Early history of Singapore
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| This article is part of the History of Singapore series |
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| Early history of Singapore (pre-1819) |
| Founding of modern Singapore (1819-1826) |
| Straits Settlements (1826-1867) |
| Crown colony (1867-1942) |
| Battle of Singapore (1942) |
| Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) |
| Sook Ching massacre (1942-1945) |
| Post-war period (1945 - 1955) |
| First Legislative Council (1948-1951) |
| Maria Hertogh riots (1950) |
| Second Legislative Council (1951-1955) |
| Internal self-government (1955–1962) |
| Hock Lee bus riots (1955) |
| Chinese middle schools riots (1956) |
| Merger with Malaysia (1962–1965) |
| Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1962-1966) |
| Merger referendum, 1962 |
| Operation Coldstore (1963) |
| Race Riots of 1964 |
| MacDonald House bombing (1965) |
| Republic of Singapore (1965-Present) |
| East Asian financial crisis (1997) |
| Embassies attack plot (2001) |
| See also: Timeline of Singaporean history |
| [edit this box] |
The early history of Singapore refers to the history of Singapore before the British's founding of modern Singapore in 1819. During this period, Singapore was known by several names in written records dating back as early as the 2nd century which identified the island as an important trading post. The island was controlled by different kingdoms in Southeast Asia including the Siam and Javanese, and more notably the Sultanate of Malacca from the 14th century and later the Sultanate of Johor during the 16th and early 17th century.
The first written records of Singapore dated to as early as the 2nd century when the island, 42km long and 23km wide, was identified as a trading post in several cartographic references. The Greek astronomer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, located a place called Sabana in the area where Singapore lies and identified it as a nominon emporion or designated foreign trading port, as part of a chain of similar trading centres that linked Southeast Asia with India and the Mediterranean.[1]
A 3rd century Chinese written record describing the island of Pu Luo Chung (蒲罗中), probably a transliteration of the Malay Pulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula). [2] The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on the island after surviving a shipwreck sometime during the 13th century. Catching sight of a strange creature that he was being told was a lion, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. It is unlikely that there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century. [3][4]
There is record that in 1320, the Mongol sent a mission to obtain elephants from a place called Long Yamen (or Dragon's Tooth Strait), which is believed to be Keppel Harbour. [5] The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described a small Malay settlement called Dan Ma Xi (淡马锡, from Malay Tamasik) containing a number of Chinese residents. The island was apparently a haven for pirates preying on passing ships. The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, also referred to a settlement on the island, which it called Temasek (Sea Town).
Recent excavations in Fort Canning provide evidences that Singapore was a major port in the 14th century[6] and was used as a trading post for transactions between the Phoenicians and the Malay and Chinese.
During the 1390s, Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, fled to Temasek after being deposed by the Majapahit Empire. Notwithstanding the legend from the Sejarah Melayu, the "Singapura" name possibly dates to this period. Parameswara held the island for a number of years, until further attacks from either the Majapahit or the Ayutthaya kingdom in Siam forced him to move on to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.[3] Singapore remained an important part of the Malacca Sultanate and once served as the fiefdom of the legendary laksamana (or admiral) Hang Tuah.[2]
Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese. Its fortifications apparently allowed it to withstand at least one attempted Siamese invasion. During the 16th and early 17th century, it briefly regained some importance as a trading centre of the Sultanate of Johor. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burnt down the settlement at the mouth of Singapore River and the island sank into obscurity.[4]
It wasn't until 1819, when Englishman Stamford Raffles established a British trading post on the island, that modern Singapore was founded.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hack, Karl. Records of Ancient Links between India and Singapore. National Institute of Education, Singapore. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.
- ^ a b Singapore: History, Singapore 1994. Asian Studies @ University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
- ^ a b Singapore - History. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2006-06-18.
- ^ a b Singapore - Precolonial Era. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2006-06-18.
- ^ Singapore: Relations with Malaysia. Community Television Foundation of South Florida (2006-01-10).
- ^ Archaeology in Singapore - Fort Canning Site. Southeast-Asian Archaeology. Retrieved on 2006-07-09.
