How did the Locals Respond to British Rule After World War II?

The Atomic Bomb was first let down at the battle Of Coral Sea. The Japanese suffered as it was a huge impact. The dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were on 6th and 9th August 1945. Due to the suffering and impact of the citizens of the country, Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender on 12 August 1945.

On 5th September 1945, British troops returned to Singapore as crowd welcomed the troops. "Seeing the British was like seeing a long-lost wife. We rejoice." the citizens commented. It was the end of their war. It was the end of their sufferings and hardship. But it still continued.

With the surrender of the Japanese, World War II in Asia formally came to an end. The Union Jack was once again hoisted on the flagpole. It was the same flag as the on used in the 1942 when the British surrendered, it was kept in Changi Prison camp during the Japanese Occupation.

The British set up temporary government in September 1945 for Post-war Administration. It was called the "British Military Admistration (BMA)". It took charge to maintain law and order like society was in anarchy because of revenge killings. They also reconstructed the country. However, there were still challenges that prompted the introduction of self-government.

1. Locals faced a variety of problems like shortages of good, jobs and housing. There were also various strikes as workers' protested.
2. Change in local attitudes over the right of British's rule as myth of invincibility was destroyed.
3. Independence of India in 1947.

The External Events Before World War II That Affected Singapore

The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850)

Before the Revolution started, people only produced enough food and cloth for themselves. This was due to the process of growing food and making cloth was all done by hand and the process was slow.
But soon after the Industrial Revolution, there were inventions of new machines like the spinning machine which greatly changed the ways the goods were produced. Due to this, more goods were produced at a shorter rate of time. People began to work in factories instead of working at home.

One of the new inventions is the steam engine. It transformed good production.
These are the processes :
1. Coal was burnt in steam engine.
2. This heats up the water to produce steam
3. Pressure from steam produce provided energy for machines.

Because Europe had succeeded in the inventions, the goods produced are more cheaper and at a faster rate thus they needed sources of raw materials so that they can continue to produce more goods.

The invention of steam engine led to invention of railway trains and steamships. These inventions allow people to get from one place to another in a shorter time. It also made the search for new markets and sources of raw materials easier.New Markets outside Europe to sell these goods to.

Impact of Industrial Revolution on Singapore.

More Europeans could and did visit the East as more ships visited Singapore, leading to the growth in trade.
This is due to :

1. From 1880s, more European and American steamships made Singapore their port-of-call as steamships stopped at Singapore to refuel and obtain food supplies for their next journey.
2. The Asians in Singapore also used steamships to transport their goods from Singapore to other ports in the region.

These were the reasons of how Singapore's position as port for collection of goods form the East and the distribution of manufactured goods from the West gained importance.

Invention of Suez Canal (1862)

It began to build in 1859, this was due to the driven by Europeans' need for shorter shipping route for Europe to Asia. The Suez Canal was completed in 1869. the Meditteranean Sea and the Red Sea was linked by the Canal. ships travelling from Europe to Asia can bypass Africa. After a year of the opening of Suez Canal, it became one of the busiest waterways in the world.

This reduced the time traveled between Europe to Singapore.
The old route was past Cape of good Hope which is the time taken from London to Singapore was 120 days. The new route which is the Suez Cancel, it took 50 days from London to Singapore. This helped companies saved time and money shipping from Europe to Singapore.

This concludes that :
1. Ships could then visit Singapore more frequently.
2. Trade volume in Singapore increased.

Old Harbour could became overcrowded as there was not enough space along the banks of the river to build storehouses or dry clocks. The government cope with the increase in trade by building a New Harbour in 1852 between southern coast of Singapore Island and Pulau Brani and Pulau Blakang Mati. In 1900, The New Harbour was renamed Keppel Harbour.
In 1912, there were more improvements to the port because the government set up Singapore Harbour Board. New wharves, docks, storehouses and machine shops were built. Modern machinery like forklifts, cranes and tractors were used. The railway system also set up to link the port to other parts of Malaya.

World War I

By 1914, European countries had divided themselves into 2 opposing groups.
Central Powers : Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire
Allied Powers : Britian, France, Russia and Italy.

The situation in Europe had become very chaotic thus leading to War as Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated.

The Impact of World War I - Panic Buying

1. Panic buying of foodstuff
When the people heard the news of war, they rushed frantically to buy food. This action causes the food prices to soar. To bring the prices down, the government banned large quantities of foodstuff to be exported to neighbouring countries. The government also increase the import of rice from Sian and Vietnam. The prices successfully came down and trade carried on as usual a few weeks after war broke out.

2. Emden. German warship, the Emden threatened Singapore's Shipping and trade by :
Arriving in the East in September 1914 but they did not attacked Singapore, but British trading ships in Indian Ocean. It was finally destroyed by the Sydney, an Australian warship in November 1914.
The Emden sank the French and Russian warhsips.

3.Sepoy Mutiny (1915)
After the Emden was destoryed, the Sepoy Regiment was ordered by the British to stationed in Singapore to depart for Hong Kong in November 1914. The Sepoys heard that they might be sent to Europe or Turkey to fight the Muslims. Some of the Sepoys decided to rebel against the British.
15 Febuary 1915, Sepoy Mutiny rebels went around killing Europeans. over 100 people died including 56 mutineers, more than 40 Europeans. The rebellious action stopped after 10 days. Therefore, 41 mutineers were sentenced to be shot while 126 mutineers were sentenced to jail.
Although the locals were not anxious, the sepoys did not gather support fromj the local population for their rebellion as majority of the Indians in Singapore did not participate or help the sepoys. The Sikh police were still loyal to the British governemnt. Most of the Sepoy Regiment did not participate. However, the whole incident taught the government that threats to Singapore's defence could come from within Singapore, not just from outside.
It all lead to the Great Depression.

4. The Great Depression
It was a time when there is a great decrease in business activities with widespread unemployment. It began in America in the early 1920s and spread to countries around the world. This caused companies in Singapore to suffer losses. This war because Singapore's economy depended largely on overseas trade. There companies had to cut expenses by retrenching workers. Many businessmen lost their wealth thus becoming bankrupt. There was therefore a widespread of unemployment and hardship.
Most of the Chinese and Indian immigrants were forced to go home as there were limited jobs available. British government passed a law in 1930 to limit the number of immigrants coming into Singapore especially unskilled male Chinese labourers. In 1934, business conditions in America began to improve, Singapore's trade to other countries began to increase.

Problems faced during the early years of Singapore

During the year 1867, the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony when it was placed under the direct control of the Colonial Office in London.
As a Crown Colony, Singapore had become more than just trading settlement. It now belonged to the British Queen, Queen Victoria.
For many years, the non-official members consisted of a few Europeans and Asians merchants.
As the number of non-official members in the Legislative Council was fewer than the official members, it was very difficult to persuade the government to act on their suggestions as the large majority of official members could out-vote the non-official members.
This made them unhappy.
For many years, there was pressure on the government to increase the number if non-official members.
The number was increased over the years and in 1824, the number of non-official members was equal to the official members in the Legislative Council.
This was also a step towards getting more local people to be involved in the affairs of the colony.
One of the main problems the British had to deal with in the settlement in the 1820s was crime.
As more immigrants arrived in Singapore in the 19th century, keeping law and order became more difficult.
From the mid-1850s, the British government faced three major problems, namely, the problems caused by the Chinese secret societies, the abuse of new immigrants, and piracy in the waters around the island.
Among the thousands of Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore to work or trade, there were also men who brought crime and violence. They formed gangs and secret societies and robbed, killed and took part in activities which were against the law.
Most of them also ran opium houses, brothels and gambling dens.
Although most of the people in Singapore were not directly affected, piracy was also great danger of lives, property and trade of the merchant community in Singapore.
The small police force of the early 19th century was unable to maintain law and order in Singapore.
Few people wanted to join the police force as the policemen were poorly paid and equipped.
Most of those who did join the police force accepted bribes.
The police force was made up largely of Malays and Indians and there were no Chinese in it. As the non-Chinese policemen could not speak Chinese dialects, they were unable to get information from the Chinese. Very often, the army was called in to help the police maintain law and order in the settlement.