapore was a wealthy and successful colony for the British. Raffles made a smart economic move and decided to open up Singapore as a free-trade zone, so that those who came and traded on the island did not have to pay high fees and tariffs. Because of this, and Singapores strategic location, traders were soon attracted to use the Singapore port, and commerce quickly expanded. In 1824, the British secured their prosperous colony with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, where the Dutch ceased their objection to British rule in Singapore, and a treaty with the Singapore rulers during that time, Sultan Hussein and Temenggong Abdur Rahman, which confirmed Britishs complete rights to the island. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements (along with Malacca and Penang) that was controlled by India. Singapore quickly attracted thousands of immigrants including Malays, Arabs, Indians, Chinese, and Europeans primarily to escape war or economic troubles at home and pursue free trade and job opportunities. Britain helped attract a huge immigration flow by allowing immigrants to come in and out of Singapore as they pleased. However, very few of these immigrants were European; most immigrants were Indian or Chinese. While the population of Singapore quickly rose, so did tensions in colonial life. Farquhar was left by Raffles the task of ruling Singapore, but because Raffles didnt want to spread controversy among the British East India Company about the necessity of keeping Singapore, Farquhar was only given a minimum budget to run the colony. Along with a policy of free trade, Farquhar was left with an impossibly low budget. As a solution, gambling and the sale of arrack and opium were legalized and rights to sell these products were bought from the government to raise money. Although this helped raise money, it also created chaos and tensions within the Singapore society. With a low budget and the legalization of these morally questionable practices and products, Farquhar had an almost

impossible time keeping law and order among the citizens of Singapore. The various ethnicities among the immigrants constantly fought, especially between Malays and Chinese, and the government had trouble exerting power over the crowded colony with such a small police force. In essence, British rule over Singapore was essentially a direct rule but very weak. However, Raffles returned in 1823. Raffles saw the rush of immigrants and decided to organize the crowded, chaotic Singapore port by developing kampongs, or residential areas separated by nationalities, in order to reduce tensions. He proposed administrative regulations to make up for the lack of a legal code, making English common law applicable in Singapore (though some religious and inheritance Muslim laws could be applicable for the Malays). Raffles also officially made Singapore a free port, banned gambling, and attempted to reduce opium and liquor trade. Life in the Singapore colony was centered around trade and multi-national and diverse (as many of the inhabitants were immigrants who had come to seek economic prosperity). Secret societies also quickly grew and flourished in Singapore. As Barbara Leitch Lepoer stated in Singapore: A Country Study, the highly unbalanced sex ration in Singapore contributed to a rather lawless, frontier atmosphere that the government seemed helpless to combat. Little revenue was available to expand the tiny police force, which struggled to keep order amid a continuous influx of immigrants. In 1867, Singapore, which was formerly part of the Straits Settlements, became a Crown Colony. After Japans occupation in Singapore, the British re-instated military power in their Singapore colony in 1945. However in 1953, Singapores government selected Sir George Rendel to write a Rendel Constitution that would lead to more local Singapore rule, and the country became familiar with elections. This experience of elections led the citizens of Singapore to yearn for independence and control.

The Peoples Action Party was formed to appeal to the poor immigrants who did not speak English, and although they were expected to win, the Labor Front government won more seats in the election and David Marshall became the first Chief Minister. Pro-colonial parties won small recognition. In 1963 Singapore combined with Malaysia into the Federation of Malaysia, breaking away from colonial rule in the Malaysia Agreement. However, soon Singapore broke away from Malaysia and truly became independent in 1965.