Political (Colonial Singapore)

6 Feb 1819: The Singapore Treaty is signed between Raffles, Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong with commanders from the accompanying seven ships witnessing the event. William Farquhar was appointed Resident and Commandant under the authority of Raffles as Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen. The Union Jack is officially raised. This date is recognised as the official founding of Singapore. In 1824, the entire island became a British possession under a further treaty with the Sultan, as well as the Temenggong. Raffles, then the Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu) in Sumatra, landed in Singapore on 29 January 1819. Recognising the immense potential of the swamp-covered island, he helped negotiate a treaty with the local rulers and established Singapore as a trading station. The city quickly grew as an entrepot trade hub, attracting immigrants from China, India, the Malay Archipelago and beyond. In 1822, Raffles implemented the Raffles Town Plan, also known as the Jackson Plan, to address the issue of growing disorderliness in the colony. Ethnic residential areas were segregated into four areas. The source portrayed that the British was in control of the governance of Singapore.

Political (Pre-1819)

Nāgarakṛtāgama Javanese epic poem written in 1365 by a Buddhist Monk, Prapañcā. BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE Written in 1365,the Nagarakertagama contained accounts of the Majapahit Kingdom and its vassal states,Temasek was mentioned as one of its vassal states. INFORMATION The king was Hayam Wuruk and his prime minister was Gajah Mada (1350-1389). As far back as 1361, Johor’s Muar is mentioned as being part of the Majapahit Empire in the Nagarakertagama. In Malay historical literature, Temasek, which was then ruled by Sultan Iskandar Syah, was defeated by the Majapahit empire. I chose this source as this source tells me that there were Malay Kings and a system of Sultanate ruling Singapore in the 14th century, which is the time period before 1819.