Chapter 1 notes

Lesson objectives:
1. Trace singapore’s role as a port and its connections to key trading networks before
1819
2. Explain the rise and fall of Singapore’s trade
3. Importance of singapore and reasons - trade (past and present)
4. Connections singapore had with the region and world -economically
-politically
-culturally
Overview
14th century: rise of early Singapore
15th century: decline of Singapore (came under the rule of Meleka)
16th century: arrival of Europeans
17th century: Dutch became the dominant power in South East Asia

14th century
How people connected in the past
1. Silk road (land) -carried goods east and west
-linked China with the west of the world
2. By the 7th century, maritime trade became the main method
*better and stronger ships were built
*travellers from China, India, Middle East
*wealth gained from trading centres allowed kingdoms to grow

Reasons for Singapore’s importance in maritime trade

1. Singapore’s strategic location: trading activities
*located along straits of melaka - major trading route
*convenient stopover: cheap place for -resupply ship with food
-resupply ship with water
-repairs for ship

2. Singapore’s strategic location: geographical

Monsoon winds
*monsoon winds are regional wind patterns that reverse direction seasonally
*Advantages of monsoon winds - june to september: southwest monsoon
- december to march: northeast monsoon
*ships rely on wind for travel, wind blew ships to singapore = wind affects trade
 3. Countries control waters and area of the region
Countries - key
- powerful
- important
*affects singapore’s rise and decline
*countries secure routes to benefit

15th century
Decline of singapore - decline of trade with china
*climate change (drought, famine etc) - china would rather focus on its own country
chaos instead of focusing on trade

* singapore often fell prey to attacks

-majapahit
-ayutthaya
-siam (old name for thailand)
>Due to singapore’s small size and importance, singapore became vulnerable

*overshadowed by melaka (rise of melaka)

1. melaka was also a good location
2. parameswara (sultan of melaka)
>killed one of the rulers of temasek
>converted to muslim, which atrracted muslim traders. He also marries the local muslim
princess
>pays tribute and becomes vassal of china - gets trade and protection from china
3. singapore becomes secondary (feeder) port - still relatively important to house malay
naval forces
>protect against pirates in melakan sultanate ships
>gets trade and protection from china

16th century
Arrival of the europeans
↓
Exploring -control
-wealth
-new trading routes
-knowledge
↓
Look for silk / spice trades
*economically motivated - Competition of european nations to control new markets
established trading settlements

*political gain - get to control places

*socially motivated - spread religion (missionaries)

(as a result, melaka weakened under the europeans influence and the sultan fled to johor)

17th century
Singapore’s decline
*dutch became prominent in the region and established ports in indonesia, so trade moved
away from singapore - trade went from batavia (palembang) to melaka, passing singapore (refer
to map in testbook)

18th century- singapore had pirates, too dangerous for trade

Kingdoms
Sri vijaya (7th - 13th century)
*7th to 13th century - powerful, dominating trade
*13th century - collapsed and lost control

Johor (14th century)

In 1511, singapore was still of importance to johor
-invested to bring trade
-maintain ties with china

Orang laut (16th century)

Local malays who
1. depended on the river and sea for a living - gathering products from sea
2. Had fighting and boating skills
 Chapter 2

Singapore falling into the british and the initial stages of establishing us as a port

Learning objectives
1. why Singapore was chosen as a British trading post
- needs of the british →political
→economically

1. How Singapore was established as a trading port

- process of raffles negotiating with the dutch to take over singapore
↓
treaty with the locals and dutch

2. The roles played by different individuals in Singapore’s initial development

↓
Key figures
- make singapore an attractive port

Empire (british and dutch)

● Definition: a lot of influence all around the world
● Globally known, prestige ⇨ revenue, profit
⇨ money resources
● The british empire had global power - interest
- trade
● The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" has been used to describe
certain global empires that were so extensive that it seemed that at least one part
of their territory was always in daylight.

*must remember the flags of the british and dutch*

Trading companies (representatives)

1. British east (china) india company
- help British traders find larger markets and establish profitable trade with
 countries in Asia.
- Along the prominent trade routes
2. Dutch east india company
- Helped the Dutch government negotiate treaties and establish colonies by
the Dutch government.
- Monopolised trade in cloves, mace and nutmeg
● Both trading companies are rivals
● Both were endorsed by the government to sign treaties with the locals to have
training posts - they tell the government of treaties signed, so that if there is
military intervention, the government can send troops

Trade route
Melaka → batavia (spices) *both owned by the dutch*

Problems faced by the british

● Penang and bencoolen owned by british, but not along the trade route, so they
lose out
● Dutch were in power of southeast asia
↓
in control of spices
- Nutmeg
- Clove
- Mace

British involvement
Straits of melaka linked the indian ocean and the south china sea
↓
Trade: wool, cotton and opium from india* (british)↔ tea, silk, porcelain (china)
* india was under the control of the british

Why SG is a sustainable port (tb pg 51, 54-55)

1. Nature sheltered harbour
- No drought / earthquake
- Break waters for ship to dock - peaceful sea

2. Sufficient water
- Drinking water (╳ saltwater)
- Possibly a spring in Fort Canning Hill

3. Strategic location
- Along the straits of melaka
Tb pg 56-57: How the british set up trading posts in Sg
● SG was part of johor-riau, which is the vassal of the dutch
● Temenggong abdul rahman - local chief
● Dutch were not happy with the british taking over

1. Raffles saw st johns island then stumbled upon mainland sg, and met the local
chief - temenggong abdul rahman

Tengku: prince
↙ ↘ temenggong abdul rahman ≠ tengku abdul rahman
Hussein abdul rahman

Hussein: went to pahang to get married, and father passed away while he was there. So
the father passed the ships to abdul rahman before passing away. So, he went to live at
riau island to be emo. He was then brought to SG by raffles. He offered to recognise
Hussein as the rightful Sultan of Johor. In return, Hussein would grant the British East
India Company the right to establish a trading port in Singapore.

Abdul rahman: got the ships when his father passed, and then became sultan abdul
rahman

Raffles - representative of the british

- need to convince government to gain trading port

Why raffles signs treaties for SG to be a port: he believed that he could develop SG to
compete against the dutch and break their monopoly against spice trade

How Raffles signed the treaties can be a possible PBQ question

- Must be familiar with name
- Must be familiar with year
- Must be familiar with the treaties signed

Possible PEAL paragraph: why SG was chosen as a trading port

● Win-win situation
1. Temenggong -has protection and pay
2. British can set up trading ports
There will be correspondence, of Raffles trying to justify why treaties were
signed, to the judge
1. Political reason - Raffles believed that SG can break the dutch monopoly of spice
trade

The British and dutch, did not have war due to the recent war in europe. Instead they
negotiated
1. 1819 treaty: allow british east india company a set up a small trading post in
singapore
2. 1824 treaties: dutch recognised SG was under the british.
● SG officially under the british
● The british and dutch exchanged ports, so that location makes more sense
and is more convenient
- British controlled: Penang, SG, Melaka
- Dutch controlled: Batavia and Bencoolen

Different British figures and their contributions:

1. Raffles
● Laid down laws, plans and priorities (disappeared later on, left SG to
farquhar)
● Visited SG 3 times
- Created a free school, now known as raffles Institution
- Signed treaty
- Set up places for different ethnic groups (with the help of philip
jackson)
- Stopped gambling dens
 2. Farquhar
● Improved port facilities
● Established a harbour
● Known to be respectable

● Defence
● Infrastructure
● He could speak malay as he previously lived in melaka
↓
Had experience in governing, went against Raffle’s instructions of no gambling dens
↓
Fired by Raffles in 1923

● He had difficulty communicating with raffles, so ge faced problems]

● Lacked revenue ($$)
● Introduced tax-farming system

3. Crawfurd (1823-1826)
● Raffles health was declining

● Had rights to the island (SG)

● Hired by raffles after farquhar was fired
● Negotiated the 1824 treaty for the british to control SG
● Established a free port to attract more traders
● Regulated gambling
● Collected revenue for opium
● Created street lights, roads

Chapter 3
Chap 3 and chap 4 - collective set
- Talking about whether SGP was a successful trading port?

Chapter 3: british as a historical agent - actions they took (internal policies and how british
react to external developments)

Chapter 4: historical agent becomes locals - why did they come? How were their lives? What
did they contribute?
Learning objective

1. Describe how british policies affected SG (aims)

- Cause (british policy) and effect / impact / outcome (affect on SG lives)
● Successful? (brings in money for the british - but locals become miniel workers)
● What actions did they take to make SG a successful port
● Did the british have their own problems / when british encourage settlers to singapore,
did it bring problems - yes
● How british affected SG - political, economical, social (implementation process)

2. Experiences of different communities

● Change (before and after, cause and effect)
Problem / aim and British intervention (policies? intervention?) and outcome (positive or
negative outcome on who - british or locals (chinese? Malay? Indian? others?))
● Outcomes:
- benefit or not
- Successful or not (measured against the aim)

British contributions
1. Economic
- Free port status
- Facilities (textbook page 111)
2. Political
- Administrative changes
3. Social
- Law and order
- Education
- healthcare
Free port status
- Singapore became increasingly popular as traders coming will not be taxed
- Transhipment: people were good at transferring goods from one trading ship to another
- Entrepot trade: repackaging and redistributing of goods

Tb page 81 graph
As you can see on the graph, you can tell that Singapore port was very successful as the
growth increased tremendously from $11.6m in 1824 to to $89.7m in 1873 (evidence) and
almost tripled from 1830 to 1867 and sg wealth flourished between 1824 and 1873. Singapore’s
trade increased means that Singapore earned more money.
Facilities
Sg was so successful that we had to expand facilities = more ship[s can come to
sg
Set up of offices and railway system (communication)
Building railways, roads and causeways help to improve sg economy as it
facilitates trade

Administrative changes
- 1824: singapore was transferred to the EIC
- 1826: british grouped singapore, penang and melaka into the straits settlement
- 1858 to 1867 singapore was no longer in the eic - the british now has the means to
control singapore, and was very controlled

Law and order

Labour abuses
- Coolie would build buildings, roads, railways etc, transfer goods from ships
- too poor to pay for their passage and thus would find a coolie-agent who would pay for
their passage money.
- work for an employer, without pay for a year, who would help to pay off the debts of their
passage money.

Problem Solutions Effect

- Crammed, lack of food, - William Pickering Mixed results. The British
poor living conditions became the could not solve all the
- Most collies are also chinese problems as they can only
secret society members protectorate (pg help if coolies come forth with
(tb page 103) to get 102). their problems.
protection from society - He could speak
leaders chinese, to relate
- May get arrested if they with the coolies
report their abuse and gain their
because they came trust
illegally in the first place
- If they rant at their boss,
they may get beaten up
Secret society
Joined to have protection and comfort in a foreign place

Social impact
Took care of each other, helped with funeral expenses on behalf of ur family
Another home, family to the migrant who came to sg alone

Problem Solution Effect

Gambling, 1890 dangerous society ordinance Mixed Result: less large scale fights
brothels, - Would be sent back to china and in sg (pg 102) easily recognised.
fights for executed by the china Many secret societies disbanded,
territories government but not eliminated. They became
- Make secret societies illegal smaller instead. They were still
- Solution very effective present. Only controlled

Prostitution
Problems Solutions Effects
- Many females sold to - brothels and prostitutes had to Mixed results. Some
brothels but were be registered legally in order to did not come forward to
promised wealthy prevent forced prostitution. seek help as they had
jobs when they came Thus, the government will be fear towards the brothel
to sg aware of the brothels in owners that they may
- Great demand as existence get punished. Thus,
there were many - Chinese protectorate (pg 103) illegal brothels still
chinese males “office to protect virtue” rescue existed, even up till
- Working conditions young girls and provided now. However, it
bad, unsanitary, poor, shelter - protects them from somewhat help
harsh being “scouted” by brothels because of the
- Unable to get out of registration rule
job

Piracy
Problems Solutions Effect
- Threats from pirates - Gunboats were sent Mixed results: piracy still
caused great danger to patrol the waters exists, but it was under
- Traders did not dare control and was easier to
 to come to singapore manage

Conclusion:
- British policy had widespread policy impact - chinese protectorate helped in many ways,
british established law and order, banning secret societies
- Helped specific groups of individuals

Answering technique
1. Identify problem - british do not make laws without an aim
2. Identify policy taken - Precise evidence and actions must be clearly stated (year to
show direct link between cause and effect, name of law etc.
3. Identify results - mixed / certain degree of success or unsuccessful - when things
happen for the first time (change), prove before and after (was there change or not)

Implementing law and order

Why? Unstable unsafe place - no one came to sg to do business
Thus, British created police to maintain law and order
How? Sikhs were invited and many Malays were recruited to be police officers
- Most problems were caused by chinese, so if chinese were to be the police, there may
be corruption. Police of a different race will make it easier to intervene
Result: Initially small and weak, increased subsequently. They benefited sg as it maintained
social stability

Evidence of British policy (pg 103)

- Thomas dunman deputy magistrate
- British continued to improve police force
- Started a police sch
- It was easy for the sikh to come to sg as india was under the british too

Education
Most of the 19th century
● Little emphasis as migrants saw earning a living more important
● Many did not consider English education important. Thus, it was barely provided

1877 onwards
● British needed english speaking administrators in the government (civil servants) and
in companies as sg was expanding quickly
● Sg was still considered a swamp, so the british government needed to train people
● However, for education that did not directly support trade and government was left to
non-governmental agencies
People who set up schools
1. Christian missionaries were given a free hand to open school - They felt that it was
their mission to bring about civilised societies
2. Wealthy businessmen set up schools

Results
● education focused on quantity, not quality
● Quality lacks, so the chinese decided to take action and set up their own schools

Healthcare
Problem
● Many migrants came to SG in cram and unsanitary housing, which caused diseases
to spread easily.
● Public issues began to rise, which was both a social and economical problem to the
british.
● Employment rate decreased as many were sick and died, and it took months to recruit
more workers

Solution
● The british set up a public healthcare system that was cheap and easily accessible by
the masses - present day SGH
● 1887: Public Health Department was set up

Measures to tackle health issues

● Setting up of Malaria Disease Committee
● Replacement of bucket system
● Attempts to improve housing conditions

Results
● Mixed results
● Birth rate increased, death rate decreased
- From 1896 - 1900, the birth rate increased to 3835 and the deatrate increased to
8847

★ the british did not require everyone to be in the pink of health, just the bare minimum
would do
Impact of external developments on Singapore’s development
Suez Canal
● Reduces distance between sg and london by 43% (before: 120 days, after: 50 days)
● Connects east and west

Result on sg
● more ships coming to and fro to sg to refuel and collect food supplies, thus securing
sg dominance in the region
● Shorter time = lower shipping cost
● Increase use of steamships which enhances sg role as a coaling station

Tin industry
● Sg entrepot trade relied on sea based hinterland for the 19th century
● By the end of the 19th century, sg relied on land based hinterland in malaya

Reasons for the industry to flourish.

● Malaya produced tin and rubber which were imported to the rest of the world -
facilitated tin mining
● Canning industry in USA also expanding, thus the correspondence resulted in a greater
demand for tin
● The amount of tin produced in malaya was increasing due to the new machinery and
mining methods.

Sg contributions
● Tin ore would be brought to sg for tin smelting, which would then be made into blocks.
By the early 20th century, the factory in sg became the leading tin smelter in the world
● The british recognised that tin was in demand, thus they transported tin from malaya
to sg before exporting it out - sg benefits from this

Results on sg
● The tin smelting industry and tin trade in sg brought profits, which added to the
prosperity of sg
● By the end of the 19th century, tin was the most handled item of trade among imports
and exports handled by sg traders

Rubber industry
● Sg exported rubber, but plantation owners showed little interest until the motor car
industry created a new demand for rubber tyres
● In the 19th century, john dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre, which created a possible
rise for the motor car industry
 ● The supply of rubber in brazil and africa was not enough, so planters in malaya
started to gain interest in rubber and hurried to sg botanical garden for seeds

European and Chinese traders realised that they could earn money by providing money
(capital) to SG to open rubber plantations. The European traders would open companies in
England which sold shares to the public to gain money to open rubber plantations in SG.

Great depression - Tb page 120

● Negatively impacted sg as sg had a great reliance of global trade
● Many countries and usa, a key global trading market, went bankrupt, so it affected world
● Affected like a “domino effect”
● Massive drop in global demand of trade

Effect on SG
Affected our tin and rubber industry, as companies that used them shut down. Thus, the
prices of the tin and rubber went down

Result - Page 122, 123

To save a company from bankruptcy, companies would fire higher earning workers or reduce
salary to save everyone's job. Companies may even close down, causing all the workers to
lose their jobs.

What did british do (policy taken)

1. Restrict migrant workers from coming in to save jobs for the locals or current migrants
2. Fired people - move them back to home land to reduce fighting of jobs

Did conditions improve? Yes

Sg trade increased as USA started recovering

★British helped save sg from great depression set back★

 Chapter 4 notes
Chapter 3: british contributions - intervention and external contributions
Chapter 4: people - racial groups (compare lives of the different racial groups)

Lesson objective
why people want to come to singapore of all places - reasons why Singapore was attractive

● While the British attracted traders to singapore, but there were also push and pull factors that
motivated them to come to sg

Push factors: unfavourable conditions in their hometown that made them want to leave their home
country

Pull factors: what attracts people to singapore - end goal is sg (why sg of all places )

● Pull factors and push factors come as a pair. Must link them together as to why people decide to
settle in sg - cannot disassociated push and pull, though during tests, we may just be asked on
the push and pull alone

Settling in singapore
● Work and earn income in singapore, set up family, contributing back to society (sg)
● Even though migrants came thinking it would be temporary to send money home, there are those
who are invested to contribute back to sg

★Explanation must be precise, in depth, clear, relevant (step by step approach) such that a kid can
understand, ★

Pull factors
1. Free port
In the dutch East Indies (British competitors), people had to pay taxes, but in Singapore trade
routes, they did not have to pay taxes, so it was more favourable. Since it was free, bugis did
not need to pay to tax, so that they could make larger profits - money could be used for
savings

2. Free immigration
Migrants would not need to spend money to enter Singapore. Thus, they could come and go
as they please.
★But aren't there coolie agents? They were there to link up the coolie and the boss.★

3. Excellent geographical location

 Singapore was a convenient meeting point for traders from around the world to replenish their
fuel and food supplies. Taking advantage of this, many traders would come to Singapore for the
wide diversity of goods that can be traded.

4. Diverse job prospects

Different jobs were available as the british needed mannpower for different jobs (eg. develop
roads, bridges etc.) to improve the conditions of singapore as port activities and the population
was increasing.

Push factors
1. Poor living conditions in migrant’s homeland
[evidence] China / India affected by war, rebellions, lawlessness- chaotic (famine in India tb
138 picture). Origin countries were unsafe and unstable, they wanted to move to a country with
better living conditions where basic needs are met (peaceful, prosperous - food secure, no
starvation, sage, have job opportunities to earn money - secure income). Singapore met all these
conditions, so they felt that singapore could provide them well

Occupations of different groups of migrants who came to SG

Different forms of migrants and their challenges
- Different races / ethnic groups / countries (british, arabs, chettiars etc.)
- Economic background: Entrepreneurs (rich) vs labourers (poor)

Entrepreneurs
Traders
Europeans set up agency houses along the SG river (where ships dock) to trade plum, tea etc.
they then received commission.

Chinese peranakans also set up trading businesses. They could facilitate communication
between the Chinese and malay traders and were known for being translators between different
races, which made them rich. This allowed them to get education, which then allowed them to
speak English as well, to enhance communication.

The Malays and Bugis were also attracted to Singapore's free port status. They had been
trading in the region long before the Europeans came, but the taxes imposed by the dutch
affected their spice trade. Thus, they were attracted by singapore’s free port status

The bugis then attracted the Indians and Arabs due as they had networks. The Arabs were also
attracted to Singapore's entrepot trade.

Street traders
The Chinese peranakans, malays and indians also sold quick cheap meals to the coolies and
other workers. The meals were low priced, allowing the coolies and workers to have access to
food.
Moneylenders
Indians skilled in trade, accounting, banking and credit were attracted to Singapore's entrepot
trade. Since very few banks would lend money to people, the moneylenders helped to provide
money to them and contributed to Singapore’s commercial activities as a port city.

Labourers
coolies
Work: The Chinese helped in loading and unloading goods at ports, and carrying them to and
from boats and warehouses situated along the Singapore River.
Contribution: supported singapore’s entrepot trade

Work: The Chinese were also involved in coaling or the loading of coal into the steam ships,
which was a messy and tiring job.
Contribution: Coaling was an essential service to major shipping companies, so the work of the
coolies helped gain a reputation for Singapore's efficiency.

Work: the Chinese helped in building roads, buildings.

Contribution: Singapore's environment as a growing trading city.

Work: The rickshaw pullers

Contribution: Provided transportation for a wide range of people, like traders, businessmen and
even school children.

Samsui women
had to engage in manual labour. They had to balance heavy pails of cement on the two ends of
a stick slung across their shoulders

Convict labourers
The British also colonised India, so they sent many of the prisoners to work in Singapore - the
Indians were forced to work here. They cleared jungle, swept the streets, laid roads etc.
Prostitutes / social escorts
Many chinese women were forced into prostitution / being a hostess. However, some were
willing as they thought that it was easy money. They contributed to Singapore through
entertainment and services.

Craftsman
Boat makers
The Bugis and Malays made boats. They were skilled in ship making as this region used to be a
fishing village. Thus, their ancestors passed the skills down.

Comparing entrepreneurs and labourers

Similarities: came from overseas to singapore to earn a living, help make money for singapore
and contribute to the development. [challenges faced] They had to adapt to a new environment,
felt lonely because they were away from their family and had a language barrier with those in
singapore.

Difference;
Comparison criteria Entrepreneur Labourer

Jobs White collared - Business, Blue collared - construction,

administrative, office jobs factory, coolie
professional

Money Earn a profit like attracting Earn wages by working for

more traders to their business others, sometimes in
or helping the economy to unfavourable conditions
prosper

Title Employer Employee

How they contributed Education, health, law Construction

Reason for coming to Pull factors: Singapore had a Push factors: hard to make
singapore prosperous economy etc. money back home etc.
Country of origin: singapore attracted many people of diverse backgrounds
Addiction: the labourers had an opium addiction as they felt lonely away from their family. The
addiction then made their lives miserable.

★We must not give credit to business owners alone for Singapore's development. The
uneducated labourers also contributed in other ways such as building the roads etc. we must
recognise diversity in order to have a holistic picture of history★
Education provided by migrants
Missionaries
● Maria Myer setup present day St Margeret’s school

Wealthy businessmen
● Tan Kim Seng opened 2 hokkien schools - 1 near thian hock keng temple and another
in amoy street
● Gan Eng Seng set up present day Gan Eng Seng school
● Syed Mohammad bin Ahmed Alsagoff set up Alsagoff Arab School

Organisations
● Singapore hokkien huay kuan set up present day Chongfu school (girls school)
● A group of rich businessmen led by tan kah kee set up present day Hwa Chong
School (first chinese secondary school for boys)
● Ramakrishna mission set up schools that taught both english and tamil

★outcome: they can become literate and get better jobs when they are older★
Healthcare provided by migrants
Poor living conditions meant that many diseases (Eg. malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis etc.) would
spread. This caused many to die on the streets. However, the government did little to provide
healthcare. Thus, many small groups took it upon themselves to develop healthcare.

- Gan Eng Seng led the establishment of Tong Chai Medical institution which gave free
treatment and medicine to the poor people of all races.
- Other successful businessmen donated money to provide medical services and
amenities, such as building water wells.
- Tan Tock Seng constructed a hospital on land donated by Syed Omar Bin Ali Aljunied

★prevented viruses or diseases from spreading, thus reducing the death rate in singapore★

Law
For many years, the non-official members of the legislative council consisted of only a few europeans
and asian traders, which outnumbered the official members (all europeans). Over the years, there was a
pressure on the government to increase the number. There were then an equal number of official and
non-official members in the council, this allowed more locals to be involved with the current affairs.
- Lim Boon Keng spoke about the evils of opium smoking both in and outside of the legislative
council and tried to ban opium. However, no changes were made as it meant great loss of
income for the government
- Eunos Abdullah asked the government to set aside a large piece of land for a Malay
settlement called kampung melayu. This provided low cost living for the malays and allowed
them to earn a living by growing fruits and vegetables and rearing poultry

Prominent figures in Singapore

Alexander Laurie Johnston
Set up A.L. johnston and company in 1820, which was an agency house

Edward boustead
Set up boustead & company in 1828, which was an agency house
Tan kim seng
A well known chinese peranakan trader. He would be the translator
between Chinese, Malay and British traders. He also set up 2 schools.

Naraina pillai
An indian trader who started a factory in singapore to produce bricks he
also had a cotton cloth business, which later grew to be one of the largest
in singapore.

Haji omar ali

He was a bugis trader who arrived in Singapore from the Dutch East Indies
in 1880. He owned many properties in singapore.

Haji ambo sooloh

He was Haji Omar Ali's youngest son. He expanded his father’s business
and was also one of the founders of the Malay newspaper, Utusan
Melayu in 1939.

Syed omar bin ali aljunied

He was among the first Arab traders who came to singapore. He donated
one of his plots of land for the building of present day St Andrew’s
Cathedral. He also donated land for present day Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
 Alkaff brothers
Ahmad and abdul were arab traders. They established their company
alkaff & company in the 1860s which was partly due to the increased use
of the suez canal which made the journey easier.

Chapter 5
Learning objective: why SG fell to the japanese
★The background as to why Singapore went to war will not be tested for SEQ, but can be
tested for SBQ.

Thus, we must still know:

1. Why the japanese wanted to attack SEA
2. How the british predicted the japanese’s attack
3. The flags of the japanese and the british

Why do countries go to war?

Resources
- Oil
- Gas (electricity)
- Food security
- Water
Land
- More control
Power
- Prestige

Rise of the nazi - 1939

Colonial masters and European countries were busy fighting for survival (Germany defeated
almost everyone). Furthermore, britain was busy even though it was the only european country
that had not fallen

Rise of japan
Japan could not defeat China as they were too weak. Thus, they came to SEA as the colonial
masters were busy in Europe and thus could not defend SEA and the British empire.

Important people to remember

Gen tomoyuki yamashita - military leader
In charge of attacking singapore and malaya
General arthur percival - military leader
Surrendered to the japanese

“Impregnable fortress” - singapore strategy

Singapore was known as the impregnable fortress as the British thought that we were very
prepared for war.

the whole world knew that singapore was known as an impregnable fortress, as the japanese
were power hungry, thus the british wanted to tell the world that we CANNOT be invaded

How were we prepared?

● Sea
- Guns on the outskirts to protect us from invasion - could be turned to face johor
(takes a lot of effort thought)
- Sembawang air base in case they came from the north
- Near changi

● Land and sea

- Airfield and ground forces

★There was preparation made by the British for Singapore as Singapore is vulnerable. There is
no one to protect us from the sea. Land invasion was not as likely as they had to pass through
malaya first★

Who were our defences?

Problem: communication as there is a language barrier. No unity
- British
- Malay soldiers who would train in the jungle as jungle defences
- Indian
- Australian
- Locals

Why did Singapore fall?

1. [quality and quantity] The good equipment used for war were saved for the British
in europe. Thus, we only had the outdated ones. Britain could not send reinforcement of
troops or equipment

2. The soldiers were not properly trained. Some were even untrained - they are not good
at jungle defences and were even reluctant to set up the defences

3. The british underestimated the japanese - they thought that the japanese wouldn’t
attack since singapore was known as the “impregnable fortress”

4. The 2 warships sent by the british to singapore sunk in the early days of battle as the air
bases were bombed, so there were no planes for the air cover
 5. The bullets at the outskirts were made to shoot big warships. However, it would not
work for a land invasion (many troops rushing towards Singapore at once).

6. Singapore was further from Britain than Japan, so it would take a longer time for the
British to come and save Singapore than the Japanese to come and attack singapore.

Why the Japanese could defeat singapore

Plans and strategies of the japanese
The Japanese did a lot of planning before attacking singapore.
- Sending spies to SouthEast Asia
- People were planted to study the Singapore strategy and to map out important road
networks (Soldiers would know how to move from place to place easily and fast to give
surprise attacks)
-
Preparation by the japanese
- They conducted training and the soldiers took it very seriously
- The soldiers were united and loyal unlike the British - advantage.
- Japanese had good officers who were strategic and gave good suggestions with
regard to attacking singapore
- Japanese soldiers were well trained and experienced since they had already been
fighting in China from 1931 - 1937 while the british were just plunged into war in 1939
Resources of the japanese
- They had good resources (eg. tanks to move fast)
- “Zero” fighters which defeated ship Force Z - had control over the sea
- “Zero“ fighters bombed the air bases - had control over the air
- They used bikes to move from place to place to attack the british with speed and
surprise (bikes are quiet and also allowed them to move through the thick jungles of
malaya with ease)

Masanobu tsuji - important to the attack of sg

- Staff under general yamashita
- Mastermind of the attack on malaya and singapore

When he learnt about the Singapore defences from the spies, he decided not to attack from
the sea but on the southern beaches instead. This plan was then carried out during the invasion

General percival
Percival was unliked by almost the whole world as he was the one who surrendered the
impregnable fortress. He was an irresponsible commander.
Big debate about him
Was he:
- As much as he tried to control his troops, they were uncooperative
- He was outsmarted
Or was he
- He had a bad charisma and no authority

Timeline of the battle of singapore

27 - 30 january 1942 Destroying the naval The British destroyed the naval base so
 base that the Japanese would not use its
facilities. This was one of the greatest
military setbacks faced by the British

1 february 1942 Japanese HQ The Japanese set up a headquarters at

the palace of the sultan of johor. This
gave them a clear view of northern
singapore. Furthermore, Singapore would
not target the palace as it belonged to their
old friend, the sultan.

7 february 1942 Fake attack The Japanese attacked Pulau ubin, the
north east of singapore. Thus, the British
troops moved there and away from the
northwest, which was what the Japanese
wanted.

8 - 9 february 1942 Landing in the The Japanese moved to the northwest of

northwest Singapore through the straits of johor.
As general percival did not know where the
japanese would attack, he assigned troops
along the northern coast of singapore. As
the area was too large, they could not stop
the Japanese from coming into Singapore.

9 february 1942 The british General Percival made plans to withdraw

blunder from the kranji-jurong line to the city.
However, troops thought that he meant to
withdraw entirely. Thus, the whole
northwestern part of Singapore was
undefended. When they realised the
mistake, they counterattacked but it was too
late and the Japanese resched Bukit timah.

10 - 11 february 1942 Battle at bukit timah The British stored food, ammunition and
spare parts at Bukit timah. It also faced a
reservoir, which served as water supply.
When the fighting took place there, the local
Chinese stepped up to fight as well. As
revenge, the Japanese killed all the Chinese
living in the nearby village.

13 - 14 february 1942 Battle at pasir panjang The Japanese reached present day Kent
ridge park, where the ammunition stores
and military hospital was. It was defended
by the Malay regiment. The Japanese
attacked and surrounded the hill. As the
Malays were outnumbered, they were
eventually defeated.

15 february 1942 Conflict at fort canning General Percival wanted to counter

 attack, but many commanders rejected
the idea. Many soldiers were exhausted
and food, water and ammunition supplies
were running out. Street fighting also meant
more fatalities. Thus, they decided to
surrender to avoid this.

15 february 1942 Bluff - had General Yamashita met General Percival to

strategy make him surrender. He did, under
pressure. However, he did not know that
the Japanese were also short of ammunition
and men, and would not have fought much
longer.