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| History ofSingapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early history (pre-1819)
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British colonial era (1819–1942)
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Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)
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Post-war period (1945–1962)
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Internal self-government (1955–1963) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Republic of Singapore (1965–present)
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 Singapore portal | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Theearly history of Singapore refers to its pre-colonial era before 1819, when the BritishEast India Company led byStamford Raffles established a trading settlement on the island and set in motion thehistory of modern Singapore.
Prior to 1819, the island was known by several names. An early reference may be in the 2nd century work byPtolemy which identified a coastal port at the southernmost tip of theMalay Peninsula, calledSabana. However, historians generally attribute a 3rd-century Chinese traveller's record describing an island at the same location calledPu Luo Chung, a transcription ofSingapura's earlyMalay namePulau Ujong, as the first recording of its existence.
Singapore was known in the 13th to 14th century asTemasek, with its name being changed toSingapura perhaps towards the end of 14th century bySang Nila Utama, the founder ofKingdom of Singapura. The island was alternately claimed during this period by theSiamese and theJavanese. The last ruler of Singapura,Parameswara fled to Malacca after an attack by either theJavanese orSiamese, and established the state of Malacca. It was controlled by theMalacca Sultanate in the 15th century and theJohor 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.[1] The first possible mention of early Singapore dates to 2nd centuryCE cartographic references in the Greco-Roman astronomerPtolemy'sGeographia. A place calledSabana orSabara was marked on the 11th Map of Asia at the southern tip of theGolden Khersonese (meaning theMalay Peninsula) where Singapore may lie.[2] It was identified as anominonemporion or designated foreign trading port, as part of a chain of similar trading centres that linked Southeast Asia with India and theMediterranean.[3] Identification ofSabana orSabara however varies, with various authors proposing it to be inSelangor or nearKlang, or just south ofMalacca, or southJohor, as well as Singapore island itself. No archaeological evidence from this period has yet been found in Singapore.[2][4]
A 3rd century Chinese written record described a locality namedPu Luo Zhong (蒲羅中), possibly a transcription of theMalayPulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of theMalay Peninsula), i.e.Singapore Island.[5] It mentions briefly ahearsay account of cannibals with 5 or 6-inch tails living there.[6] The extent to whichPu Luo Zhong can be identified with Singapore is still debated today.[7]
Another possible reference to Singapore was found in theNanhai Jigui Neifa Zhuan (A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea), travel accounts of the Buddhist monkYijing from theTang dynasty. Yijing mentioned several islands located in today's Southeast Asia. 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 theSingapore 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 theSingapore 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.[11] TheNagarakretagama, aJavanese eulogy written in 1365, listed a settlement on the island calledTumasik as a vassal of the Majapahit.[12] The name is also mentioned in theMalay Annals thought to have been written in 1535.[11] Temasek may have diplomatic relationship with Vietnam, which recorded it asSach Ma Tich, as early as the 13th century.[13] It is also recorded by the Chinese travellerWang Dayuan who visited the island around 1330 and described a place calledDan Ma Xi (單馬錫, atranscription of the MalayTemasek). The nameDan Ma Xi orTemasek is written in Chinese as 淡馬錫 in theMao Kun map.
It was recorded in 1320 that theMongol sent a mission to obtain elephants fromLong Ya Men (龍牙門,Dragon's Teeth Gate).[14] The people ofLongyamen then responded in 1325 with a tribute and trade mission to China.[15]Long Ya Men is believed to be the entrance to the modern-dayKeppel Harbour. In his workDaoyi Zhilüe, Wang Dayuan describedLong 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 littlepadi ... 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 achignon, and wear short cottonbajus girded about with black cottonsarongs.
Wang further mentioned thatlakawood and tin was produced there and the natives traded with Chinese fromQuanzhou, but Chinesejunks on their way back from the Western Oceans (西洋) may be met by pirates there who attacked with two to three hundredperahus (boats).[17] Wang described another settlement on a hill behindLong Ya Men calledBan Zu (班卒, a transcription of the Malay namepancur meaning a "spring"). It is thought to be located onFort Canning Hill, and a spring used to exist on the west side of the hill.[18] In contrast to those ofLong Ya Men who were prone to piracy, the inhabitants ofBan Zu were described as honest, and they wore "their hair short, with turban of gold-brocaded satin," and were dressed in red cloth.[19]
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 ResidentJohn Crawfurd. In 1928, pieces of gold ornaments dating to the mid-14th century was discovered at Fort Canning Hill.[21]
Recent excavations inFort Canning provide evidence that Singapore was a port of some importance in the 14th century[22] and used for transactions between Malays and Chinese. Various documents suggest that following the decline of Srivijaya power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the SiameseAyutthaya Kingdom.
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Sometime in its history, the name of Temasek was changed to Singapura. TheSejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Palembang, Sri Tri Buana (also known asSang 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 alion. Believing this to be an auspicious sign, he founded a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" inSanskrit.[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 theMalay 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 theMalacca Sultanate to glorify Sang Nila Utama and his line of descent.[25]
A divergent account is provided by Portuguese apothecaryTome Pires in hisSuma Oriental, composed shortly after thePortuguese conquest of Malacca. The Javanese source cited by Pires instead suggests that Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler, titledSang Aji, was killed byParameswara from Palembang in the late 14th century.[26] This Parameswara had fled to Temasek fromPalembang after being deposed by theMajapahit Empire, and violently usurped the Sang Aji eight days after being welcomed into Temasek, subsequently fleeing toMuar, thenMalacca to escape retribution from the Siamese.[27]
Not withstanding theSejarah 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.[28] Parameswara held the island of Singapore for a number of years, until further attacks from either theMajapahit or theAyutthaya kingdom inSiam forced him to move on toMelaka where he founded theSultanate of Malacca.[29] While there are parallels between the mythical Sang Nila Utama and the historical Parameswara, they are regarded as distinct.[29]
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.[28] Singapore became part of the Malacca Sultanate, and it was said to be thefiefdom of the legendarylaksamana (or admiral)Hang Tuah.[30] However, by the time the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, the Singapura that existed before Malacca was founded had already become "great ruins" according to the conqueror of MalaccaAfonso de Albuquerque.[31][32]
After Albuquerquecaptured Malacca in 1511 for thePortuguese colonial empire, itslaksamana fled to Singapore. In the 16th and early 17th century, it briefly regained some significance as a trading centre of the Malacca Sultanate's successor state in Johor whose Sultan kept ashahbandar (harbourmaster) atKallang. In 1603, the Johor Malays formed an alliance with the Dutch and captured a Portuguese ship, theSanta Catarina off the east coast of Singapore; the looted porcelain came to be known asKraak ware, and the arbitration over the legality of the Dutch attack includedHugo Grotius' treatise, theMare Liberum, widely considered to be the progentior of modernmaritime law.[28]
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 theSingapore Straits to counter the rising power of the Dutch.[28] Visitors to the area in the 17th century mentioned that it was inhabited by theSeletes who lived on water under the rule of Johor,[35] but Singapore had largely sank into obscurity apart from a mention thatSingapore River was the location of a naval battle between Johor andSiak in 1767.[28]
British East India Company employeeSir Stamford Raffles, formerGovernor of the Dutch East Indies during its British occupation and subsequentLieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, established a British trading post on the island along withWilliam Farquhar. This was spurred by the perceived need to establish a competitive port following the retrocession of theDutch colonial empire in the East Indies to theKingdom of Holland after theNapoleonic Wars had ended, which would have left the British with their unprofitable settlements ofPenang andBencoolen. In his time as Governor of the Dutch East Indies, Raffles had compiledThe History of Java and hadJohn Leyden translate theSejarah Melayu, which he cites as an inspiration to claim Singapore in its introduction.
This1819 Singapore Treaty, signed by himself,Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and PrinceHussein Long whom he declared to be the rightfulSultan of Johor, led toits 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 ofBritish Malaya as a contiguous polity) by theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. This event has generally been understood to mark the founding of colonialSingapore, and the beginning of its modern history.[36]