KWA CHONG GUAN DEREK HENG PETER BORSCHBERG Kwa Chong Guan is Senior Fellow at the Assessments of Singapore’s history invariably revolve SEVEN HUNDRED YEAR A S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies around Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in 1819. Before this For ReviewH OnlyTAN TAI YONG at Nanyang Technological University and has date – we’ve been told – “nothing very much appears an honorary affiliation with the Department of ISTOR to have happened in Singapore”. Pre-1819 Singapore History, National University of Singapore. was a sleepy, historically insignificant fishing village, little more than the “occasional resort of pirates”. Derek Heng is Professor and Chair of Y the History Department, Northern Arizona OF S E V E N This ambitious book, co-written by four of Singapore’s University. He specialises in the trans-regional foremost historians, offers an assertive re-evaluation history of Southeast Asia in the pre-modern era, of that view. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary range of S archival, textual and cartographical records, as well as with a focus on the diplomatic and economic INGA interactions between China and the Malay region. the latest archaeological discoveries, the authors cast a singular historical trajectory for Singapore over the past “A state-of-the-art history of the island nation... Peter Borschberg is Associate Professor in the seven centuries, animating its history like never before. the authors have produced a brilliant yet accessible synthesis of P H U N D R E D Department of History, National University of ORE Singapore. He specialises in Asia-Europe relations Singapore’s complex history from the 14th century to the present day. Written in a compelling and accessible manner, and global trade in the early modern period. A must-read for scholars and general audiences alike.” and richly illustrated with more than 200 artefacts, photographs, maps, art works and ephemera, this Tan Tai Yong is Professor of Humanities (History) Peter A. Coclanis volume builds upon the foundations of an earlier book, and President of Yale-NUS College. He has Albert R. Newsome Distinguished Professor of History Singapore: A 700-Year History. Extensively rewritten to and Director of the Global Research Institute, YEARS incorporate ground-breaking research findings, Seven published extensively on the Sikh diaspora, the social and political history of colonial Punjab, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA Hundred Years: A History of Singapore widens the decolonisation and the partition of South Asia, historical lens and offers a vital new perspective on and Singapore history. “A comprehensive study... this work encourages “An accessible, well-documented and definitive the story of Singapore. the reader to see Singapore’s history as a linear-cyclical multi-disciplinary study of Singapore’s history.” construction, moving away from the typical Kenneth Hall A HISTORY OF event-oriented history.” Professor of History, Goh Geok Yian Ball State University, USA Associate Chair (Research) and Associate Professor, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological “The contest between a regional-local perspective SINGAPORE University, Singapore and an emphasis on external agency is felt throughout the narrative of this book. This reflects Singapore’s “Looks set to become the definitive history of struggle to understand itself from a regional and S Singapore... marries fresh scholarship and rich visuals international perspective, as well as to view its past in a narrative of Singapore as an evolving port-city within the longue durée. There are inherent tensions of that is sweeping and comprehensive.” such approaches with the national framing of history.” Kennie Ting Imran bin Tajudeen Director, Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Author of Singapore 1819: A Living Legacy National University of Singapore HISTORY Supported by ISBN 978-981-48-2810-9 ,!7IJ8B4-icibaj! For Review Only S E V E N H U N D R E D YEARS A HISTORY OF SINGAPORE Kwa Chong Guan Derek Heng Peter Borschberg Tan Tai Yong Supported by For Review Only Published by CONTENTS National Library Board, Singapore 100 Victoria Street #14-01 National Library Building Singapore 188064 www.nlb.gov.sg Preface vi [email protected] In partnership with Introduction Writing Singapore’s History 1 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) 1 New Industrial Road Chapter One The 14th Century 18 Singapore 536196 Advent of a “Great City” Tel: (65) 6213 9300 [email protected] www.marshallcavendish.com/genref Chapter Two The 15th Century 50 Supported by Feeder Port and Homeland of Melaka’s Naval Forces Singapore Bicentennial Office 100 Victoria Street #09-02 National Library Building Chapter Three The 16th Century 78 Singapore 188064 Shahbandaria of the Johor Sultanate [email protected] www.bicentennial.sg Chapter Four The 17th Century 116 Contested Waterways All rights reserved. © National Library Board, Singapore, 2019 Reprinted in 2019. Chapter Five The 18th Century 146 Parts of this book were first published in Singapore: A 700-Year History (National Archives of Singapore, 2009). From Malay Entrepôt to No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted Colonial Port-City in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by the law, without the prior written permission of the Publisher and copyright owners. Whilst reasonable care has been taken by the Publisher Chapter Six The 19th Century 180 to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the Publisher accepts no legal Port-City of the British Empire liabilities whatsoever for the contents of this publication. The original sources of the images used in this book where known, have been acknowledged. Chapter Seven All reasonable efforts have been made to trace the copyright holders. In the event of any The 20th Century 228 errors and/or omissions, please contact the NLB. In future editions of this book, if any, all due Becoming a Global City-State acknowledgments will be stated. National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data Conclusion Singapore’s Challenge 276 Name(s): Kwa, Chong Guan. | Heng, Derek Thiam Soon, author. | Borschberg, Peter, author. | Tan, Tai Yong, author. Title: Seven Hundred Years : A History of Singapore / Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Bibliography 288 Peter Borschberg, Tan Tai Yong. Description: Singapore : National Library Board, Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Image Credits 300 Editions, [2019]. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifier(s): OCN 1098154065 | Index 306 ISBN 978-981-48-6820-4 (hardback) ISBN 978-981-48-2810-9 (paperback) Subject(s): LCSH: Singapore–History. Classification: DDC 959.57–dc23 Printed in Singapore by Oxford Graphic Printers Pte Ltd v For Review Only PREFACE This book offers a complete rewrite of Singapore: A 700-Year History – We have also sought to rise to Tregonning’s other challenge of writing our From Early Emporium to World City, published exactly ten years ago. The history from an Asian perspective, rather than a European one that makes original authors, now joined by Peter Borschberg, felt that the occasion of Singapore’s past a part of British colonial history. Our close reading of the the Bicentennial Commemoration warranted a reminder that Singapore has evidence suggests that the underlying plot or theme of an autonomous his- a history pre-dating the arrival of Stamford Raffles by some five centuries. tory of Singapore may lie in the shifting and evolving harbours or ports This volume presents a possible approach to rethinking the significance of around which a settlement or city developed. Writing Singapore’s history Raffles’ establishment of a British station on Singapore. has focused largely on the city that emerged to service the growing port Raffles established. Our reconstruction shows, however, that at least twice We thank the Singapore Bicentennial Office for supporting our effort in in Singapore’s long history there were thriving ports or harbours with their bringing out this new volume. Without the encouragement and unstinting supporting settlements on this island. What connected these harbour- support of its Executive Director, Gene Tan, and his staff, the gestation settlements and port-cities, or aspiring global city today, are the long cycles of this book would have been prolonged. In particular, we single out the of the maritime history of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. This editorial skills of Yap Koon Hong in weaving the disparate styles of the four history of Singapore therefore attempts to look at Singapore from the sea. co-authors into a cogent and readable narrative. Additional writing of box stories was contributed by staff of the Bicentennial Office’s Cont ent team, For the images illustrating this volume, we have attempted to draw including Koon Hong, Joshua Sim and Syafiqah Jaffar. We also appreciate the majority of them from the collections of the National Archives, the Chang Yueh Siang’s efforts in coordinating the final stages of the book’s National Library and the museums of the National Heritage Board. These production. We thank the National Library Board, who led the project illustrations demonstrate the extent and depth of our national collections management, for their support and supervision of the publication process. on our history. The images, especially the maps, are not supplements or We are grateful to Lee Geok Boi and Tan Li Jen for their editorial assis- illustrations adorning the text, but critical evidence for our reconstruction tance in working on the many drafts that eventually led to the final version. of Singapore’s history. Contained in these maps and images are a history Finally, Glenn Wray efficiently and sympathetically coordinated Marshall of Singapore. Cavendish’s production of our book, for which we are grateful. Kwa Chong Guan This book sums up the evidence we have been collecting on the long Derek Heng history of Singapore, our reflections, and writing on that material.