2. What you will learn …
Impact of Colonial Rule in Singapore
1) How the British system of government
worked in Singapore
2) What the British did to improve law and
order
3) What the British did to improve social
services
4) How the British treated the Asians

3. Question:
What is the difference between
Executive Council and
Legislative Council?

4. Singapore as a Crown Colony
Queen Victoria
British Government in
London (Colonial Office)
Governor of the
Straits Settlements
Executive Council Legislative Council
British officials and
non-officials mainly
Asian & European traders
British officials
Make laws
Help to run the
Settlements

5. Involvement of Locals in the Government
• Limited – few locals appointed into
Legislative Council
• Decisions ultimately made by the majority
British officials
• Examples:
Eunos Abdullah
Lim Boon Keng

6. Source A:
Adapted from The British as Rulers by Edwin Lee
“The keeping of the law and order was the responsibility of
the police, but for a long time in Singapore’s history, they
could not do it.
There were riots, stealing during the riots and frequent and
daring robberies committed by gangs of men in the 1840s
and 1850s.”
What is the message behind Source A?

7. Where and what is this place?
Source B:

8. Geylang Police Station c1905
Source B:

9. 1) Policemen were very poorly paid
• Few wanted to join the police force
• The first police force in 1820 consisted of 11 people
• Too small to control several thousand settlers
• The early policemen had no uniform and had to go
barefooted when on duty
Source C:
How useful are Sources B and
C in showing the poor
standards of the police force?

10. 2) Most immigrants did not understand British laws
3) Growth of Chinese secret societies

11. CHINESE RIOTS
“None of the shops dared re-open, and when any of the streets
was left unguarded the men on both sides would rush out
and commence the fight again.
Finally, finding that they could only fight at short intervals and
in small numbers in the town, the two clans marched out in
large bodies into the country, where many pitched battles
took place, and large numbers were killed on both sides, the
heads of the dead being cut off and carried on the spears of
their adversaries.”
One Hundred Years of Singapore, Volume One

12. 4) Abuse of Chinese immigrants
5) The British did not care for the people in
Singapore

13. Result?
Late 19th century:
more immigrants → Increase in secret societies → more
VIOLENCE → Disrupted trade
• Many Asian and British merchants wrote to the Governor
• Urged him to take strong action to improve the police
force
Solution? Measures undertaken? The
governme
nt has
also
employed
more
governme
nt officials

14. Solution? Measures undertaken?
The Chinese Protectorate
• Set up in 1877 to handle all matters
and problems related to the Chinese,
esp the problems of coolie trade and
the secret societies
• William Pickering?
• Guess how many dialects he knew?
• Can u name them?

15. Solution? Measures undertaken?
• All Chinese societies, agents and coolies had to be registered
with the CP
• Hence, Pickering got to know many Chinese leaders
• Sought their help to keep law and order among the Chinese
• CP had some effect in controlling the coolie trade

16. Solution? Measures undertaken?
Duties of CP:
- deal with in-coming immigrants, check abuse in
the coolie traffic, licence the vessels and go on
board in-coming Chinese junks and ships. They
had also to register societies, prevent forced
prostitution and protect Chinese woman and
girls.

17. The Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) was formed in 1906

18. Refer to graphic organizer: Overview
Key Pointers:
- The police were very ineffective for the
most part of the 19th century.
- New measures to improve law and order
were implemented by the government
only upon pressure from the merchants.
- Eg: Improved the police force, set up the
CP and the CID
Law and Order

19. SOCIAL SERVICES EDUCATION
British needed English-educated Asians to work for the
govt
•British did not treat all schools the same
√ English and Malay schools X Chinese schools

20. Not too long ago, in the 19th century… before
the dawn of SARs, bird flu, mad cow disease, dengue
fever…
SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTH
Smallpox as a bioterrorist threat
Smallpox
&
Cholera

21. The following pictures may be disturbing
to some viewers…
WARNING

22. SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTH
• Public Health Department
• Early 20thC – Asian leaders pressured
govt to set up a medical school
-> A need to train more doctors
• Govt agreed on condition that people
raised a large sum of money to build
the college

23. SOCIAL SERVICES HEALTH
Asian leaders:
• $87,000
• 1905 – First medical school
established to train doctors
• 1920 – The school became
King Edward College of
Medicine
Govt:
• built more hospitals
• cleared dirty streets and
drains
• By early 1940s, govt was
providing better medical
care and services
• Spread of disease reduced

24. Key Pointers:
- The government was only interested in the
economic aspect  Trade
- Neglected social aspect  Education &
Health services
- Only towards 1900s: more involved in
providing education and health services
Social Services

25. The Rulers and the Ruled
Refer to Source D.
The British considered the Chinese
merchants as one of the most important
group of people. Do you agree?
Inference Qn!
Yes, Source D shows the Prince of Wales
chatting with the Chinese merchants during
his visit to Singapore in 1922. For a high-
ranking member of the British royal family to
spend time chatting with the Chinese
merchants, it proves that the British must
have valued them as one of the most
important group of people in Singapore.
Moreover, the Chinese merchants had an
important part to play in helping the trade in
Singapore to grow. Thus, the British
sometimes considered their views and tried
to meet their needs.
Source D:

26. The Rulers and the Ruled
• 19thC – the British considered the
European and Chinese merchants as
the most important group of people
• Mainly because they helped trade to
grow
• But did not treat other Asians in the
govt well
• The officials in control of govt depts
were all Europeans
• Believed that Europeans were
superior to Asians
• The British rewarded people
according to their race, not their
talents or contributions

27. The Rulers and the Ruled
• “Discrimination” – Inside and outside the
government
Europeans Asians
•Senior/more important
positions
Eg: Only European officials were in
control of the government
departments
•Junior/less important
positions
•Higher salaries •Lower salaries
•Railway: Separate carriages for Asians and
Europeans.
•Shops & hotels: Europeans treated as more
important than Asians

28. The Rulers and the Ruled
Key Pointers:
- All these made Asians dislike the British for their unfair
treatment
- By 1942 (when Japan invaded Singapore), the British
still had not done enough in the social and political
aspects:
Social:
Inadequate education and medical facilities
Political:
Non-official members of the LC were still chosen by the
Governor and not elected by the people
- Discrimination against Asians remained in and out of
government

29. The main reason why the British government ruled with little Asian
participation because the locals were quite contented to leave the ruling
of the island to the British.
Do you agree?
Steps:
1) Start with the given factor
2) Then move on to other factors
eg: Factor 1
Factor 2
3) Reach a conclusion and decide if it was the main factor or not.
• 2 reasons for limited Political Participation by Asians:
1. Locals were not interested
• More interested in making their own living
• Quite contented to leave the ruling of the island to the British
2. Europeans and Asian traders (also known as merchants) were the only ones
interested in government
• Some Asian traders nominated to become non-official members in the Legislative Council
• An important step in getting Asians involved in the affairs of the settlement
• Asian non-official members were more familiar with the situation in Singapore
• Helped to passed laws that benefited the people
Structured Essay Qn

30. Acknowledgements
Images and photographs were reproduced in the interest and pursuit of
education and not for profit. All copyrights belong to the respective owners :
• Understanding Our Past, 1999 CPDD-MOE, Singapore
• Paul Thomas, British Monarchy, Oxford University Press 1989
• One Hundred Years of Singapore, Volume One
• Singapore Historical Postcards : From the National Archives Collection,
Times Editions