Eurasian Singaporeans

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Eurasians in Singapore
Total population
18,060 (2020)
Macanese people, Dutch people, Indian diaspora
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Singaporeans

Eurasian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of mixed

British Sarawak, part of the former British Raj India, of the former Portuguese India and Chittagong (today in Bangladesh), the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina. When the European maritime powers colonised Asian countries, such as colonial India, Ceylon, Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia and Indochina, from the 16th to 20th century, they brought into being a new group of commingled ethnicities known historically as Eurasians.[2]

Early Europeans were primarily male and often had children with local women. Initially, the offspring of such a union were brought up as an appendage of European culture, enjoying further advantages not generally accorded to the rest of the local Asian people.[3]

European ancestry

Romans and Italians

The first documented Europeans to visit Southeast Asia were the Romans and Italians. In 166 AD, a Roman mission travelled to China via modern day Vietnam, bringing presents of elephant tusk, rhinoceros horn, and tortoise shell from Southern Asia. Archaeological evidence supports the claim in the

Niccolo de' Conti married an Indian woman, and travelled extensively in modern day Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.[8]

Of Portuguese descent

Before the arrival of the Dutch, English and French in Asia, the first Europeans to land and seize territory in Asia were the

Macanese people of Cantonese-Portuguese ancestry from Macau
are also living in Singapore.

Kristang

Eurasians or Kristang Eurasians who generally have some Kristang-speaking ancestry form a sub-group distinct from those who are the offspring of more recent immigrants and expatriates of European and Asian origin and who are also commonly called "Eurasians" in Singapore. The same or similar distinction exists between on the one hand those first- or second-generation Eurasians who typically would share the ethnic identity of one parent more closely, that parent typically not being of Kristang or Portuguese-origin and on the other hand multi-generation(i.e. typically third-generation, fourth-generation and fifth-generation, etc) Eurasians who typically might have at least some distant Kristang-speaking or Iberian-origin ancestry, and many of whom would associate with some Kristang or Portuguese-origin cultural practices (e.g. Kristang songs and Portuguese-origin dances like Jinkli Nona) and dine on Kristang Eurasian dishes like Devil's curry or curry debal in Kristang. As a general rule, first or second-generation Eurasians typically do not have any Kristang-speaking ancestry, do not speak Kristang, generally do not adopt Kristang or Portuguese-origin cultural practices and cues and are less familiar with Kristang Eurasian cuisine, language and history. Simply put, first-generation Eurasians are people whose parents are not Eurasians. Multi-generation (typically third-generation, fourth-generation and fifth-generation, etc) Eurasians are people whose parents or forefathers are themselves Eurasians.[9]

Of Dutch descent

In 1602, a Dutch trading company called the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC (literally "United

Straits of Magellan. In establishing their numerous trade stations spanning across Asia, the Dutch created independent settler societies in each of their colonies, where Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia
) became the administrative centre and rendezvous point for the company's Asian shipping traffic.

Between 1602 and 1795, the VOC fitted out some 4,700 ships which carried more than a million Europeans to Singapore. More than 70 percent of the one million passengers never actually returned to Europe, making Asia their new home.

Dutch colonies
situated throughout Asia (though primarily in modern Indonesia) where they were stationed and became part of the respective communities.

Anglo-Burmese and Kristang. The Dutch transferred Malacca to the British in 1825 in exchange for territory in Sumatra. The British colonial administration encouraged migration away from Malacca and as a result many Eurasians and other people moved north to thriving Penang (where other Eurasians fleeing Phuket or moving from Kedah also settled) and later south to Singapore as it grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dutch descendants in Malaysia and Singapore are primarily made up of Eurasians originating from Malacca, as well as others who emigrated from the East Indies, India and Sri Lanka. Leo and Hilda Campbell were Dutch Burghers who arrived in Singapore from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1910. The couple planned to migrate to Australia like many Eurasians but due to Hilda suffering a stroke, they remained in Singapore.[11]

Of British and Irish descent

The British were the most important Europeans in colonial Singapore, as they were the colonial rulers of the island. A number of British settlers arrived after its colonial status changed in 1867. Interracial marriage was very common in colonial days. Even men who had European wives sometimes had local paramours. European women who moved to Southeast Asia tended to die young. British men took Asian partners and their offspring would be Eurasian. Some who had

E. W. Barker, the former Law Minister, was of mixed- Portuguese, Irish, Japanese, Scottish, Malay and German descent. Author Rex Shelley was of mixed English, Portuguese, Malay and Buginese ancestry. National swimmer Joseph Schooling is a third-generation Singaporean, and is of Eurasian ethnicity. His parents are Colin and May Schooling. May is a Chinese Malaysian and a Singapore permanent resident; while Colin, a businessman, was born in Singapore. Colin's grandfather was a British military officer who married a local Portuguese-Eurasian in Singapore. The last name Schooling is believed to be an anglicised surname that originated in Germany.[13]

Of other European descent

Other Eurasians in Singapore have parents or are descended from individuals who originated from various parts of Western Europe and its former colonies such as in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or elsewhere. There are also some Filipino people of partial Spanish descent. Former Nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen's father is of Swedish and Portuguese descent. His grandfather married a Chinese woman in Shanghai and brought her to Singapore. Geraldene Lowe's mother’s family was called Luth and came from Schleswig-Holstein, then part of Denmark. During Bismarck’s unification of Germany, they headed to Asia and Australia and married people from various nationalities.[12]

Asian ancestry

Of Chinese descent

Olympic gold medallist swimmer Joseph Schooling is a Eurasian, as is his father Colin Schooling. His mother May Schooling is a Chinese-Malaysian while his father is of British, Swedish, Kristang and Portuguese descent.

Of Malay and Indonesian descent

Author

Buginese
ancestry.

Of Japanese and Korean descent

Other Eurasians in Singapore have parents or are descended from individuals who originated from

White American and half Korean.[14]

Double-barrelled race classification in official documents

Since January 2010, the Government in Singapore has allowed the double-barrelling of race classification by parents of different races when they register their children. A child may be registered, for instance, as Malay-Caucasian or Caucasian-Chinese. Before 2010, the government required children to register as a single race, which was required to be the father's. The added flexibility is in response to increasing demographic diversity driven by immigration and more multi-cultural marriages.[15]

Culture and traditions

Languages and Kristang (Portuguese-based creole)

Shepherd's pie, a common Eurasian dish

English is generally spoken as a first language by almost all Eurasians in Singapore. A number of Eurasians speak Asian languages like Malay, Chinese (Mandarin or other Sinitic Languages) or Tamil as a second or third language. Like many Singaporeans, Eurasians will commonly speak

Portuguese creole known as Cristão or Papia Kristang (Speaking Kristang) – the Kristang language at home and within their small community. Kristang is a dying patois
and is only spoken by a small minority of Eurasians.

Religion and education

The Eurasian community in Singapore includes people that belong to different religions and to no religion, but most of them are

Evangelicals. Eurasians looked upon an English education as a passport to a better life in colonial Singapore and so their children were among the first to enrol in the earliest English language schools when they were set up. They attained the highest literacy rate among the local groups here. This enabled them to secure comfortable employment, in both public and private sectors, following in the footsteps of their fathers and as a family tradition for the future generations.[3]

Eurasian cuisine

Eurasian culinary traditions include

Pineapple tarts
are also a much-loved dessert, often served at Christmas in Eurasian homes. While the pineapple tart origins are elusive, its fascinating history can be traced back to the Eurasian community, as it combines a unique blend of culinary influences - the pineapple, which was introduced to Asia in the 16th century by the Spanish and Portuguese, made into a jam that is blended with Southeast Asian spices like the star anise, cloves and cinnamon, and baked in a pastry form that applies baking techniques introduced by the Portuguese.

Prominence in the media, entertainment and fashion industries

Eurasians are prominent in the media, entertainment and fashion industry and are sought after because of their mixed look. In Singapore, Eurasian models are sometimes called 'Pan-Asians' for their mixed appearance. Apart from displaying certain Singaporean beauty standards, a common belief among those in the advertising industries of both Singapore and Malaysia is that a Eurasian model can appeal to different ethnic groups of Asian origin and thus there would be no need to create different advertisements to target different groups. For example, an advertisement featuring a Malaysian-Eurasian face could be used in places like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand or Singapore because non-Eurasian Malaysians with their diverse origins could pass off as a Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Thai or Singaporean.[16]

In media and entertainment, father and son Brian and Mark Richmond, Vernetta Lopez and Jean Danker are well-known radio personalities.[17]

Eurasians in Singapore have also made their mark in the artistic and cultural domains. Jeremy Monteiro is a renowned jazz musician and Cultural Medallion winner. Rex Shelly was an award-winning writer known for his novels that feature the Eurasian community in Singapore and Malaysia.[17]

'Eurasiana - A Musical Tribute'

In June 2009, 'Eurasiana - A Musical Tribute' marking the 90th anniversary of the Eurasian Association was performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall. It was a showcase of Eurasian music, dance and culture in Singapore.[18] Also performing was the 50-piece Singapore Pop Orchestra led by Maestro Iskandar Ismail.

Places associated with Eurasians

Soon after the founding of

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
as well as other well-known schools that used to be located in the vicinity. A number of buildings and churches of the period in the vicinity still stand today. Today, few Eurasians can be found residing in the Waterloo Street and Queen Street area.

Eurasian families moved out from the enclaves to other locations such as the government quarters in

Peranakan
Chinese enclave.

The leading association for Eurasians in Singapore is the Eurasian Association at 139 Ceylon Road in Katong. The Eurasian Association has played a major role in uniting the community and developing a stronger shared identity. It also a self-help group which serves the Eurasian community in Singapore. It has expanded the definition of Eurasian to include any person of mixed European and Asian parentage. Previously, only persons whose fathers were of European origin or who had European surnames were considered Eurasian.[17] As of the end of 2013, there were 2,128 members of the Eurasian Association of Singapore.[19]

The Singapore Recreation Club facing the Padang, Singapore near City Hall, founded by several Eurasian men, is considered to a social and sports club that is popular amongst the Eurasians in Singapore. E.W. Barker played sports like cricket and hockey for the Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) between 1934 and 1941, when the SRC was almost the strongest team in Singapore.[20]

Eurasians during the Japanese occupation

During the

Roman Catholic bishop Monseigneur Adrian Devals. On his own accord, Dr Charles Joseph Pemberton Paglar, President of the Eurasian Welfare Association visited the settlement frequently to bring much needed medical and other supplies as well as give the populace moral strength. Although many of the settlers were educated through missionary schools, and many of the landowners had practised limited subsistence farming on their properties in Singapore, the soil at the Bahau settlement was intentionally apportioned by the Japanese as it consisted of non-arable land where there was insufficient water for irrigation. While the Japanese kept to their policy of restraint against the Europeans and Catholics (mindful of their German and Italian allies), the measure was deliberately intended to result in hardship for the settlers. The entire process which resulted in the deaths of about 500 settlers was extensively concealed under propaganda which sought to portray the departure of Catholic families from Singapore as a willing venture. As many who were relocated were generally of higher social and economic status, the propaganda which depicted better lives, created a resentment in the local populace and misplaced sense of betrayal against those that had initially defended them against the Japanese. The perverse nature of the Japanese propaganda was highly effective and would have lasting ramifications of distrust between the local races and their former colonial protectors.[21] Many suffered from malnutrition, as their subsistence farming attempts could not provide self-sufficiency. In addition, they were plagued by malaria and other diseases. An estimated 500 settlers lost their lives, including Bishop Devals who helped many others to survive the ordeal. After the Japanese surrendered to the British in August 1945, the survivors were allowed to return to Singapore however were not compensated for their land or property.[22]

Notable Eurasian Singaporeans

See also

References

  1. ^ "Census 2020" (PDF). Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 24 (2), 'The postcolonial ambiguities of Eurasian pan-ethnicity in Singapore', J. Lowe and M. Mac an Ghaill (2015, Page 234); Indonesia and the Malay World 43 (126), 'Children of Decolonisation: Postcolonial (Indo) Eurasian Communities in Indonesia and the Netherlands', R. Hewett (2015, Page 192)
  3. ^ a b Lam Pin Foo blog 'Singapore Eurasians - The Inheritors of Western and Asian Cultures' 31 March 2011
  4. OCLC 794700625.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  5. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.698.1744
    .
  6. ^ "The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 / Page 340 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)". dsr.nii.ac.jp. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  7. ^ "The Travels of Friar Odoric, Blessed Odoric of Pordenone. …". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Niccolò dei Conti | Italian merchant". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  9. ISBN 981-204-367-5
    .
  10. ^ a b Dutchmalaysia.net - The Easternization of the West: Children of the VOC by Dennis De Witt (2006)
  11. ^ Straits Times 'Orphan who became a houseboy has lived his life in service - picking up skills along the way' - 9 August 2015
  12. ^ a b c Expat Living Singapore 'Guide to Katong: Our colourful tour of Singapore's East Coast neighbourhood' 13 June 2014
  13. ^ "More than Devil Curry". Todayonline.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Stephanie Carrington's beauty secrets". AsiaOne. 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Mixed-race S'poreans can have double barrelled IC category". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  16. ISBN 9780226430409
    . Retrieved 29 May 2018 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ a b c Singapore Infopedia Eurasian community - Stephanie Ho 2013
  18. ^ The Neweurasian 'What a wonderful show' July–September 2009 Pg 10-12
  19. ^ Straits Times 'Some Eurasians frustrated for being mistaken as foreigners in Singapore', 5 October 2014
  20. ^ History Blog - E.W Barker - historyof07.blogspot.sg
  21. ^ Straits Times 'New book tells of hardship in Malayan jungles for 3,000 from Singapore during Japanese Occupation' - Benson Ang 12 Oct 2014
  22. ^ Singapore Infopedia 'Bahau settlement' - Joshua Chua
  23. ^ "MTV looks to new VJs to boost ratings". Asiaone.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  24. ^ Singapore Infopedia Lloyd Valberg - Joanna HS Tan 2010

Further reading

General works

Academic

  • Hewett, Rosalind (2015) 'Children of Decolonisation: Postcolonial Indo (Eurasian) communities in Indonesia and the Netherlands', Indonesia and the Malay World, 43 (126): 191-206.
  • Lowe, John; Mac an Ghaill, Mairtin (2015), 'The postcolonial ambiguities of Eurasian pan-ethnicity in Singapore', Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 24 (2): 232-45.
  • Pereira, Alexius (1997) ‘The Revitalization of Eurasian Identity in Singapore’, Asian Journal of Social Science, 25 (2): 7-24.
  • Pereira, Alexius (2006) ‘No Longer “Other”: The Emergence of the Eurasian Community in Singapore’. In: Lian KF (ed) Race, Ethnicity and the State in Malaysia and Singapore. Leiden: Brill, 5-32.
  • Rappa Antonio (2000) ‘Surviving the Politics of Late-modernity: the Eurasian Fringe Community of Singapore’, Asian Journal of Social Science, 28 (2): 153-80.
  • Rocha, Zarine (2011) ‘Multiplicity within Singularity: Racial Categorization and Recognizing “Mixed Race” in Singapore’, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 30 (3): 95-131.
  • Rocha, Zarine (2014) ‘Stretching out the categories’: Chinese/European narratives of mixedness, belonging and home in Singapore, Ethnicities, 14 (2) 279-302.

Family histories

Fiction
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