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.

Immigrants

Immigrants are people who came from other countries. They consist of women and men. But most of them were men. They consist of Chinese, Malay, Indian and European. They were from :

- China

- Britain, Portugal and Holland

- Arabia

- India and Ceylon

- Melaka and Penang

- Malay Archipelago

Immigrants come to Singapore to work as they hoped to make enough money to send it to their hometown reguarly so that their families will not starve and will eventually return home after earning enough. Instead, some immigrants chose to live in Singapore permanently. They either brought their wives or children to Singapore or married local women or men who were mostly Malays or Chinese born in Penang and Melaka.

The Push Factors that lead the immigrants to come to Singapore was due to unfavourable conditions.

- Unemployment

- War / High Crime Rate

- Poor Living Conditions

- Discrimination

The Pull Factors that attracted the immigrants to Singapore, a new enviroment.

- Employment

- Peace / Low Crime Rate

- Good Healthcare

- Better Living Conditions

The immigrants were settled in different races at the mouth of the Singapore River. In 1822, Lieutenant Philip Jackson was appointed by Raffles as the Assistant Engineer to plan as to improve the haphazard way in which buildings were in built in the settlement. It was to prevent conflicts among different groups and fire.

Raffles has plan to segregate the races. Each race has a specific residential area leading to minimising contacts and conflicts. Kapitan, chief of a designated area, was appointed to be in-charge of the internal affairs of each community.

Raffles left Singapore in 1823, the new Resident, John Crawfurd was in-charge of the town plan.

Here are some development restricted to the southern parts of Singapore.

- Roads were laid out.

- Commercial buildings such as offices and shophouses were put up.

- The roads of the town were widen.

- Street lighting was established, using coconut oil.

- Land along the seafront was reclaimed.

- Many churches, government offices and public buildings were built.

Contributions that the immigrants made

Europeans set up big trading companies and agency houses that had links with Europe in Singapore.

These are some trades going on :

From Britian and Western Europe

- Cotton

- Wollen Cloth

- Iron

- Steel

- Guns

- Gassware

- Clocks

From India

- Opium

- Cotton

- Cloth

From China

- Tea

- Silk

- Foodstuffs

- Medicines

- Porcelain

From Siam, Annam and Cochin China

- Rice

- Sugar

- Salt

From Malay Archipelago

- Rice

- Spices

- Coffee

- Birds' Nests

- Sharks' Fins

- Sea Cucumbers

- Precious wood

The goods were unloaded off the ships into warehouses. Agency houses brought in all the goods. They were all then repackaged in smaller quantities. They are then exported to places like Europe, India, the Malay Archipelago and China. 

There were middlemen known as coolie-agents, they helped trader and merchants to look for workers who came from India and China.

The Chinese, they contributed to the society by :

- Chinese barbers cut hair and provided ear-picking services

- Chinese provision shops supplied daily necessities of the immigrants

- Chinese street hawkers sold food that gave the Chinese a taste of their homeland food

- Chinese rickshaw pullers provided transportation for people around and outside of town areas.

The coolies who worked at the docks and construction are a large number of chinese who were unskilled. The jobs there were given were unskilled labour . They carried cargoes at docks and wood for construction purposes.

The Indians, were in-charge of the areas of banking and transportation, they held the monopoly of transportation in Singapore until the 1860s.

The Malays, they were mostly engaged in providing basic necessities like firewood and foodstuff. They had jobs like gardeners, huntsmen and shipbuilders. They made ships and boats for the malay traders to ferry their goods to neighbouring islands.

Many of there immigrants worked very hard and some succeeded in fulfilling their dreams. However, those who did not succeed lived in poverty and hardship till death.

Even though the immigrants boost Singapore's economy and social states, but they also brought some diseases in Singapore. 

- Malaria

- Cholera

- Typhoid

- Smallpox

- Tuberculosis

The more successful businessmen were motivated to help their less fortunate countrymen, thus they provided social services like hospitals and schools.

Tan Tock Seng and Syed Mohamed bin Alsagoff spent large sums of money on providing medical services and amenities like water wells for the community.

Some examples are

- Paupers' Hospital on Pearl's Hill, established in 1844

- Thong Chai Medical Institution in 1867

Their acts of philanthrophy made life for the less fortunate better for those who received help.

Philanthrophy meant the act of giving of money and other help to people who need them, without asking for anything in return.

Christian missionaires from Europe and America came and set up schools too. One example is the st.Margaret's School

Diary of a POW

28 January 1939, 7.00p.m

The Japanese soldiers tortured me. The burning pain on my skin, the strokes of torture. They whacked me with a whip, again and again. They smirked in satisfaction and mocked me. Even though I was angry, but I was too weak and vulnerable to do anything. After those horrible minutes, they threw me back into the cold and dark room.

I was lonely, I wanted to have someone to talk to. I missed my wife and children dearly. The loneliness felt like despair. The room was so damp that it stinks. The horrible odour filled the room, or what I call, hell. I was locked up for 28 days, surviving with only porridge and dirty water. I was incredibly weak, I felt that I am fortunate to survive till this day. The war was not ending, I will not be free.

All I could do was pray...

Diary of a POW

23 January 1939; 1.00pm

I feel so weak. How long will this war last? Is my wife and children alive? I seriously have no answers. Sounds of the gunshots have been lessened these few days and I guess the prosecution will continue. The food they serve here is terrible. How are we going to live with porridge everyday? And what’s worse is that they only serve one serving per day. How can I possibly live with that forever? Is this the end of me? If that's the case, i rather not die in the hands of the Japanese. I can only rely on fate...

Raffles' Trick and The Anglo-Dutch Treaty

                                                        Sir Stamford Raffles
                                                      
Raffles' Trick

Raffles wanted to establish a trading settlement in Singapore. He had a meeting with Temenggong Abdul Rahman.
The Temenggong was a senior minister of the Johor-Riau Sultanate. Raffles wanted to set up a trading settlement
in Singapore. Even though Temenggong agreed but he informed Raffles that the island was ruled by Sultan Abdul Rahman of the Johor-Riau Sultanate.

The British was not afraid of the Dutch even though they are having a war with France in Europe at the same time.
Holland was located between British's enemy therefore Britian wanted to ensure that Holland remain a buffer state.

Sultan Abdul Rahman also the Sultan of Singapore was under the Dutch influence.
It meant that the Dutch would not allow the British to set up a settlement in Singapore.
During the discussion, Temenggong explained to Raffles how Tengku Abdul Rahman had become the Sultan instead of his elder brother, Tengku Hussein.

There were two princes, Tengku Hussein who was the elder son, and Tengku Abdul Rahman, the younger son.
When their father passed away, only Tengku Abdul Rahman, the younger son, was present.
The elder son, Tengku Hussein who could have been the new Sultan, was away in Pahang.
The Bugis chiefs in Riau made Tengku Abdul Rahman the new Sultan as it was also supported by the Dutch.
The supportors of Tengku Hussein, like the malay chiefs, were unhappy but all they could do was watched as the Dutch were too powerful for the malay chiefs.
When Tengku Hussein found ou that Tengku Abdul Rahman became the new Sultan, he had no choice but to go and live quietly on one of the Riau islands.

After hearing the story, Raffles had a plan. The British recognise Tengku Hussein as the rightful ruler of the Johor-Riau Sultante as he was the heir.
Tengku Hussein agree, thus he was crowned as the new Sultan and signed a treaty on 6 February 1819 with Raffles. Singapore became the British possession.
These are the Terms of the Treaty :
1. Tengku Hussein was recognized as the Sultan of Johor.
2. British was given the southern part of Singapore to set up a trading settlement.
3. The sultan would be paid an allowance of $5000 per year.
4. The Temenggong would be paid $3000 per year.

The Dutch found out and they were very upset with Raffles. The British government was very upset too as they did not understand why Raffles had to upset the Dutch when England is having a war with France.
The British and Dutch signed another treaty in 1824 to solve their conflict. It is called " The Anglo-Dutch Treaty"
The terms :
The treaty will split the Malay Archipelago into two spheres of control.
1. Bencoolen and Indonesia will belong to the Dutch.
2. Melaka, Singapore and Penang will belong to the British.

Even though Singapore became a British Possession on 6 February 1819, we only became a colony on 2 August 1824 after the "Anglo-Dutch Treaty"