Essay On Colonialism In Singapore

Introduction

During the colonial period, most countries in southeast Asia saw an influx of Europeans, who brought along with them their laws, culture, language, religion and political viewpoints. As a collection of disjointed and often hostile kingdoms and states, the Europeans were granted access into the region fairly easily, as most of the current kings were all but aware of the slow but certain threat of invasion posed by the European colonists . Singapore is often referred to a sort of oddity in this situation, due to its relative lack of opposition and the apparent overwhelmingly beneficial rather than suppressive impacts as a result of colonialism.

Singapore was unique from the other similar yet distinct ports in the region and was in a sense created rather than just affected by the colonialist presence. The British attribution of its importance in trade and its conception as a major trading hub transformed the fishing village to the quintessential modern city in the present day. As a consequent of trade as the basis of its economic development, Singapore became a petri dish for the coexistence of the diverse cultures that surrounded it. In effect the British influence didn 't limit the cultural influences to be

The land held no political or financial prospect, in fact the soil was found to be infertile , which limited the potential of this undeveloped island. However, the island was not disconnected entirely from its neighbouring region: the Malay and Indian influences are present in its history and artefacts from before the island was set ablaze in the 17th century : its old name- Temasik- finds itself in a few works of Malay and Indonesian