what can historical evidence tell us about SG's connections with world up to 19th century
pg 28 and 39 and 42 and 43
items such as potatoes came from continents as far away as south america
rest of goods were mainly from countries such as China, India , Saudi Arabia and indonesia
many items found in SG today are brought in from different countries around world. existence of these items in past and present shows connection singapore has with other countries. connections with these countries led to exchanges of not only goods, but also cultures
culture: way people in particular group live that makes them different from other groups, such as way they dress, food they eat, and customs and ceremonies that they practise
some of the goods found in SG today: shoes, school bag, coffee beans, sushi
when did these connections between SG and other countries begin?why did SG establish these connections? what types of connections were being established?
what can historical evidence tell us about Singapore's connections with world up to 19th century?
trade across time and cultures
pg 44
trade is most common form of connection between countries
has existed ever since people started to communicate with one another in prehistory
main form of trade was barter
people bartered goods and services with one another before modern day currencies or money were introduced
trade: buying and selling or exchange of goods and services
barter: exchange of goods or services for other goods or services without use of money
first long distance trade occured between mesopotamia(around present-day Iraq) anf Indus Valley(around present-day pakistan)
pg 45
in past, people went on long, dangerous journeys to wither visit religious places or look for new places to buy and sell goods
they also travelled to discover new lands and unfamiliar people
they took ideas and inventions with them to places they travelled to
when they returned, they brought back new goods and stories of lands they had visited and people they had met
zhang qian was royal guard during rule of emperor han wudi(141-87bc)
his original mission was to set off to western part of China to conquer Xiongnu tribe, but he opened silk road instead. He gained info about central asia and west asia while he was using the road. The Silk Road then led to exchange and culture between china and europe
pg 46
marco polo travelled from Venice, Italy, to imperial court of mongol emperor, Kublai Khan, in China during Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368). he was only 20 when he met KKublai Khan. his travel stories also inspired many europeans to travel to East
singapore and trade
Singapore was referred to as Dan Ma Xi at beginning of 14th century. Dan Ma xi is mandarin pronunciation of temasek which means 'sea town' in malay.
wang dayuan mentioned that temasek was busy trading port in 14th century
however, temasekk declined at end of 14th century
from then on, SG came under rule of kingdom of melaka, then it came under rule of kingdom of melaka, then it came under Johor-Riau sultanate, before coming under british rule in 1819
pg 48 and 49
under british rule, port of SG developed into important trading port once again
ever since SG became independent in 1965, it has continued to connect with region and world through trade. Its port has been one of busiest ports in world since 1980
trade is still main way SG connects with region and world
pg 49
settlement: permanent or temporary community of people who lived in specific area or region
what can historical evidence tell us about SG's connections with world up to 19th century
Singapore and Trade in Asia before 14th century
why did SG grow to become busy trading port in 14th century?
trade in asia as well as rise of maritime kingdoms in SEA before 14th century SG was one of these maritime kingdoms in 14th century
trade in asia before 14th century
there were trade links before europe, india and china even before 1st century
people travelled from europe to india and china using overland routes such as Silk ROad. this was first used during Han Dynasty in China(206BC-220)
pg 50 and 51
traders began to use maritime routes around 100 BC. by 7th century, people acquired resources and expertise to build better and stronger ships
these ships enabled faster and safer travel by sea. Maritime routes became more popular with traders and soon became main method for transporting goods to other ccountries
before 14th century, most of traders who used maritime trade routes were from Middle East(including present-day countries such as Kuwait and Yemen), China, India and south-east asia
this trade network among these countries created demand for ports in Asia, especially along trade route between India, China and southeast asia
Traders from middle east
in ancient times, there were already trade connections made between people of mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and Indus Valley Civilisation in India (c. 2600-1900BC)
mesopotamians exchanged goods such as dates(fruit of date palms), oil and wool for Indus beads, ivory(material derived from tusks and teeth of animals) and cotton
around 7th to 12th centuries, there was increase in land and sea travels made by traders from middle east to distant lands such as Southeast Asia and China
people from persia(present day iran) were among most active traders from middle east
besides persians, there were also arab traders from saudi arabia, oman and yemen, who travelled in sailing ships or dhows which were almost 20 m long.
dhow is still used in oman today, where it is called qarib
52 for pictures
traders from china
trade between china and other countries had begun as early as 2nd century BC. However, rulers of China at that time had banned their people from travelling outside empire for fear of foreign influence, and that limited trade
yet, during tang dynasty(618-907), maritime trade among traders from China, Persia(present day Iraq), India and southeast asia increased due to growing popularity of sea travel
in late 10th century, Song court in China realised that maritime trade brought in wealth, and removed ban against private ships(not belonging to chinese emperors) going abroad for trade
chinese maritime trade thus increased, especially from 12th to 14th century.
2 most sought after items from China were silk and porcelain(ceramic ware)
pg 53
traders from india
in 1st century, people of ancient india began to use maritime routes for trade
Chola empire in india(9th-early13th century) had ships calling at ports in other parts of india and even places as far away as middle east, burma, the ,malay archipelago and China
chola ships were also built without any nails and fitted with bamboo sails. Each ship could carry as many as 200 people
54
traders from india exchanged spices, jewels, rhinoceros horns, glass beads and perfumes for chinese silk and porcelain
traders from SEA
people of SEA had been trading with one another even before arrival of chinese and indian traders. they exchanged spices such as cinnamon, cardamon and cloves.
one of earliest pieces of evidence of trade in region was discovery of Dong-son drums in Malay peninsula, sumatra, Java and spice islands of Moluccas and Celebes (present dat maluku and sulawesi. these drums were made of bronze and produced around 600 bc. First of these drums was discovered in Dong son, village in north vietnam
pg 55
rise of maritime kingdoms in southeast asia from
rise of maritime kingdoms in SEA from1st to 14th century
growth in trade between traders from china and india led to greater need for stopover ports along China-India maritime trade route
from 1st to 14th century,several ports including SG (also known as Temasek (at that time) emerged in Malay Archipelago. these ports grew for 2 reasons
Malay Archipelago
this term first used by british naturalist, Dr alfred russel wallace (1823-1913), to refer to group of islands that include modern-day malaysia, indonesia, the Phillipines, Brunei and SG
the book, the malay archipelago, records his explorations during his 1854-18862 survey of southern part of Malay Archipelago,Islands of indonesia and islands of new guinea
firstly, these ports were strategically located along main China-India maritime trade route. They served as convenient stopover ports for ships to be re-supplied with food and water, and for repairs
secondly, they served as collection centres for goods produced in SEA, China and India
traders from arabia, india, china, java and spice islands (moluccas and celebes) exchanged goods at these ports
wealth gained from trade allowed some of these ports to grow into small kingdoms
these kingdoms were also known as maritime kingdoms, as shown in map on pg 57
in 14th century, Temasek emerged as important port for traders. WHy did temasek's port grown in importance?
kingdom: a group of territories ruled by king or queen
rise of temasek in 14th century
fall of kingdom srivijaya
kingdom of srivijaya was powerful maritime kingdom (7th-13th century) before rise of temasek
srivijaya: controlled trade in sumatra, western indonesia.
by 13th century, kingdom of srivijaya collapsed and thus lost control over trade activities in western indonesian region
traders subsequently shifter their activities from Sunda straits to straits of Melaka. this was because they found route to china shorter if they used straits of melaka
pg 58 map
role of temasek as an entrepot: port where goods can be imported and then exported
temasek was an entrepot, serving as regional centre for collection and distribution of goods.
presence of rich hinterland(inland area that supplies goods to port) kept temasek supplied with special local products that were in demand
"local products include fine hornbill casques, course lakawood and tin..." Wang Dayuan
tin was used to glaze pottery annd ceramics
casques, helmet-like structures such as that on bill of hornbill, were carved into ornamental objects and were substitute for ivory
lakawood, type of scented wood, was used for making joss sticks
pg 59 for pics
temasek also served as midway meeting point for traders from Middle-east, india and china to exchange their goods. this meant that traders did not have to travel long distances to each other's countries to trade
advantages of monsoons to temasek
temasek became important entrepot and meeting point for traders. this was because temasek experienced monsoons at different times of year.
monsoon winds enabled traders to sail from own countries to different parts of asia
monsoon: seasonal reversal of wind diretion
monsoon winds: regional wind patterns that reverse direction seasonally
between months of june and september, southwest monsoon trsnsported traders from countries west of indian ocean to temasek
between months of october and february, northeast monsoons transported these traders home from temasek
northesst monsoon also transported traders from cities along coasts of south china sea to temasek. these traders were brought back to own countries by southwest monsoon
traders from west of indian ocean and traders from coasts of South China sea might not be able to meet each other at temasek
however, they were able to trade through one another through middlemen.
middlemen stationed at temasek were agents of traders
middlemen collected goods from one group of traders and exchanged them for goods from another group of traders
traders found temasek to be convenient location to carry out trade while waiting for monsoon wind patterns to change
pg 60 and 61 map
role of sang utama and orang laut
sang utama came over to escape attack from Chola kingdom
coming of Snag utama contributed to Temasek's rise and development
Sang Utama appreared to have commanded group of Orang Laut
this groupp of orang laut was part of local community in early SG
ships were believed to have been forced into temasek harbour by orang laut
pg 62
orang laut (sea people or sea gypsies) are considered to be original inhabitants of many islands in Southeast Asia. they were groups of people who lived in Riau-Lingga Archipelago, eastern sumatra, and southern malay peninsula. they typically lived off long dwelling boat, kknown informally as sampan panjang(long boat)
historically, orang laut conducted activities along main sea trading routes. they know how to gather products from seas and forests for trade. orang laut were best known for fighting and boating skills. they were also feared for pirate activities
orang laut played important role in ancient srivijaya kingdom and malay sultanates of temasek, Melaka and johor Riau. some of these orang laut used temasek as base
pg 63 it link