Thinking about it..
Just because we have a world with fix boundaries. The ramification are potential endless and the number of imperial context are numerous. We must appreciate that colonialism include militaries, the traders and clergy.
The people are once human beings and we need to think about their wants and their needs.
e.g Farquaad feel his needs by marrying the local.
There are also more superior technology that are brought.
- Guns without food and water
- Partially capsized vessels
- Death and sickness
The picture of imperalism is different from what we imagine. We forgot to think about these people that move and "conquer" the country.
Colonial singapore
Looking at the map of singapore we will realised that was a racial separation in the planning of the town. They are also heavily money tied where the people make use of these separation to line their pockets when they allow rich people from other races to stay.
The European space is larger compared to the chinese.
The british presence are mostly male because the women and children did not accompany the spouse for many reason. There were climate, hygiene, disease and arduous journey.
Overland route
- Connection accross the Middle east only for passenger and mail
- Only possible after the invention of steam
- Take the nile
- Transit by barge
- Describe as the Steam Route
- Journey time reduce from six to two months to India
Invention of new stuff
1850
- Submarine cables
1880
- Refrigeration
1914
- Takes three weeks from london to Combay
The world become a smaller life and europeans in social life in colonies began to change. Woman and families arrive
There was also an communication (Telegraph and snail mail) enhanced
Refrigeration and relative speed of transport brought more home products into singapore.
This make life in tropics become mor bearable
Social Implication
- An European ties strengthen and enhance
- Social life changes because of technological context
- There's no need to interact with other people if you have English speaking others
- Contact with others, even English speaking other become more dispensable
This led to the firm and class hierarchy within society where it is based on class.
The non-European became like a secondary status
Conclusion: The race classification is based on money and class.
Race and colonial Singapore
Imperialism was a multi faceted beast
This is the result of economic control and geo political.
There was a culture-knowledge issue
The Europeans were very interested in finding the local context to describe the natural world and its inhabitants.
The europeans classified the fauna, weather, food, culture and flora.
The word race began to shift from a general term to something that distinguish peoples. The race is then use to describe the potential to progress.
Ethnology - Inteprete how different human beings are distinct with each other.
Physiological differences:
This become specify in terms of body parts, shape and size and eyes
There are a change of shifts regarding the race classifications.
There differences came to be a use of suggest the existence of superior and inferior races. (H reading)
Imperial Legacy
- Emerges in a colonial context
- Reflective of a new but discredited epistemology
- The legacy of a discredited idea that lives on in contemporary singapore
- I s prevalent in much of contemporary and historical discourse of the nation state singapore.
"Do you think race have a continuing relevance today?"
The geographical location where we stay impact on the way we act and the things we do, ie if we are in a place that's cold, we would want to wear lots of clothes, if we are in a place thats hot, we would want to not wear clothes.
In long period of time, this will become what we call culture.
But this does not mean that one is more superior than the other.
It is just different locations.