Year 1 History Notes (Textbook Edition) SJI

Year 1 History Notes Chapter 1: FromTemasek to Singapore (1299-Early1800s) Background682SrivijayaemergesasthedominantkingdomintheMalayArchipelago. 1025ThedeclineofSrivijayabeganwiththeinvasionbytheCholaKingdominIndia. 1299AccordingtoSejarahMelayu,SangNilaUtama,alsoknownasSri Tri Buana,arrivesinTemasekandrenamestheislandSingapura. 1400Parameswara(alsoknownasIskandarShah),aprincefromPalembang,establishesatradingportatMelaka. 1490s-1500sEuropeanvoyagesofdiscoveryandeconomicexpansionresultinthegrowingconflictbetweentheEuropeanmaritimecountriesextendingintoAsia. 1511MelakafallstothePortuguese. 1528TheMelakaSultan’sson,SultanAlauddinRiayatShahII,establishestheJohorSultanate. 1600s-1640sConflictbetweentheDutch,SpanishandPortugueseinSoutheastAsiaintensifiesastheycompetefortradeandcolonies. 1619TheDutchestablishapermanenttradingbaseinBatavia(present-dayJakarta). 1641MelakafallstotheDutch. 1699TheJohorSultan,MahmudShahII,isassassinated,plungingtheSultanateintopoliticalcrisis.

HowdidSingapore’sGeographicalLocationaectitsconnectionswiththeRegionandtheWorld?- SingaporeispartofSoutheastAsia,whichliestothesouthofChinaandtheeastofIndia.- Thesetwolargecountrieswerehometooldandinfluentialcivilisationswhichtradedextensivelythroughouttheregionandbeyond.- Forexample,Chinesegoods,suchassilkandceramics,wereindemandasfarawayasEurope,whereproductsfromSoutheastAsia,suchasspices,scentedwoodandshells,werehighlyvaluableinChinaandIndia. Duringancienttimes,themostimportanttradelinkbetweenthecivilizationsofAsia,theMiddleEastandEuropewasthenetworkoflandroutesknownastheSilkRoad.ThisrouteconnectedChinathroughCentralAsiatotheRomanEmpire,whichcontrolledmuchoftheMiddleEastandEuropeforcenturies. (SilkRoad) However,thisroutebecamelesssafefortravellersduetotheincreaseddangeranddicultiesoftravellingviathemaritimeroute. Inresponsetothis,manytradecentresemergedinSoutheastAsia,TravellersfromChina,India,theMiddleEastandSoutheastAsiawhopassedthroughthisregionwouldstopatvariousportsto:- Pickupitemsfortrade- Acquiresuppliessuchasfoodandwater- Repairtheirships- Waitforthefavourableweatherconditionsbeforecontinuingontheirjourneys Overtime,thewealthgainedfromtradeallowedsomeoftheseportstogrowintosmallkingdoms,alsoknownasmaritimekingdoms.TwoexamplesinSoutheastAsiawereSrivijayaandtheMelakaSultanate.

SingaporeliesotheSoutherntipoftheMalayPeninsula,alongawaterwayknownastheStraitsofMelaka. ShipssailingfromChinatoIndiawouldhavetopassthroughtheStraitsofMelakaasthequickestroutetotheirdestination(bysea).This:- Reducedamountandcostofsuppliestheyneeded,suchasfoodandwater- Reducedriskofpirateattacksandaccidents Otherroutesthroughtheislandfurthereast,inwhatistoday’sIndonesia,wouldtakealongertimetocomplete. Singapore’slocationalsoallowedittobenefitfrommonsoonwinds,whichareseasonalrain-bearingwinds.Inthedaysofsailingships,journeysbyseawerealmostutterlydependentuponwindpatterns.ThesouthwestmonsoonsblowfromJunetoSeptember,whilethenortheastmonsoonsblowfromDecembertoMarch. CountrieswitheconomicinterestsinAsiawouldplacegreatimportanceontheStraitsofMelaka.ControlovertheStraitswouldallowthemtomovetheirshipsquicklyandsafelywithinandbeyondAsia.Indierenthistoricalperiods,the:- Chinese- Portuguese- Dutch- British- JapanesewouldattempttocontroltheStraitstosecuremaritimeroutesfortheirshipsbetweentheSouthChinaSeaandtheIndianOcean.TheseattemptstocontrolthestraitswereakeyfactorinshapingthedevelopmentofSingaporeoverthecenturies. HowdidEARLYSingaporebecomeanIMPORTANTTRADINGCENTRE? - SoutheastAsiawaspositionedtobenefitfromthemaritimetradetakingplacebetweenChinaandtherestoftheworld.- Thistradeenabledseveraltradingcentrestoemergeanddevelopthroughouttheregion.- SrivijayadevelopedaroundtheportofPalembanginSumatra- Overtime,Srivijayagrewintoapowerfulempirethatbroughtstabilitytoplacescontrolledbyit.

- Itsstrongnavysuppressedpiracywithinitsempire,makingitsaferforshipstosailandtradeintheregion.- However,fromthe11thcenturyonwards,Srivijayastartedtodeclineduetoexternalthreats,suchasinvasionsfrom:- TheCholaKingdominsouthernIndia- TheSiameseKingdom(presentdayThailand)- Majapahit(basedinJava)DuetothedeclineofSrivijaya,tradeshiftednorthwardsandpartsintheareabenefitted.Duringthisperiod,tradebetweenChinaandSoutheastAsiaalsoincreased.ThesefactorscontributedtotheriseofearlySingapore,alsoknownasTemasekthen,asatradingcentreinthe14thcentury. WhyhadSingaporedeclinedbythe15thcentury?Bythemiddleofthe14thcentury,Singaporehadstartedtodeclineandwouldsoonbeovershadowedbyanewportcitytoitsnorth,Melaka.- ClimaticandeconomicchangesthataectedtradewithChina:Weatherpatternsunderwentseverechangesinthe14thcentury,thiscontributedtofaminesanddroughtsinChina,astheChineseeconomycollapsedunderthisstrain,tradebetweenSoutheastAsiaandChinawouldhavealsosueredaccordingly. - LikeSrivijaya,Singaporealsofellpreytoexternalthreats.Asasmallisland,itwasalwaysvulnerabletothelargerpowersintheregion,forexample,theKingdomofMajapahitandAyutthaya(inThailand)launchedattacksonTemasekthatweakeneditbytheendofthe14thcentury.- Inc.1400,theMelakaSultanatewasfoundedalongtheStraitsofMelaka,northofSingapore.TheSultanatebecameoneofthedominanttradingcentresintheregion,andsoonextendedcontrolovermuchoftheMalaypeninsulaandSumatra.LikeSingapore,MelakawassituatedinaconvenientlocationfortraderstravellingbetweentheIndianOceanandtheSouthChinaSea,providingthemwithasafeharbourduringtheirlongvoyages.- Parameswara’sconversiontoIslamandmarriagetoaMuslimprincessfromSumatraalsoattractedMuslimtraderstoMelaka.Furthermore,ParameswaraestablishedMelaka’sstatusasavassalofChina.ThismeantthatitwouldpaytributetotheChineseemperorinreturnforprotection.ThisgaveMelakasecurityfromthreatsposedbyrivalsintheregion.- ThispeaceallowedMelakatogrowintoagreatertradingcentre,and attractedtradersfromSumatra,IndiaandtheMiddleEast.

- DespiteSingaporebeingovershadowedbyMelaka,itwasstillimportanttotheMelakaSultanateasitwashometotheOrangLaut,aseafaringpeoplewhowerethebackboneofMelaka'snavalforces. TheArrivaloftheEuropeansAtthebeginningofthe16thcentury,religious,politicalandeconomicrivalrieswereintensifyingamongthemajorpowersofEurope.Withthevoyagesofdiscoveryinthelate15thcenturyinwhichEuropeansailorsopenednewmaritimeroutesintoAsiaandotherpartsoftheworld,thisconflictandcompetitionbeganspreadingintoAsia. SomefamousvoyageswerethoseofChristopherColumbus,wholandedinNorthAmerica,andVacodegama,whoestablishedamaritimeroutefromEuropetoIndia,passingaroundtheCapeofGoodHope(alongtheCoastlineofSouthernAfrica).ThiswasparticularlyimportantasitallowedEuropeanstobypasstheEasternMediterranean,whichwasunderthecontroloftheOttomanTurks.TheOttomanTurkswereconstantlyatwarwiththeEuropeancountriesinthisperiod. TherivalrybetweenthemaritimenationsofSpain,PortugalandtheNetherlandsbegantofocusonAsia.- Theyracedtotapitsmarketsandestablishtradingsettlementsintheregion.- Europeaninfluencestartedgrowingintheregion- MadethekingdomoftheMelakaSultanatevulnerable.- Whenthewell-armedPortuguesedecidedtotakeoverMelaka,theyeasilyconqueredthecity.- TheMelakaSultanfledsouth- HissuccessorwouldestablishanewkingdomalongtheJohorriver,whichcametobeknownastheJohorSultanate. HowImportantwasSingaporeUndertheJohorSultanate?- SingaporerevivedsomeofitstradingfunctionsthathadbeenlostduringtheperiodofMelakadominance.- TradebetweentheJohorSultanateandChina.

WhatcausedSingaporetodeclineagain?- Politicalchangesintheregioninthemid-17thcentury,causingyetanotherdecline.- After1610,theDutchturnedtheirattentionsouthwardstowardstheSundaStraitsandJava,awayfromtheStraitsofMelaka.- TheDutchalsoestablishedtheirmainbaseinAsiaatBatavia,(presentdayJakarta)- ThepoliticalcrisisthatresultedfromtheassassinationofthechildlessSultanMahmudShahIIin1699- Bythe18thcentury,RiauandotherregionalportshadreplacedSingaporeascentresoftradethatlinkedtheIndianOceanwiththeSouthChinaSea.- AsSingaporehadlostimportance,shippingnowbypassedtheisland,Singaporeandnearbycoastalregionsbecamesparselypopulatedplaceswhereinhabitantslivedotheseaandpiratesvisitedtoraidandhide. Chapter 2: How Did Singapore become a BritishTrading Post? Bythe18thcentury,Sing