GES1011: The evolution of a global city state

- EIC's singapore founded in 1819/24

- Permission to establish a factory first but then after that to have a treaty 

- Raffles "forced" the sultan to sign singapore to him

- It might be a second founding on this island but there might be implication

- Make up our mind about imperialism 

- We need to look at the date as well before deciding

Global human unfolding:

- Singapore river made over

- Raffles' dream of global emporium realised

- Port settlement with a resplendent imperial gloss

- Even from the perspective of an non european

"How do we use the word?"

(Final exam!!)

Treaty-There is a record of the 1824 treaty of friendship and alliance

Picture - (1824) a british entering singapore with many people accompanying him while he sits on an elephant. The cession, an event that happen in 1824. Picture shows mostly one type of race. The artist thought about this in 1824. Is this imperialism?

- Islamic faith

-Speaker and writer of malay and tamil

- Was paid money for reading (He was literate)

- Vocation as a scribe and translator and a language teacher

- He is a cultural immediatery

- Mixed heritage

- Ancestor have migrated 

- Wrote Hikayat abdullah

- Shows the relationship with raffles

- suggest a close relationship

- Positive portrayal of raffles

- No establish culture

Why did he decided to write his life story?

- He patron ask him to tell so?

- Patron was an american missionary Alfred North

- He work with many missionaries and the payments received is his main income

- Abdullah made a lot of money from this work

According to his son,

- Abdullah would go to malacca and everyone who knew him would come because of him being rich

- Abdullah would treat other people and everyone will rely on him

- There are more malays compared to other races

- But by 1845, there had been a chinese majority

- Few europeans but they control the space

- His relationship with his patrons

- Use it to think about impreallism

- we have the idea that its a white man who is dominating the people

but abdullah show that he might have some sort of control due to his money

- There was a depiction of colonism being a white domination 

but we can rethink about these understanding

In terms of source, there is hardly any one other than important figures names being written but the Hikayat abdullah shows another viewpoint.

- People begin to move into the newly establish british possession, these include Abdullah

(Hikayat and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah)

Anthony Miller:

- Abdullah is a social critic (Intellectual figure) who was critical of the malays and their rulers

- According him, he say that the malay people are "lazy, smelly and dirty"

Amin Sweeney:

- Argues why he say that

- Is it questionable to say certain things

- Perhaps he say something to sweet talk the people

- We need to remember that Abdullah's boss is someone who does not like Malays

- Questionable if not erroneous

But we realised that actually he wrote it because of North.

Abdullah's words written in his book is taken from the journal of North

There is a significant historiographical disagreement:

- Sweeney won

Abdullah claims to know raffles and possibly quite intimately. 

But in raffles writing and people close to raffles, only a few mention Abdullah and only one does so at length.

-> IF they have such a close relationship, why is there so little mentions? Arent they friends? 

The one person who mention, there is no reliable corroborated reference because that one person knew raffles through abdullah. So it is not reliable.

Sweeney:

- There was a quote in the Hikayat Abdullah that shows what looks as if Abdullah is praising Raffles but if inspection closer

- There is another book in Malay that describe the negative characteristics and looks that a ruler would have

- To the british it sounds ok but its actually negative in the Malay's point of view

- HE used this to describe Raffles

- Taj Sellah!

He use the so call relationship he have with Raffles, and use it as a calling card to win people's attention in credibility.

The text should not be read literally.

Most people have made this mistake where they read something literally and taken something literally

"Is it possible that Abdullah is using his text to further his standing in a british colony craftily"

-> Yes

He is using it to gain something, e.g money/power

"What does this say about Abdullah relationship with colonial personalities?"

Are there other sources of powers or is it a one way domination?

-> Obviously its not just one way, this can be seen in abdullah's story.

The Europeans needed abdullah and he knew that thus used them

- He linked himself to the famous singapore colonial figures - raffles

- Advertisement..

By the time the hikayat was written, raffles has long died and left singapore

In other words, raffles cannot say if abdullah is wrong

None of the colonial would knows anyways.

Abdullah's used Raffles stature to write his story.

Abdullah was gesturing to future malay readers,

according to teacher, it was still being used in Malaysia as an academic text.

"DO we still want raffles to be the symbolic historical figure?"

 Raffles behave like an imperial overlord, according to turnbull, there was a man who escape from prison and ran amok. It was during a moonless night where two people was killed and one person was injured.

The man who owed money, ask to look for his debter, the debter had went to Farquahar for protection. What happen was that that man brought a knife, and slashed Farquahar who was injured.

This caused alot of panic among the european such that everyone who heard about it as they are afraid of a malay uprising, they decide to deface his dead body. They thought it was the temmongon's men. Raffles arrived on the scene and the jailer confirmed that it was not a malay uprising.

Raffles had the corpse carted around town and hung up for display for a fortnight in an iron cage up for display. The corpse was badly mutilated and he put it up for display.

This iron cage was made from the night of the event.

=> Raffles knows it was not a malay uprising

=> He knew it was a misunderstanding

=> yet he hang them up for display

=> Make a cage overnight

The chinese and Europeans were afraid for a Malay uprising.

Yet, turnbull still uses "remarkably insensitive" to describe raffles despite his gory actions

- History is being whitewashed, this is due to a legacy of imperalism

We only look at his good points , free trade but we shall not overlook his bad points

Abdullah praises colonial figures and made alot of money

"How would you characterise colonism/Imperiation?"

- The elites benefited from colonialism and not just the 

- The rich people,  help colonise this country by working with the imperial powers to establish colonialism in this space

Stop thinking about imperialism as only trade/ money/power

The configuration of people and experience, things and practice in their own right

Imperialism in singapore is probably a different experience than imperialism in other places. The same factors may not be present in the same level.

Imperialism will be different 

Emphasises contingency and reflexivity.

No body planned and it happen

It has significance on how we understand on singapore's past

One directional causality does not exist.

It is unidirectional.

Control and domination took different forms in different context

-> We are looking at singapore's views on imperialism