Colony of Singapore

Colony of Singapore
Crown Colony
1946–1963
Top: Flag (1946–59) Bottom: Flag (1959–63) Coat of arms
Location of Singapore in the Malay Archipelago
Capital		Singapore
Languages		English Malay Chinese Indian languages
Government		Monarchy
Monarch
•	1936–1952	George VI
•	1952–1963	Elizabeth II
Governor
•	1946–1952 (first)	Franklin Charles Gimson
•	1957–1959 (last)	William Goode
Prime Minister
•	1959–1963	Lee Kuan Yew
Historical era		British Empire
•	Dissolution of the Straits Settlements	1 April 1946
•	Sovereignty of Cocos (Keeling) Islands transferred to Australia	1955
•	Sovereignty of Christmas Island transferred to Australia	1957
•	Autonomy within the British Empire	1959
•	Merger with the Federation of Malaysia	16 September 1963
Area
•	1963[1]	670 km2 (260 sq mi)
Population
•	1963[2] est.	1,795,000
Density		2,679/km2 (6,939/sq mi)
Currency		Malayan dollar (to 1953) Malaya and British Borneo dollar (thereafter)
Preceded by Succeeded by British Military Administration (Malaya) Straits Settlements Singapore in Malaysia Cocos (Keeling) Islands Christmas Island
Today part of		Singapore  Australia

Part of a series on the
History of Singapore
Early history (pre-1819) Srivijaya 650–1377 Temasek c. 14th century Kingdom of Singapura 1299–1398 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Johor Sultanate 1528-1819
British colonial era (1819–1942) Founding 1819–26 Straits Settlements 1826–67 Crown colony 1867–1942
Japanese Occupation (1942–45) Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942
Post-war period (1945–62) First Legislative Council 1948–51 Maria Hertogh riots 1950 Second Legislative Council 1951–55 Anti-National Service Riots 1954
Internal self-government (1955–63) Hock Lee bus riots 1955
Merger with Malaysia (1963–65) Singaporean referendum 1962 Operation Coldstore 1963 Race riots in Singapore 1964 MacDonald House bombing 1965
Republic of Singapore (1965–present) ASEAN Declaration (ASEAN) 1967 1969 race riots of Singapore 1969 Singaporean haze crisis 1972–present Laju incident 1974 Operation Spectrum 1987 East Asian financial crisis 1997 Embassies attack plot 2001 SARS outbreak 2003 Little India riot 2013
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The Colony of Singapore was a British Crown colony that existed from 1946 until 1963, when Singapore became part of Malaysia. When the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies at the end of World War II, the island was handed back to the British in 1945. In 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore together with the Cocos-Keeling and Christmas islands became a separate Crown colony.^[3] The colony was governed by the British Empire until it gained partial internal self-governance in 1955.

History

Post war period: return of British rule

After Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945, there was a state of anomie in Singapore, as the British had not arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. Incidents of looting and revenge-killing were widespread.

When British troops returned to Singapore in September 1945, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets to cheer them. Singapore was ruled by a British Military Administration (BMA) between September 1945 and March 1946, during which it also served as the headquarters of the British governor general for Southeast Asia. However much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, including electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, as well as the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore.^[4]

There was also a shortage of food including rice, and this led to malnutrition, disease and rampant crimes and violence. Unemployment, high food prices, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by the growing demand for tin and rubber around the world. But it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels.^[4]

Establishment of the colony

On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor and separated from peninsular Malaya. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and provisions were made to allow for the election of six members of the Legislative Council the next year.^[5]

Merger with Malaysia

The failure of the British to defend Singapore had destroyed their credibility as infallible rulers in the eyes of the locals in Singapore. The decades after and during the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial sentiments, including a cry for Merdeka, roughly translated to "independence" in the Malay language. The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya.^[4] The Crown colony was dissolved on 16 September 1963 when Singapore became part of Malaysia, which ended the 144 years British rule of the island.

On 9 August 1965, Singapore officially left Malaysia to become the independent Republic of Singapore, due to political and economical disputes.

Government

First Legislative Council (1948–1951)

The first Singaporean elections, held in March 1948 to select members of the Legislative Council, were rather limited. The right to vote was restricted to adult British subjects, of which only 23,000 or about 10 percent of those eligible registered to vote. In addition, only six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected; the rest were chosen either by the Governor or by the chambers of commerce.^[4]

Three of the elected seats were won by a newly formed Singapore Progressive Party (SPP), a conservative party whose leaders were businessmen and professionals and were disinclined to press for immediate self-rule. The other three seats were won by independents.

Three months after the elections, an armed insurgency by communist groups in Malaya – the Malayan Emergency – broke out, and the British imposed harsh measures to control left-wing groups in both Singapore and Malaya; the controversial Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial for persons suspected of being "threats to security", was introduced at this time.^[4]

Since the left-wing groups were the strongest critics of the colonial system, progress on self-government stalled for several years. The colonial government also tried to prevent contacts between Singaporean Chinese and China, which had just fallen under the rule of the Communist Party of China. Tan Kah Kee, a local businessman and philanthropist, was denied re-entry into Singapore after he made a trip to China.^[4]

Second Legislative Council (1951–1955)

A second Legislative Council election was held in 1951 with the number of elected seats increased to nine. This election was again dominated by the SPP which won six seats. This slowly contributed to the formation of a distinct government of Singapore, although colonial administration was still dominant.

In 1953, with the communists in Malaya suppressed and the worst of the 'Emergency' period over, the government appointed a commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, to study the possibility of self-government for Singapore. The commission proposed a limited form of self-government.

The Legislative Assembly with twenty-five out of thirty-two seats chosen by popular election would replace the Legislative Council, from which a Chief Minister as head of government and Council of Ministers as a cabinet would be picked under a parliamentary system. The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as veto power over legislation.

The government agreed with the recommendations, and Legislative Assembly elections were scheduled for 2 April 1955. The election was a lively and closely fought affair, with several newly formed political parties joining the fray. In contrast to previous elections, voters were automatically registered, expanding the electorate to around 300,000. The SPP was soundly defeated in the election, winning only four seats. The newly formed, left-leaning Labour Front was the largest winner with ten seats and was able to form a coalition government with the UMNO-MCA Alliance, which won three seats.^[4] Another new party, the then leftist People's Action Party (PAP), won three seats.

Administration

On 1 April 1946, the colony of Singapore was formed with Cocos-Keeling, Christmas islands after the dissolution of the Straits Settlement. As a Crown colony, Singapore inherited the hierarchical organisational structure of the Straits Settlements government with a governor, who was assisted by an Advisory Executive Council, a Legislative Council and a Municipal Council.^[6] In July 1946, Labuan became part of the Crown Colony of North Borneo.^[7] The sovereignty of the Cocos (Keeling) islands was transferred to Australia in 1955. The administration of Christmas island was also transferred to Australia in 1957 at the request of the Australian government.

Governors of Singapore (1946–1959)

The Governors of Singapore ruled Singapore. The men that held this position governed the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1946 to 1959, on behalf of the Colonial Office until Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 in where the Office of the Governor was abolished.

Picture	Name	From	Until
	Sir Franklin Charles Gimson	1 April 1946	20 March 1952
	Wilfred Lawson Blythe Acting Governor of Singapore	20 March 1952	21 April 1952
	Sir John Fearns Nicoll	21 April 1952	2 June 1955
	William Goode Acting Governor of Singapore	2 June 1955	30 June 1955
	Sir Robert Brown Black	30 June 1955	9 December 1957
	William Goode	9 December 1957

• Bose, Romen, "THE END OF THE WAR: The Liberation of Singapore and the aftermath of the Second World War", Marshall Cavendish, Singapore, 2005

References

1. ↑ "Singapore - Land area". Index Mundi. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
2. ↑ "Singapore - Land area". Index Mundi. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
3. ↑ Colony of Singapore. Government Gazette. (1946, April 1). The Singapore Colony Order in Council, 1946 (G.N. 2, pp. 2–3). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 SGG; White paper on Malaya (1946, January 26). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Tan, K. Y. L. (Ed.). (1999). The Singapore legal system (pp. 232–233). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 349.5957 SIN.
4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Singapore – Aftermath of War". U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 June 2006. 
5. ↑ "Towards Self-government". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore. Retrieved 18 June 2006. 
6. ↑ Electoral representation for new Singapore Council. (1946, April 2). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Tan, T. Y. L. (1999). The Singapore legal system (pp. 40–42). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 349.5957 SIN.
7. ↑ N. Borneo becomes a colony. (1946, July 16). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.

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History	Timeline Prehistoric Portuguese Malacca Dutch Malacca British Malaya Straits Settlements Federated Malay States Unfederated Malay States British Borneo Kingdom of Sarawak Crown Colony of Labuan North Borneo Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo British Military Administration (Malaya / Borneo) Malayan Union Federation of Malaya Independence Malayan Emergency Crown Colony of Singapore Self-government Crown Colony of Sarawak Self-government Crown Colony of North Borneo Self-government Malaysia Agreement 1962 Singapore referendum Cobbold Commission 18-point agreement 20-point agreement Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Sarawak Communist Insurgency Proclamation Malaysia Day PAP–UMNO relations 1964 race riots Singapore in Malaysia Second Malayan Emergency 13 May Incident 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis 1997 Asian financial crisis
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