History of Singapore under Stamford RafflesThe history of Singapore, from the western viewpoint, began with Sir Stamford Raffles landing there on 29 January 1819, to establish a British trading settlement there. Regional knowledge about Singapore goes back many more centuries. As early as the third century, it had already been documented by Chinese sailors, who referred to it as Pu Luo Chung, meaning "island at the end of the peninsula". In Marco Polo's account from the 13th century, the place Chiamassie could well be Temasek, the trading outpost on Singapore that was part of the Srivijaya Empire. The name Singapore comes from the Sanskrit Singapure, meaning "Lion City". According to history, that name first appeared in Sejarah Melayu, the Malay Annals, which told a legend where a Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama saw a beast on the island which he thought to be a lion. As there are no lions in the region, he could well have seen a tiger. In 1390, the Sumatran prince Parameswara (the name Parameswara is believed to be his title rather than his personal name) arrived in Singapore, having cast aside his allegiance to the Javanese Majapahit Empire and fled Palembang. In an account dripping with legend, Parameswara is said to have murdered the ruler of the island and took over the throne, until the arrival of Javanese forces expelled him from Singapore. On the run again, he moved north, stopping over at Muar, and eventually arriving at the mouth of the Malacca River. There he founded the Malacca Sultanate, which flourished until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1511. During that time, Singapore could well be just a small fishing village of no significance. There is a grave on Fort Canning in Singapore believed to be that of Iskandar Shah, though more work is required to verify its authenticity. Iskandar Shah is believed to be either the son of Parameswara, or the man himself, taking on the Muslim name after converting to Islam. Nevertheless, the discovery at Fort Canning proves without a doubt that there was a settlement on Singapore before the British arrived. The establishment of Singapore by the British came about upon their realisation that Penang, established earlier on 1786, was too far north to be a strategic trading post. With Dutch rule expanding in the region, the British needed a port further south to secure their interest. The person instrumental in negotiating for Singapore for Thomas Stamford Raffles. At that time Raffles was the lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen. He was fluent in Malay and through his capabilites, won the attention of Lord Minto, the governor-general of India. He was knighted in 1817, the same year he published the book, History of Java, giving a detailed description of Java from ancient times. At the publication of the book, he also stopped using his first name, Thomas, preferring to be known by his middle name, perhaps to avoid confusion with his cousin who bore the same name. Raffles arrived in Bencoolen (Bengkulu) to hold the post of lieutenant-governor on 19 March, 1818. He found that Bencoolen was very much a backwater and would not be very profitable. There was a need to safeguard British interest in the face of growing Dutch influence in the region. In order not to create suspicion with the Dutch, Raffles went about quietly looking for a possible site to establish a new British trading port that would be superior to Penang. The island of Bintan in the Riau archipelago and the Karimun Islands in Java were considered, but eventually Raffles settled upon Singapore, at the very tip of the Malay peninsula. Singapore was Raffles's choice for several reasons. There was no Dutch influence there, hence no possibility of intruding into Dutch territory. The island was also not exactly under the rule of the Sultan of Johor - the person in charged was a chieftain, the Temenggong. Raffles landed on singapore on 29 January 1819, accompanied by William Farquhar, the Resident of Malacca. After Raffles's men had surveyed the island and found it suitable, Raffles proceeded to request the presence of the ruler, or whoever at that time was holding the supreme command, so as to sign a threaty over Singapore. The first treaty was signed with the Temenggung, but he was only an underling. A proper treaty requires the signature of a ruler to cement the deal. Raffles discovered a murky political situation and a little power struggle going on in Johor. Apparently Sultan Abdul Rahman was on the throne because his older brother Tengku Hussein @ Tengku Long, was away in Pahang (some accounts says Penang) getting married when their father died. According to Malay tradition, a person had to be at the sultan's side to be considered a new ruler. For that reason, Tengku Abdul Rahman became the Sultan of Johor, much to the displeasure of Tengku Long. Raffles learned that the Temenggung preferred Tengku Long on the throne. He also learned that Sultan Abdul Rahman was on friendly terms with the Dutch, making it impossible for him to negotiate a treaty on Singapore. Hence, he made a pact with Tengku Long. By acknowledging him as the rightful ruler of Johor, Tengku Long would in return sigh the treaty on Singapore. To do this, Raffles with the help of the Temenggung had Tengku Long smuggled from where he was living in exile in the Riau Islands, back to Singapore, where he was proclaimed Sultan Hussein Mohammed Shah of Johor. Sultan Hussein then signed the treaty allowing the British to occupy. With that deal inked, the Sultan and the Temenggung were given a yearly stipend from the British. The Dutch were greatly displeased when they learned of this little conniving by Raffles (they were informed by the Raja of Riau in letters claiming that the British had encroached upon their territories). However, despite issuing threats, the Dutch did not resort to miliary action against Singapore. Between 1819 and 1822, Singapore was run by William Farquhar. While Raffles was station in Bencoolen, Farquhar was effectively in charged. Farquhar cleared the land on the northeast bank of the Singapore River, in what is today the Civic District. Under Farquhar, Singapore quickly became a cosmopolitan town. Left to his own devices, Farquhar took actions that were in conflict with the instructions given to him by Raffles. Under Farquhar's laissez-faire rule, the trading of opium and slaves were tolerated, as was gambling and cock-fighting, all happening within sight of his residence. Meanwhile in Bencoolen, Raffles was mourning a few family tragedies. His eldest son, Leopold, died in an epidemic in 1821. His youngest son Stamford Marsden and his oldest daughter Charlotte died of dysentery within the space of 10 days of each other, on 3rd and 13th January 1822. Raffles himself was also in poor health. Depressed, he decided to pack up and leave Bencoolen. Enroute, he decided to visit Singapore before heading home to England. When he arrived back in Singapore, Raffles was furious to see what Farquhar had created out of it. Although there was now a thriving port, Raffles was angry that Farquhar had turned Singapore into a den of opium trading, slavery, gambling and cock-fighting. The final straw was when Farquhar allowed theconstruction of houses and godowns (warehouses) on the playing field (which is called the Padang today) and on the nearby Singapore River. The reason given by him was that Singapore was growing at such a rapid pace, there should be no such complaints, except for want of more ground to build on. Raffles set to work to replan Singapore according to the recommendations of a committee headed by the government engineer Philip Jackson. The plan, officially called the Plan of the Town of Singapore, but now better known as Jackson Plan, was drawn up to ensure the colony developed under some form of order.
Raffles faulted Farquhar for allowing Singapore to grow haphazardly. Within the Jackson Plan, Singapore was divided along ethnic lines. European traders, Eurasians and rich Asians were parceled into a prime real estate called European Town on the north side of the Singapore River. Ethnic Chinese were located in Chinese Kampong, a village that grew into present-day Chinatown, on the south side of the river. Ethic Indians are located in Chulia Kampong, north of the Chinese kampong. The Muslims were located in Kampong Glam, which was further divided into three communities, for the Bugis, the Arabs, and the Malays around the palace of the Sultan of Singapore. Over this re-planning of Singapore that Raffles and Farquhar clashed most vehemently, with Raffles deeming the latter unfit to hold the position of Resident. Raffles wasted no time in firing Farquhar, which he did on 1 May 1823, and replaced him with Dr John Crawford as the new Resident of Singapore. Initially Farquhar refused to leave, and later sued Raffles for being so mean to him. The British government did not entertain his demand to remain as Resident of Singapore, but they compensated him for his loss by promoting him to the rank of Major General. Despite his shortcomings in the eyes of his superior, Farquhar was exceedingly popular with the European and Asian community in Singapore, as described by Munshi Abdullah, the Malacca-born scribe who had followed Farquhar and Raffles from Malacca. At Farquhar's farewell dinner with the principal merchants and British community in Singapore, they him with a plate valued at 3000 sicca rupees. Much of Singapore came out to bid him farewell, and the troops formed a guard-of-honor all the way from his house to the Alexander, the ship he was boarding. Some of the ships in the Singapore harbor also fired salutes to him. From Singapore, Farquhar sailed to Malacca and then to Penang, and in both places, welcomes and tributes awaited him. Raffles himself left Singapore on 9 July, 1823, just two months after firing Farquhar. Although his longest time spent in Singapore was just eight months, he was credited for having founded Singapore. From Singapore he sailed to Batavia, and then to Bencoolen, before heading home. Already in poor health, he spent the remainder of his life in convalescence, passing away three years later, on 5 July, 1826, a day short of his forty-fifth birthday. Go from History of Singapore Part 1 to History of Singapore Part 2
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