Hy2339/Ssa2203 Heritage Essay – Lessons Learned from the Singapore River
History of the Singapore River
As the lifeline of Singapore, the Singapore River, flowing through the central area, is of great social, political and economic importance in the history of Singapore. The mouth of Singapore River, which still stands as the downtown core today, has a long history as bustling trading port.
Pre-modern period
Starting from the 5th, there has been a constant flow of ships between the South China Sea and Indian Ocean via the Straits of Melaka. Merchants and traders from different countries including China, Arabia and India would travel by trading vessels around the tip of the Malay Peninsula and to trade at various ports, one of which was the port of Temasek (Singapore). And with “a safe, well-sheltered estuary and its freshwater spring”, the Singapore river once became the main trading site for foreign vessels as well as regional craft in the 14th century. Direct Chinese participation in the Southeast Asian trade started in the 10th century as the Chinese government began to pay more attention to foreign trade. The main Chinese export commodities are textiles, suggested by Chinese records and pictorial evidence on the Malay Peninsula and Java, and ceramics proved by archaeological discoveries. And the owning Chinese ceramics was regarded as an emblem of wealth and status in many Southeast Asian societies. These indicate both the significance of the Singapore River as a trading centre in Southeast Asia to the external economic of China, and the importance of Chinese exports to Singapore during the pre-modern period. [1]
British Settlement
Starting from 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles established the British settlement in Singapore till 1970s, “to speak of Singapore was to speak of the river” [2]. Singapore was soon developed in a breathtaking pace as a flourishing port involving international trade including import and export, transhipment trade including the transfer of goods between ships, and entrepot trade in which imported
As the lifeline of Singapore, the Singapore River, flowing through the central area, is of great social, political and economic importance in the history of Singapore. The mouth of Singapore River, which still stands as the downtown core today, has a long history as bustling trading port.
Pre-modern period
Starting from the 5th, there has been a constant flow of ships between the South China Sea and Indian Ocean via the Straits of Melaka. Merchants and traders from different countries including China, Arabia and India would travel by trading vessels around the tip of the Malay Peninsula and to trade at various ports, one of which was the port of Temasek (Singapore). And with “a safe, well-sheltered estuary and its freshwater spring”, the Singapore river once became the main trading site for foreign vessels as well as regional craft in the 14th century. Direct Chinese participation in the Southeast Asian trade started in the 10th century as the Chinese government began to pay more attention to foreign trade. The main Chinese export commodities are textiles, suggested by Chinese records and pictorial evidence on the Malay Peninsula and Java, and ceramics proved by archaeological discoveries. And the owning Chinese ceramics was regarded as an emblem of wealth and status in many Southeast Asian societies. These indicate both the significance of the Singapore River as a trading centre in Southeast Asia to the external economic of China, and the importance of Chinese exports to Singapore during the pre-modern period. [1]
British Settlement
Starting from 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles established the British settlement in Singapore till 1970s, “to speak of Singapore was to speak of the river” [2]. Singapore was soon developed in a breathtaking pace as a flourishing port involving international trade including import and export, transhipment trade including the transfer of goods between ships, and entrepot trade in which imported
References: [1] Asian Civilization Museum [2]Stephen Dobbs, The Singapore River: A Social History 1819-2002 (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2003). [3] http://www.singapedia.com.sg/entries/e/entrepot.html [4] http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100422&bt=5&ht=2&sro=0 [5] http://www.publicart.sg/?q=Botero-Bird [6] http://www.publicart.sg/?q=Botero-Bird [7] http://mms.elibraryhub.com/SHC/NLBHB/020003410.pdf