What you will learn …What you will learn …

Impact of Colonial Rule in Singapore1) How the British system of government worked

in Singapore2) What the British did to improve law and order 3) What the British did to improve social services 4) How the British treated the Asians

Question:

What is the difference between

Executive Council and

Legislative Council?

Singapore as a Crown Colony

Queen Victoria

British Government in London (Colonial Office)

Governor of the Straits Settlements

Executive Council Legislative Council

British officials and non-officials mainly

Asian & European traders British officials

Make lawsHelp to run the

Settlements

Involvement of Locals in the Government

• Limited – few locals appointed into Legislative Council

• Decisions ultimately made by the majority British officials

• Examples: Eunos Abdullah Lim Boon Keng

Source A:

Adapted from The British as Rulers by Edwin Lee

“The keeping of the law and order was the responsibility of the police, but for a long time in Singapore’s history, they could not do it.

There were riots, stealing during the riots and frequent and daring robberies committed by gangs of men in the 1840s and 1850s.”

What is the message behind Source A?

Where and what is this place?Where and what is this place?

Source B:

Geylang Police Station c1905Geylang Police Station c1905

Source B:

1) Policemen were very poorly paid• Few wanted to join the police force• The first police force in 1820 consisted of 11 people• Too small to control several thousand settlers• The early policemen had no uniform and had to go

barefooted when on duty

Source C:

How useful are Sources B and C in showing the poor standards of the police force?

2) Most immigrants did not understand British laws

3) Growth of Chinese secret societies

CHINESE RIOTSCHINESE RIOTS

“None of the shops dared re-open, and when any of the streets was left unguarded the men on both sides would rush out and commence the fight again.

Finally, finding that they could only fight at short intervals and in small numbers in the town, the two clans marched out in large bodies into the country, where many pitched battles took place, and large numbers were killed on both sides, the heads of the dead being cut off and carried on the spears of their adversaries.”

One Hundred Years of Singapore, Volume One

4) Abuse of Chinese immigrants

5) The British did not care for the people in Singapore

Result?Result?Late 19th century:

more immigrants → Increase in secret societies → more VIOLENCE → Disrupted trade

• Many Asian and British merchants wrote to the Governor

• Urged him to take strong action to improve the police force

Solution? Measures undertaken?Solution? Measures undertaken?The government has also employed more government officials who speak Malay or some Chinese dialects!

Solution? Measures Solution? Measures undertaken?undertaken?

The Chinese Protectorate• Set up in 1877 to handle all

matters and problems related to the Chinese, esp the problems of coolie trade and the secret societies

• William Pickering?

• Guess how many dialects he knew?

• Can u name them?

Solution? Measures undertaken?Solution? Measures undertaken?

• All Chinese societies, agents and coolies had to be registered with the CP

• Hence, Pickering got to know many Chinese leaders• Sought their help to keep law and order among the

Chinese• CP had some effect in controlling the coolie trade

Solution? Measures undertaken?Solution? Measures undertaken?

Duties of CP:

- deal with in-coming immigrants, check abuse in the coolie traffic, licence the vessels and go on board in-coming Chinese junks and ships. They had also to register societies, prevent forced prostitution and protect Chinese woman and girls.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was formed in 1906

Refer to graphic organizer: Overview

Key Pointers:- The police were very ineffective for

the most part of the 19th century.- New measures to improve law and

order were implemented by the government only upon pressure from the merchants.

- Eg: Improved the police force, set up the CP and the CID

Law and OrderLaw and Order

SOCIAL SERVICES SOCIAL SERVICES EDUCATIONEDUCATION

British needed English-educated Asians to work for the govt•British did not treat all schools the same

√√ English and Malay schools X X Chinese schools

Not too long ago, in the 19th century… before the dawn of SARs, bird flu, mad cow disease, dengue fever…

SOCIAL SERVICES SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTHHEALTH

Smallpox as a bioterrorist threat

Smallpox &

Cholera

The following pictures may be disturbing to some viewers…

WARNINGWARNING

SOCIAL SERVICES SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTHHEALTH

• Public Health DepartmentPublic Health Department• Early 20thC – Asian leaders

pressured govt to set up a medical school-> A need to train more doctors

• Govt agreed on condition that people raised a large sum of money to build the college

SOCIAL SERVICES SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTHHEALTH

Asian leaders:• $87,000 • 1905 – First medical

school established to train doctors

• 1920 – The school became King Edward College of King Edward College of MedicineMedicine

Govt:• built more hospitals• cleared dirty streets and

drains • By early 1940s, govt was

providing better medical care and services

• Spread of disease reduced

Key Pointers:- The government was only interested

in the economic aspect Trade- Neglected social aspect Education

& Health services- Only towards 1900s: more involved

in providing education and health services

Social ServicesSocial Services

The Rulers and the RuledThe Rulers and the Ruled

Refer to Source D.The British considered the Chinese merchants as one of the most important group of people. Do you agree?

Inference Qn!

Yes, Source D shows the Prince of Wales chatting with the Chinese merchants during his visit to Singapore in 1922. For a high-ranking member of the British royal family to spend time chatting with the Chinese merchants, it proves that the British must have valued them as one of the most important group of people in Singapore.

Moreover, the Chinese merchants had an important part to play in helping the trade in Singapore to grow. Thus, the British sometimes considered their views and tried to meet their needs.

Source D:

The Rulers and the RuledThe Rulers and the Ruled

• 19thC – the British considered the European and Chinese merchants as the most important group of people

• Mainly because they helped trade to grow

• But did not treat other Asians in the govt well

• The officials in control of govt depts were all Europeans

• Believed that Europeans were superior to Asians

• The British rewarded people according to their race, not their talents or contributions

The Rulers and the RuledThe Rulers and the Ruled• “DiscriminationDiscrimination” – Inside and outside the

governmentEuropeans Asians

•Senior/more important positions

Eg: Only European officials were in control of the government

departments

•Junior/less important positions

•Higher salaries •Lower salaries

•Railway: Separate carriages for Asians and Europeans.

•Shops & hotels: Europeans treated as more important than Asians

The Rulers and the RuledThe Rulers and the RuledKey Pointers:

- All these made Asians dislike the British for their unfair treatment

- By 1942 (when Japan invaded Singapore), the British still had not done enough in the social and political aspects:

Social:Inadequate education and medical facilities

Political:Non-official members of the LC were still chosen by the

Governor and not elected by the people- Discrimination against Asians remained in and out of

government

The main reason why the British government ruled with little Asian participation because the locals were quite contented to leave the ruling of the island to the British.Do you agree?

Steps:1) Start with the given factor2) Then move on to other factors

eg: Factor 1 Factor 2

3) Reach a conclusion and decide if it was the main factor or not.

• 2 reasons for limited Political Participation by Asians:1. Locals were not interested

• More interested in making their own living• Quite contented to leave the ruling of the island to the British

2. Europeans and Asian traders (also known as merchants) were the only ones interested in government

• Some Asian traders nominated to become non-official membersnon-official members in the Legislative Council

• An important step in getting Asians involved in the affairs of the settlement• Asian non-official members were more familiar with the situation in Singapore• Helped to passed laws that benefited the people

Structured Essay QnStructured Essay Qn

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Images and photographs were reproduced in the interest and pursuit of education and not for profit. All copyrights belong to the respective owners :

• Understanding Our Past, 1999 CPDD-MOE, Singapore• Paul Thomas, British Monarchy, Oxford University Press 1989• One Hundred Years of Singapore, Volume One• Singapore Historical Postcards : From the National Archives

Collection, Times Editions