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4:03 AM By random

Sir Stamford Raffles

In December 1818, Raffles left Calcutta in search of a new British settlement to replace Malacca. Malacca was one of the many British territories given back to the Dutch as part of a war treaty. Raffles had foreseen that without a strategic British trading post located within the Straits Settlement, the Dutch could gain control of the Straits Settlement trade. Raffles arrived in Singapore on board a ship called Indiana on 29 January 1819. Accompanied by William Farquhar and a sepoy, he met the Temenggong Abdul Rahman to negotiate for a British factory to be established on the island. On 6 February 1819, he signed an official treaty with Sultan Hussein and Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and subsequently the Union Jack Flag was raised officially.

Raffles Town Plan
Raffles conceived a town plan to remodel Singapore into a modern city. The plan consisted of separate areas for different ethnic groups and provision of other facilities such as roads, schools and lands for government buildings. In October 1822, a Town Plan Committee was formed by Raffles to oversee the project. 

A Free Port
Raffles devised a set of policies and regulations that outlined the objectives of the harbour that helped establish Singapore as a free port. Singapore was also chosen due to its geographical location to compete with the other harbours that were under the control of the Dutch administration. 

Law and Order
Raffles instituted a local magistrate which ensured peace and order in the thriving settlement. Members of the magistrate were selected from the British inhabitants to act under the Resident who was the representative of the British Government on the island. The provision of a local magistrate led to the abolishment and control of activities such as public gambling, slavery and cock-fighting, and even subjected pawnbrokers to licensing regulation. 

The Singapore Institution
Upon establishing a British settlement in Singapore, one of Raffles's concerns was establishing an institution for higher learning. A site was chosen located along a stretch of road now known as Bras Basah Road. Raffles laid the foundation stone in 1823 but the building was completed in 1837 and was instead used as an elementary school. The establishment of this institution would later form a college known as the Singapore Institution (now known as the Raffles Institution). The Singapore Library (now known as the National Library) was established within the Singapore Institution. 

The First Bridge
In May 1821, Lieutenant Philip Jackson was assigned by Raffles to build a bridge across the Singapore River. The bridge was referred to as the Jackson's bridge and was the only bridge across the Singapore River until 1840 when another bridge, the Coleman Bridge was built. The Jackson's bridge was replaced in 1844 with another bridge, the Thomson's bridge which was used as a footbridge till 1846. 


3:03 AM By random

Sang Nila Utama was a prince of Palembang. He wanted to find a suitable place for a new city thus, he decided to visit the islands off the coast of Palembang South Sumatra. He set sail in a number of ships. He and his men reached the Riau Islands. A few days later, Sang Nila Utama went to a nearby island on a hunting trip.
While hunting, he spotted a deer and started chasing it. He came to a very large rock and climbed on it. When he reached the top, he looked across the sea and saw another island with a sandy beach.

Asking one of his ministers what land it was, he was told that it was the island of Temasek. He decided to visit Temasek. However, when his ship was out into the sea, a great storm blew up and the ship was tossed about in the huge waves. The ship began to take in water.

To prevent it from sinking, his men threw all the heavy things into the sea to lighten the ship. However, water kept entering the ship and Sang Nila Utama, on the advice of a ship's officer, threw his heavy crown overboard. At once, the storm died down and he reached Temasek safely.
He landed at the mouth of the present-day Singapore River and went inland to hunt wild animals. Suddenly, he saw a strange animal with a red body and black head. It was a fine-looking animal and moved with great speed as it disappeared into the jungle.

He asked his chief minister what animal it was and was told that it probably was a lion. However, recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there, and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was likely a tiger, most likely the Malayan Tiger. He was pleased with this as he believed it to be a good omen - a sign of good fortune coming his way. Thus, he decided to build his new city in Temasek. He and his men stayed on the island and founded a city.

He named this city "Singapura". "Singa" means lion and "pura" means city in Malay.The name means the Lion City. Sang Nila Utama ruled Singapura for 48 years and was buried on Bukit Larangan. (present-day Fort Canning Hill)


2:14 AM By random

Group 8

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