THE HIDDEN LANDSCAPE OF EARLY SINGAPORE : RURAL CHINESE SETTLEMENTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Abstract

History of Singapore was often written by and from the perspective of the colonial British that occupied Singapore since 1819. As a result, this “official” history constructed often failed to provide a complete picture of what had happened. This “official” history portrayed Singapore in the early 1800s as an undeveloped island with only settlements found within or around the fringe of the town developed by the British which is located primarily around the southern tip of the island.

However, the space outside the town was not inhabited like what the British had reported. A “hidden” landscape of settlements existed further inland on the island. This dissertation seeks to illustrate the existence of “hidden” Chinese settlements not recorded by the “official” history. These Chinese settlements were closely linked to the gambier and pepper industry and thrived on the unique physical, social, political and economical conditions in Singapore then. This paper put together these factors to an attempt to understand the formation of these settlements. The “hidden” landscape of the Chinese had spread throughout the whole of the island by the mid 1800s. By mapping out how a “hidden” settlement would be like and where were these settlements located, this dissertation seeks to complement the “official” landscape to provide a more comprehensive picture of Singapore’s landscape in the early 1800s.