Early history of Singapore
| History of Singapore | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1950 | |
| Second Legislative Council | 1951–1955 |
| Anti-National Service Riots | 1954 |
×
![]()
×
![]()
Part of a series on the |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History of Singapore | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
Early history (pre-1819)
|
||||||||||
|
British colonial era (1819–1942)
|
||||||||||
|
Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)
|
||||||||||
|
Maria Hertogh riots | 1950 | |||||||||
| Second Legislative Council | 1951–1955 | |||||||||
| Anti-National Service Riots | 1954 |
| Hock Lee bus riots | 1955 |
| Pulau Senang prison riots | 1963 |
Singapore portalThe early history of Singapore refers to its pre-colonial era before 1819, when the British East India Company led by Stamford Raffles established a trading settlement on the island and set in motion the history of modern Singapore.
Prior to 1819, the island was known by several names; an early reference may be in the 2nd century work by
Singapore was known in the 13th to 14th century as Temasek, with its name possibly being changed to Singapura perhaps towards the end of 14th century. The island was alternately claimed during this period by the Siamese and the Javanese. The last ruler of Singapura, Parameswara fled to Malacca after an attack by either the Javanese or Siamese, and established the state of Malacca. It was controlled by the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century and the Johor Sultanate from the 16th century, up till its founding as a British colony in the 19th century.
From primary historical texts dated before the 14th century, scholars have identified some 24 names that possibly referred to the island of Singapore.
A 3rd century Chinese written record described a locality named Pu Luo Zhong (蒲羅中), possibly a transcription of the Malay Pulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of the Malay Peninsula), i.e. Singapore Island.[5] It mentions briefly a hearsay account of cannibals with 5 or 6-inch tails living there.[6] The extent to which Pu Luo Zhong can be identified with Singapore is still debated to this day.[7]
Another possible reference to Singapore was found in Nanhai Jigui Neifa Zhuan (A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea), travel accounts of the Buddhist monk Yijing from the Tang dynasty. Yijing mentioned several islands located in today's Southeast Asia, and one of which called Mo-he-xin or Mo-ho-hsin (摩诃新) was argued by Brian E. Colless to be the ancient Singapore.[8]
A large boulder measuring 3 metres in height and width, inscribed with writings, used to exist at the mouth of the Singapore River, but was later blown up when Fort Fullerton was expanded and the river mouth widened. Only a few fragments survive, and it became known as the Singapore Stone. Various dates between 10th to 13th century have been proposed for the inscriptions that is as yet undeciphered, and the script is suggested to be related to that used in Sumatran in that period.[9][10]
Early Singapore was called "Temasek", possibly a word deriving from "tasik" (Malay for lake or sea) and taken to mean Sea-town in Malay.Javanese eulogy written in 1365, listed a settlement on the island called Tumasik as a vassal of the Majapahit.[12] The name is also mentioned in the Malay Annals thought to have been written in 1535.[11] Temasek may have diplomatic relationship with Vietnam, which recorded it as Sach Ma Tich, as early as the 13th century.[13] It is also recorded by the Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan who visited the island around 1330 and described a place called Dan Ma Xi (單馬錫, a transcription of the Malay Temasek). The name Dan Ma Xi or Temasek is written in Chinese as 淡馬錫 in the Mao Kun map.
It was recorded in 1320 that the Mongol sent a mission to obtain elephants from Long Ya Men (龍牙門, Dragon's Teeth Gate).[14] The people of Longyamen then responded in 1325 with a tribute and trade mission to China.[15] Long Ya Men is believed to be the entrance to Keppel Harbour. In his work Daoyi Zhilüe, Wang Dayuan described Long Ya Men as the two hills of Temasek that looked like "Dragon's teeth" between which a strait runs, and wrote about the place:
The fields are barren and there is little padi ... In ancient times, when digging in the ground, a chief came upon a jewelled head-dress. The beginning of the year is calculated from the [first] rising of the moon, when the chief put on this head-gear and wore his [ceremonial] dress to receive the congratulations [of the people]. Nowadays this custom is still continued. The natives and Chinese dwell side by side. Most [of the natives] gather their hair into a chignon, and wear short cotton bajus girded about with black cotton sarongs.
Wang further mentioned that
Wang also reported that the Siamese attacked Temasek (with no specific reference of Long Ya Men or Ban Zu) a few years before he visited, but the fortified city survived the attack which lasted a month.[20] Ruins of the settlement on the hill were still visible in the early 19th century and were described by the Resident John Crawfurd. In 1928, pieces of gold ornaments dating to the mid-14th century was discovered at Fort Canning Hill.[21]
Sometime in its history, the name of Temasek was changed to Singapura. The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Palembang, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on Temasek after surviving a storm in the 13th century. According to the tale, the prince saw a strange creature, which he was told was a lion; believing this to be an auspicious sign, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit.[23]: 37, 88–92 [24]: 30–31 It is unlikely there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century. However, the lion motif is common in Hindu mythology, which was dominant in the region during that period (one of the words for "throne" in the Malay language is "singgasana", meaning "lion's seat" in Sanskrit), and it has been speculated that the "Singapura" name, and the tale of the lion, were invented by court historians of the Malacca Sultanate to glorify Sang Nila Utama and his line of descent.[25]
A divergent account is provided by Portuguese apothecary
Not withstanding the Sejarah Melayu legend, the "Singapura" name possibly dates to this period. Some argued that Singapura was named after the "lion throne" Parameswara established in Palembang as a challenge to the Majapahit empire, and for which he was expelled from Palembang.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the main settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards.
After Albuquerque
The Portuguese destroyed the outpost in Singapore in 1613,[33][34] but shortly afterwards in the early 1620s, it was suggested that forts be built in the Singapore Straits to counter the rising power of the Dutch.[28] Visitors to the area in the 17th century mentioned that it was inhabited by the Seletes who lived on water under the rule of Johor,[35] but Singapore had largely sank into obscurity apart from a mention that Singapore River was the location of a naval battle between Johor and Siak in 1767.[28]
This 1819 Singapore Treaty, signed by himself, Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and Prince Hussein Long whom he declared to be the rightful Sultan of Johor, led to its founding as a British colony under direct rule from the British East India Company following the confirmation of its status as British colony (along with the founding of British Malaya as a contiguous polity) by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. This event has generally been understood to mark the founding of colonial Singapore, and the beginning of its modern history.[36]