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they came …. they settled …. they contributed …. What you will learn. The coming of the immigrants Reasons for the coming of immigrants Where the immigrants lived Contributions of the Immigrants Building the settlement Promoting trade Working for the government Serving the community.
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What you will learn • The coming of the immigrants • Reasons for the coming of immigrants • Where the immigrants lived • Contributions of the Immigrants • Building the settlement • Promoting trade • Working for the government • Serving the community
The coming of the immigrants • Why this rapid increase in population? • Mainly because of immigration
The coming of the immigrants • Reasons for the coming of immigrants • Free immigration policies • Seek protection and safety • Success of Singapore as a port • Famines and droughts • Job and Business Opportunities • Natural disasters, starvation • No war
The coming of the immigrants • Reasons for the coming of immigrants • Concept of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors • Which are the push and pull factors that we have seen?
Pull Push • Free immigration policies • Seek protection and safety • Success of Singapore as a port • Job and Business Opportunities • Famines and droughts • Natural disasters, starvation • No war Pull Pull Push Push Pull
Where the immigrants lived • Where did they lived? • Raffles Town Plan 1822 • Drawn up by him during his visit to Singapore in 1822 • Found that the settlement had grown in a most disorderly manner • Raffles divided the town into different areas for • Government • Business • Residential • Different races were settled in different areas of town
Where the immigrants lived • Malays : Kampong Glam (area around Bugis Junction) • Chinese : Chinatown (Shenton Way/Chinatown as we know it today) • Indians : Chulia Kampong (Chulia Street area) • Europeans : Commercial Square (Collyer Quay/Raffles Place today) • Government Area : North Bank (area around City Hall) • Take note that the situation is quite different today • Take note also that I have attempted to link the places of old to what we know today but this may not be entirely correct. Any error on the interpretation of location is mine.
Clark Quay Merchant Court Hotel Ministry of Labour
Still existing today. Golden Mile Complex Plaza Hotel Sim Lim Tower Sim Lim Square Burlington Square OG Concourse
Raffles Hotel Peninsular Plaza Funan Centre Capitol Building Padang Note that the area of Suntec City and beyond are reclaimed areas and were not there in the early 1800s.
Chinatown as we know it today • People’s Park Centre • People’s Park Complex • Chinatown Point Lau Pa Sat Collyer Quay & Raffles Place area Shenton Way area
Still existing today. Golden Mile Complex Plaza Hotel Raffles Hotel Clark Quay Concourse • Chinatown as we know it today • People’s Park Centre • People’s Park Complex • Chinatown Point Peninsular Plaza Funan Centre Capitol Building Padang Collyer Quay/ Raffles Place Merchant Court Hotel Ministry of Labour Lau Pa Sat Shenton Way area
Contributions of the Immigrants • Building the settlement • Chinese coolies and Indian labourers helped build the settlement • Cleared jungle areas • Worked long hours; very low pay • Indian convicts - construct roads, bridges and buildings eg Istana
St Andrew’s Cathedral was built with the help of Indian labourersIt was built on land donated by a Muslim, Syed Sharif Omar Aljunied
Contributions of the Immigrants • Building the settlement • European officials - planned and developed the town • George Coleman - overall-in-charge of public works • Designed many houses, churches and public buildings • Eg Armenian Church (1835) This church was built by G.D. Coleman in 1835-36, making it the oldest church in Singapore. It is also known as the Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, named for the 4th century monk who converted the Armenians to Christianity. The Armenian Church was consecrated on 26 March 1836. Originally, it had a domed roof and a bell-turret in the ancient Armenian Church tradition. In 1853, both features were removed for structural reasons and a pitched roof and spire were installed. This monument was gazetted by the Preservation of Monuments Board on 6 July 1973. Source : heritagehub.com
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • 19th century : Most goods in Singapore had to be imported from other countries • They were then re-exported to other countries for a profit • Many goods were brought from China to be re-exported to neighbouring countries • ENTREPOT Trade • Singapore depended mainly on entrepot trade for survival in the 19th century
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • Traders came from Malaya, Siam, India and Britain • Traded with Malay traders from the Malay Archipelago (MA) - Straits produce • Straits produce very popular with traders of all races • Eg Hajjah Fatimah, successful businesswoman from Melaka was involved in this trade Straits produce are things that are found or grown in the Malay Archipelago such as rice, coffee, spices and birds’ nests
Hajjah Fatimah Mosque • Built in 1845-46 by Hajjah Fatimah, a Malacca-born Malay lady. • It is one of the only mosques in Singapore named after a female benefactor. • Featuring a single, Malaccan-style minaret, the mosque's "tower and spire" is tilting by about six degrees. • This is Singapore's own "leaning tower". • Hajjah Fatimah, her daughter, Rajjah Sitti and son-in-law, Syed Ahamed are all buried in the private burial ground behind the mosque. • This monument was gazetted by the Preservation of Monuments Board on 6 July 1973. • Source : heritagehub.com
Malay Archipelago A map of the Malay Archipelago, from the first Malay-English dictionary, edited by Thomas Bowrey (London, 1701). In the 17th century, English scholars referred to the Malay language as 'Malaian' or 'Malayan'. In his 1701 dictionary Bowrey called it "Malayo" (nearer to the Malay form 'Melayu'). This has been superseded in English by 'Malay' and 'Malaysian'.
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • European businessmen - eg Alexander Guthrie • Brought goods made in European factories to Singapore • Added to the variety of goods in S’pore • Made S’pore a more attractive trading centre • Helped increased S’pore’s trade Guthrie GTS Ltd is a public listed company on the Stock Exchange of Singapore. It is one of the oldest companies in Singapore and can trace its root back to 1821 when a Scotsman, Alexander Guthrie was granted a licence by the British East India Company to trade in the region. Based in the small settlement of Singapore, Guthrie was among the first to extend a two-way trade between Europe and South East Asia. Imports included cloth, hardware, brandy and sherry. Exports included spices, minerals and essential oils and raw rubber, thus laying the foundation for Guthrie as one of the largest import/export and rubber producing business. Guthrie was already a household name with 150 years of extensive experiences in regional trading and plantation when it become a listed company (Guthrie Berhad) in 1974.
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • Chinese traders : acted as middlemen in the local trade • Brought Straits produce from non-English speaking traders of the MA and sold them to European traders and vice-versa • They were mainly Straits Chinese who could speak English, Malay and local dialects
Contributions of the Immigrants The Straits Chinese were also known as ‘Peranakans’ meaning ‘those born here’ (Malaya or Singapore). When the Chinese traders came to Melaka from the 15th century onwards, many of them married local Malays. Children of such mixed marriages became known as ‘Peranakans’ Men were known as “Baba” and women as ‘Nyona’
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • Some European traders starting running businesses • Besides trading, also involved in banking, shipping and insurance • Eg Guthrie & Company set up by Alexander Guthrie • Eg Indian money lenders or chettiars - played an important role in providing businessmen with loans to set up businesses • See Annamalai Chettiar on pg 26
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • Coolies - worked as labourers in loading and unloading goods at the harbour • Contributed much to the development of trade • Many other immigrants worked as fishermen, farmers, shopkeepers and hawkers • Sold provisions, cloth, food and medicine • Helped provide people with their basic needs
Contributions of the Immigrants • Promoting trade • In the early years, the port was located at the mouth of the Singapore River • Most of the trading activities carried out here • As more and bigger ships came, Singapore River became overcrowded • A new harbour was built in another part of the island • Provided more and better shipping and trading facilities • We will learn more about the New Harbour in Chapter Four
Working for the Government • Both Europeans and Asians helped in the administration of the govt • Eg Syed Mohammed bin Ahmed Alsagoff • A leader among the Malays was appointed as Justice of Peace • His role : To serve as an unpaid magistrate or judge • Given power to try less important cases • Also to settle disputes and arguments among his countrymen
Working for the Government • P Govindasamy Pillai, a successful South Indian businessman • Also served as Justice of Peace • You will read of others like Lim Boon Keng and Enos Abdullah • There were others - many Eurasians and Asians who could speak and write English worked as clerks and attendants • Many Sikhs worked as policemen to help the govt keep law and order
Serving the community • British govt was more interested in trade than in providing social services • People were left on their own to provide for what they needed • Some people from various races helped to provide social services like hospitals and schools for their community and the society TAN TOCK SENG
Serving the community • Tan Tock Seng - rich Chinese Straits merchant • Contributed a large sum of money to build a hospital to care for the sick of all races • It was built on land donated by Syed Sharif Omar Aljunied, the same man who donated the land for the building of St Andrew’s Cathedral • Others like Seah Eu Chin helped run the hospital
Serving the community • Thong Chai Medical Institution in Eu Tong Sen Street • Set up by Chinese community in 1867 to provide free medical services for the poor of all races
Serving the community • Alsagoff Arabic School - set up with the help of Syed Mohammed bin Ahmed Alsagoff • Narayana Pillay, an Indan trader, started a small schol for Indian children • Tan Kim Seng, son of Tan Tock Seng, opened the Chinese Free School • All these provided basic education for some in S’pore
Serving the community • Others helped provide facilities and services for the people • Syed Ali bin Mohammed Aljunied contributed money to construct four community wells to provide water supply for the poor people
Conclusion • We have studied some examples of the kind and generous acts by pioneers • They believed they had a role to play in helping the needy and serving the community and society • Their contributions went a long way in helping the people and improving their lives • While immigrants contributed much, they also created some problems for the settlement • Eg many Chinese immigrants joined secret societies which often took the law into their own hands • We will learn more about how the British govt dealt wit these problems in the next chapter
Geylang Serai • The Malays had been living in Singapore long before the Chinese or the Indians, and Geylang became their enclave in the 1840s after the British disperse the Malay floating village at the mouth of the Singapore River. • Together with the large influx of Malaysians and Indonesians, many wealthy Arabs then congregated in the Geylang area. • Highlights of the area today are the Malay Village and the Geylang Serai Market. • Kampong Glam • The name Kampong Glam comes from the Glam tree which grew in the area • Medicinal oil was extracted from the Glam tree and used by the Buginese and Malays to caulk their ships. • The area was the historic seat of Malay royalty in Singapore • Highlights of Kampong Glam today are the old Malay Cemetery, Sultan Mosque and Rumah Panjang. Source : Singapore Official Guide
More on Kampong Glam The area was named 'Glam' after the gelamor glam tree. The resin of the Gelam tree was used for caulking boats and its leaves for medicinal purposes: the cajeput oil. Because of the abundance of the glam trees, the area initially attracted many boat builders who hauled their craft from the beach of Kampong Glam and worked on a boat's maintenance. The hard timber could replace rotten planks and, furthermore, the tree's bark served as weaving material. Kampong Glam became more populated and grew into prominence after Sultan Hussein Mohammed Shah and the Temenggong signed a treaty with the East India Company in 1819. Kampong Glam was then set aside by Raffles as a residential area for the Sultan and the Temenggong. However, not only did the Malays settle in this area, but also the Bugis, Arabs, Javanese, Boyanese and Chinese also did. Source : http://johnson.commontown.com/netshare/Badge10179/doc/KampongGlam/introduction_to_kampong_glam.htm
Chinatown • Singapore Chinatown's history dates back to 1819 when the first Chinese junk arrived from Xiamen, Fujian province in China. (Another source states 1821! Logically, it should be 1819) • The Chinese who Raffles anticipated would compose the largest single group were given the entire area southwest of the Singapore River • The Hokkiens concentrated their trading efforts along Telok Ayer Street, China Street and Chulia Street • The Teochews continued their farmer-fishermen tradition, occupying Circular Road and South Bridge Road (near present-day Boat Quay). • The Cantonese, traditionally goldsmiths, tailors and restaurateurs, constructed their shophouses along Temple Street, Pagoda Street and Mosque Street.
Chinatown • The only source of fresh water was from the many wells in Ann Siang Hill and at Spring Street. • Each household had to collect fresh water in bullock-drawn carts, hence Chinatown's local name, Niu Che Shui (Bullock Cart Water). • Today, Chinatown can be divided into four main districts: Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar, and Bukit Pasoh. Each has its own distinctive flavor. • The heart of activity is in the Trengganu or Smith Streets area. Sources : 1. http://www.marimari.com/content/singapore/popular_places/ethnic/ethnic.html 2. Singapore Official Guide
Little India • The first Indian settlers in Singapore arrived with Sir Stamford Raffles as assistants and soldiers back in 1819. • In the late 19th century, many more Indian immigrants arrived to find work, be it as labourers to build roads or to take up key positions in the civil service. • Early Indians resided in Chulia Street near Chinatown • In 1843, cattle rearing on the fertile land of Rochor River and a racecourse were introduced near Little India, thus resulting in the heavy influx of Indians. • Immigrants from Madras, Calcutta and Malaya joined them soon after. • This area, once covered in gambier, banana, and vegetable plantations, had become a flourishing commercial centre for the Indian community. • Today, Little India is the emotional and commercial centre of the Indian community, including the many foreign workers from India. • Little India stretches from Rochor Canal to Lavender Street. Sources : 1. http://www.marimari.com/content/singapore/popular_places/ethnic/ethnic.html 2. Singapore Official Guide