Eurasians in Singapore

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A young Eurasian boy.
A young Eurasian boy.

The community of Eurasians in Singapore are descended from Europeans who married local Asians. The ethnicities within the community span the length and breadth of Europe, although Eurasian migrants to Singapore in the 19th century came largely from colonies already in Asia, such as British Malaya; Chittagong and Goa in India; the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina.

Currently, the community boasts family names which come from Armenian (for example, Galistan), British (Capel, Caines, Hogan, Reeves, Shepherdson and Smith), Danish (Lange), Dutch (Ess, Marbeck, Moesbergen, Reutens, Van Culyenberg and Vanderstraaten), French (Longue, Poulier), German (Oehlers), Italian (Marini), Portuguese (Conceicao, De Almeida, De Payva, De Souza, Gomes, Monteiro, Nunes, Oliveiro, Pereira, Pestana and Theseira), Spanish (Lopez) and Swedish (Holmberg, Olsen) nationalities.

Contents

[edit] European ancestry

[edit] The Portuguese

The first Europeans to land in Asia were the Portuguese, followed by the Spanish. The Portuguese explorers also ferried the first Jesuit priests to Asia. Their descendants, who are of mixed Portuguese and Chinese/Indian/Malay descent, are collectively known as the Gente Kristang.

[edit] The Dutch

In 1602, a Dutch trading company called the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC (literally "United East Indies Company" but better known in English as the Dutch East India Company) was created to conduct trade in the area east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. In establishing their numerous trade stations spanning across Asia, the Dutch created independent settler societies in each of their colonies, where Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) became the administrative centre and rendezvous point for the company's Asian shipping traffic.

Between 1602 and 1795, the VOC fitted out some 4,700 ships which carried almost a million Europeans to the Far East. Almost 70 percent of the one million of the passengers never actually returned to Europe, making Asia their new home. These early seafarers were not only made up of Dutch, but also included British, Germans, French Huguenots, Italians, Scandinavians and other Europeans who were employed by the VOC. In time, many were assimilated into Dutch colonies situated throughout Asia (though primarily in modern Indonesia) where they were stationed and became part of the respective communities.

Intermarriages between VOC employees and locals were encouraged, which lead to the creation of communities of Dutch descendants. Today, there are only four surviving coherent and large communities who are descended from those early intermarriages. They are the Coloureds from South Africa, Dutch Burghers from Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), Dutch Indos from Indonesia, some Anglo-Burmese and Dutch Eurasians from Malacca, Malaysia.

Dutch descendants in Malaysia and Singapore are primarily made up of Dutch Eurasians originating from Malacca, Ceylon Dutch Burghers originating from Sri Lanka, as well as early Dutch settlers originating from Indonesia and India.

[edit] The Armenians

Migrants from Armenia arrived in Asia as refugees, fleeing persecution by the Ottoman Empire in their occupied homeland.

[edit] Modern Eurasians

 The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

New-wave Eurasians are often the first generation offspring of Chinese Singaporean women and Caucasian men. They generally come from well-to-do backgrounds, and may have attended international schools such as the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) and Singapore American School (SAS). Some are prominent in the entertainment and fashion industries due to their exotic looks and Western accents. Such Eurasians include model and MTV Asia host Denise Keller, MTV VJs May and Choi and Colby Miller, and model and Channel V International VJ Sarah Tan. Not all Eurasians working in Singapore are Singapore citizens.

[edit] Culture and traditions

[edit] Language

Shepherd's pie, a common Eurasian dish.
Shepherd's pie, a common Eurasian dish.

English is generally spoken as a first language by Eurasians, whilst amongst the elder generation who are of Portuguese descent the Portuguese creole known as Cristão or Papia Kristang – the Kristang language – is still spoken by some people.

[edit] Religion

The Eurasian community in Singapore is overwhelmingly Christian, most being Roman Catholics of Portuguese descent who celebrate Christian feast days such as Christmas, Easter and Corpus Christi.

[edit] Cuisine

Foods commonly associated with Eurasian culinary traditions include devil's curry (curry debal in Kristang), curry feng, Eurasian smore (a beef stew), mulligatawny soup (mulligatani in Kristang), shepherd's pie and vindaloo (vin d'arlo in Kristang).

[edit] Prominent Eurasians in Singapore

Benjamin Henry Sheares (1907–1981) served as Singapore's second President from 1971 to 1981.
Benjamin Henry Sheares (1907–1981) served as Singapore's second President from 1971 to 1981.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] General works

  • Asiapac Editorial; Wing Fee (ill.) (2003). Gateway to Eurasian Culture. Singapore: Asiapac. ISBN 9812293566 (pbk.). 
  • Braga-Blake, Myrna (ed.); Ann Ebert-Oehlers (co-researcher) (1992). Singapore Eurasians : Memories and Hopes. Singapore: Times Editions for the Eurasian Association, Singapore. ISBN 9812043675. 
  • Kraal, David (2005). The Devil in Me : Tasty Tidbits on Love and Life : Confessions of a Singapore Eurasian. Singapore: Angsana Books. ISBN 9813056789. 
  • Scully, Valerie; Catherine Zuzarte (2004). Eurasian Heritage Dictionary : Kristang-English/English-Kristang. Singapore: SNP International. ISBN 9812480528 (pbk.). 
  • Tessensohn, Denyse; Steve Hogan (ill.) (2001). Elvis Lived in Katong : Personal Singapore Eurasiana. Singapore: Dagmar Books. ISBN 9810443161. 
  • Tessensohn, Denyse; Steve Hogan (ill.) (2003). Elvis Still Lives in Katong. Singapore: Dagmar Books. ISBN 9810499280 (pbk.). 

[edit] Family histories

  • Scully-Sherpherdson, Martha (2006). Looking Back : A Family's History Discovered and Remembered. Singapore: Martha Scully-Sherpherdson. ISBN 9810562713. 
  • Shepherdson, Kevin Linus; Percival Joseph Shepherdson (co-researcher) (2003). Journey to the Straits : The Shepherdson Story. Singapore: The Shepherdson Family. ISBN 9810499264 (pbk.). 

[edit] Fiction

  • Shelley, Rex (1993). People of the Pear Tree. Singapore: Times Books International. ISBN 9812044493 (pbk.). 
  • Shelley, Rex (1991). The Shrimp People. Singapore: Times Books International. ISBN 981204292X (pbk.). 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] General

[edit] Family histories

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