The Men Who Really Built Singapore

Friday, 8 July 1887 - Singapore

Rickshaws only came to Singapore recently, but they are everywhere. There are hundreds of them. Soon there will be thousands. All the tourists want to ride in them for they are so exotic. Locals use them because they are so cheap. For three cents per half mile, a rickshaw will take you anywhere in town at five miles an hour. That’s about a fifth of what a hackney cab costs.

Ricjkshaws seem very quaint until you take a closer look at the poor chap who is pulling you. Not only are they dragging a small carriage with one or two passengers, they are obliged to do this at a fast trot in sweltering heat.. Most rickshaw runners cover 20 to 30 miles a day. That’s the average endurance for a horse!

At night the runners go to a dark crowded tenements, eat a bowl of rice and try to get some sleep. Some just sleep in their rickshaws. Opium use is common to deaden the pain as the labor takes it’s toll on their bodies and souls. They look old beyond their years, dieing before their time.

Who would want a job like this? Only someone desperate enough. Almost all the rickshaw runners are Chinese coolies. These are poor peasants coming to Singapore to escape crushing poverty, only to find it has followed them. Many are indentured, having to pay back, with high interest, the recruiters that paid for their passage. Coolies work the hard jobs no one else wants. Besides pulling rickshaws, they work on plantations, carry bags on their backs to load ships, toll in mines or dig ditches.

The Chinese are the largest minority group in Singapore. In fact they are so large, they make up 70% of the population. I know, mathematically they are the majority, but socially they are treated as a minority. Some lucky ones are doing well, a few are quite wealthy with high standing in the city. Most are very poor.

For much of its history, China has been a wealthy and powerful nation. However the nineteenth century probably marked its lowest ebb. It is now a poor country racked with famine, plague, wars and rebellions. Things are so bad, it’s hard to believe it will be a world power again in a hundred years.

Singpore's Chinatown
(much nicer than the one currently in San Francisco)

And so the Chinese come to Singapore’s Chinatown and try to find people from their own districts. We think of China as a country, but it is really an Empire made up of many cultures, each with its own language. Looks can be deceiving. Chinese immigrants all look the same, because they are forced by the Qing Dynasty to wear the Manchu queue and dress in Manchu fashion. While the system of writing has been generalized, language has not. Right now Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese are the most common languages in Singapore. English is often a second language, not only so they can speak with the British in charge, but so they can talk with each other.

Add to this mix the Peranakan, the first Chinese to Singapore. They have been in this area since late 1400s. They intermarried with the native Malay and have a culture that mixes the two groups. Most of these are merchants and are doing well. They do try to help their brethren from a country they have long forgotten, but the need is too great for simple acts of charity.

William Pickering

Ten years ago the British Colonists set up William A. Pickering as the Chinese Protectorate in an effort to help these people. He has been fighting to stop the human rights violations of the coolie trade and to help the Chinese community. There are also missionaries trying to give aid to the poor. Even so, it’s not enough.

To their credit, the British have treated the Chinese workers better than most countries. The Chinese are allowed to manage affairs in Chinatown for the most part. Unlike San Francisco, that has confined thousands of Chinese into just a few blocks, this Chinatown is allowed to expand. And unlike Seattle, Singapore officials will not drive the Chinese out of town. Even in the next century when Singapore begins to chafe under Colonial Rule, Britain will be looked upon not as an evil tyrant, but more like an over-bearing patriarch who insists on running everything and is getting too senile to do so.

Soon the children’s children of these coolies will be the middle-class backbone of one of the wealthiest nations in the world. But that is not the reality now. Now life is one of unending drudgery and suffering for these people as they build Singapore.

I decided I would ride in the rickshaws. The runners beg passersby to allow them to drag them about, for no passengers means no dinner. I wish I could toss them a guinea, but I’m not allowed to give charity without risking losing my Time Travel License. Even a shilling could possibly change the life of a coolie and somehow change history. (Like some poor chap getting a foot up would set time on its ear.)

I was warned at the hotel to be careful that the rickshaw runners didn’t cheat me. They try to tell you it’s seven cents a mile instead of six, or tell you they took you over mile when it was only three-quarters. Like I’m going to worry about being cheated out of a couple of pennies.

So when I ride a rickshaw I try to act just haughty enough that they feel obligated to take the snooty elitist for a few cents, but not mean enough to ruin their day. It’s the least I’m allowed to do for these men treated as beasts of burden.

And more importantly I want to be able to show their descendants what their ancestors went through so their children could have a better life.

The Good Shepherd

Sunday, 3 July 1887 - Singapore

Today I visited the Church of the Good Shepherd on Brass Bassa Road. Built in 1847 it was the first Catholic Church in Singapore, but is no longer the only one. I was here to record Good Shepherd while it is still a church. Next year it will be made a Cathedral.

Right now most Christians in Singapore are Catholics. That will change in the next century when most will be Protestant. I expected the church to be full of Europeans but was surprised to see mostly Asians. I assumed these were all new converts and that the missionaries had been very busy.

After the service I admired the lovely statue of Jesus with a shepherd’s crook and a lost lamb carried on his shoulders. I then noticed an elderly gentleman of Chinese descent in a suit beside me. Obviously one of the prosperous merchants.

“Very nice statue,” I said to be polite. I nodded and turned to leave.

“Yes, most don’t understand the significance of it.” Except for a slight accent, his English was as good as mine.

“It’s Jesus Christ as the savior of lost souls, isn’t it?”

“It’s shepherds laying down their lives for their flocks.”

“Then it’s a symbol of the Crucifixion?”

“It’s a symbol of the martyr Father Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert.” Tan said patiently.

“I never heard of that saint. Why did the church of Singapore pick this Imbert chap?”

“He was the first priest to give mass in Singapore.”

“This Father Imbert was martyred here?” I found that difficult to believe.

“No, if he had stayed here he could have died of old age. The British and the people of Singapore tolerate other faiths. We may not agree with each other, but we live and let live.”

I introduced myself to this gentleman who seemed quite interesting. He introduced himself as Tan Po Chan. “Please,” I said, “If you don’t mind, tell me about this Father Imbert.”

Mr. Tan sat down and proceeded to tell me about the history of the Catholics in this corner of the world. Tan’s own family was from the Peranakan, the Chinese merchants that settled along the Malaccan Straits centuries ago. His family had been Catholic for generations. The first missionary, St. Frances Xaviar, came here in the 1500s. Other missionaries followed over the years to continue Francis Xaviar’s work.

One of these was Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert who left France in 1820 to work in China. On his way he stopped in the newly founded city of Singapore to access the needs of the town and send back a report. He is believed to have also given the first mass here.

He reached China and did so well he was promoted to Vicar Apostolic of Korea and Titular Bishop of Capsa in 1836. The interesting thing about Korea is that the first missionaries were Koreans. They read a Catechism written by a Jesuit priest in Beijing and wanted to know more. One brave chap went to China to be baptized and came back to spread the faith. We may never know his name, because he had to do this all in secret.

Korea was a closed country and did not allow any contact with foreigners without the permission of the government. Alien ideas like Christianity were suspect and illegal. Despite that the Christian community was growing and needed a Bishop.

Imbert knew going in that this was dangerous work. Yet he felt he couldn’t ignore the Korean Christians. He had to sneak across the border and attend his flock in secret.

By 1839 the Korean authorities discovered Imbert’s work. He surrendered to them, not wanting to endanger any of his parishioners. He was taken to Seoul and tortured for the whereabouts of other foreign missionaries.

Believing that the converts would be spared if all the missionaries surrendered, Bishop Imbert sent Fathers Pierre-Philibert Maubant and Jacques-Honoré Chastan the following message: “In desperate circumstances, the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” Maubant and Chastan did just that.

This time all three were tortured for three days for the whereabouts of their converts. They refused to break. and were beheaded. They were not the only ones. It is estimated 10,000 Christians were martyred in Korea this (the 19th) century. Luckily that has recently stopped.

When Singapore heard of the fate of Bishop Imbert, they resolved to name the church they were planning in his honor. Since he was not an official saint, they named the church “Good Shepherd” in reference to his message to the other missionaries.

I later checked my historic records and discovered that Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert would be made a saint in 1984, along with 103 other martyrs from these bloody persecutions. Although Imbert was canonized in Seoul, the church here in Singapore, named in his honor, will hold his relics.

I think any priest willing to die to try to protect his flock is indeed a saint by any definition.

Raffles' "Little Child"

Tuesday, 21 June 1887 - Singapore

Singapore has a unique history. It was a British Colony, but the majority of colonists were not Europeans, as in Australia or Canada, but Asians. It was from the start one of the most multi-ethnic cities in the world. And from its start it was also one of the fastest growing. It is a city that will become a nation because of its uniqueness.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

In 1818, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Governor of Bencoolen on western Sumatra, convinced his bosses at the East Indian Company, that Britain needed a new base in the region. All the other ports were controlled by the Dutch, who levied high tariffs on the British, who were forced to sail through the Strait of Melaka to get from India to China.

After studying several maps, Raffles decided the island off the southern tip of Malaya would be perfect. Singapore Island was about half-way between India and China, and centrally located in Southeast Asia. Most importantly the Dutch had ignored it. For that matter so had the Sultan of Johar who supposedly owned it.

In 1819 Raffles landed on the southern end of Singapore Island to find a tiny fishing village at the mouth of a river. The rest was thick jungle. However he knew that there had once been a port here, named Singapura (Sanskrit for “Lion City.”) Nothing was left after the Portuguese had destroyed it two hundred years before. This was indeed the perfect site for a port.

Map of Singapore (sorry it's in German)

Raffles asked the Sultan of Johar, Tengku Rahman, for permission to settle on the island. The Sultan, not wanting to anger the Dutch, refused. Raffles knew all the local gossip. Tengku Rahman’s eldest brother, Tengku Hussein, was living in exile. Their father had died when the eldest brother was away, and the youngest took the opportunity to seize power. After all, daddy had failed to name his heir.

Raffles smuggled Tengku Hussein into Singapore and offered to recognize him as the true Sultan of Johar and ruler of Malay if he would give the British permission to set up a trading post. He would also pay him a yearly rent. Tengku Hussein signed the treaty and became Sultan of Johar. Better a puppet king, than no kingdom at all.

As for the natives, Temenggong Abdu'r Rahman, the local leader, had helped Raffles with his plan. He had heard tales of Singapore’s glorious past, and was not adverse to seeing it again. He had also been promised a yearly stipend.

Singapore was not to be some quick and dirty temporary outpost. Raffles had great plans for her. He envisioned a prosperous, modern city. His first order was that this was to be a free port--no tariffs, no taxes and open to all.

Raffles had to return to Bencoolen. He left Major William Farquhar in charge. Farquhar took the idea of free port a bit too far, ignoring slave markets, gambling, opium dens, cock fighting and brothels. He did however tax the illegal operations by having them buy “licenses.”

When Raffles returned in 1822 he was happy to see population was over 5,000. Merchants had flocked from all over with the promise of free trade. He was also unhappy to see the how wild and wooly the place had become. Stabbings in the street were common. The police could do little to stop it, since they were usually the first victims. Raffles fired Farquhar and set about cleaning up the place. He called Singapore his “Little Child” and took her best interests to heart.

From the very beginning Malay culture was to be respected as were those of any colonists as long as their customs "shall not be contrary to reason, justice or humanity." Just about every conceivable religion has had a place of worship here from early on. Tolerance is the key word.

I think if you walk around Singapore long enough, you will run into just about every nationality in the world. Malayans now come in third, out numbered by the Chinese and Indians. Even among them you have various cultures. But everyone buries their differences. The British cooperate with the “uncivilized,” the Chinese with the “barbarians,” the Muslims with the “infidels,” and the Hindus with the “casteless.” And all because tolerance and cooperation is good for commerce, and commerce is the foundation of Singapore.

In 1867 Singapore became unhappy with the East Indian Company, who was having problems running a city that had grown to over 82,000. So it became a Crown Colony. Instead of being run by accountants, graduates of Oxford and Cambridge now took the reins. They learned to read and write Chinese to better serve their wards.

Most civil service jobs are filled by Indians, already acquainted with the British way of doing things, or Peranakan Chinese. The Peranakans are merchants that have spent generations in Malay before Singapore was even a glimmer in Raffle’s eye. They are educated and adaptable, and seem to like the British way of doing things.

Raffles Square, Singapore

Then in 1869, things really took off. The Suez Canal was opened, taking 5,000 miles off the trip from Europe. Singapore became one of the largest ports in the world. I’m not sure what the population is in 1887, but I do know it will be 181,602 in 1891.

In 1963, Singapore will leave the British Empire, and again join with Malaya. Two years later they will separate. It will become evident Singapore is already becoming a totally separate culture that will have little in common with Malaya. In less than 30 years after Independence Singapore will go from being a third world country to becoming a modern, wealthy nation.

How did they do it? By following Raffles dream. Of course they updated it a bit but they stayed on the same path of tolerance and commerce.

Which is why the University of Singapore has sent me here. They are not ashamed of their colonial roots, but rather proud of them. Why not? The Asian colonists had as much a hand in building Singapore as the British, maybe more. Some of the colonial buildings will be saved even as the island will become covered with skyscrapers. And Raffles is still venerated as their Founding Father. I have been sent here to cover the unveiling of his statue, next Monday, the 27th of June, 1887. I came early to get a lay of the city.

If Raffles could jump ahead even the 200 years he had hoped his city would survive, he would be shocked by all the skyscrapers and the end of the British Empire. But I don’t think he would be disappointed with his “Little Child.” She grew up to do her “daddy” proud.

Singapore about 200 years after its founding