Pre-Colonial Singapore (Singapore Chronicles) by Kwa Chong Guan

Pre-Colonial Singapore (Singapore Chronicles) Reviews

• 
  Ryan

  From what I gather, there is currently scant physical evidence or even historical documents of Singapore's pre-colonial days prior to 1819. The author's primary reference is a semi-fictional book of ancient Malay chronicling the rise and fall of princes and kings in the region. Archeological digs around the downtown river front area had produced fragments of pottery and iron works, but also not much to go by. Faced with such lack of records, the author postulated that there were two 'peaks' before the British arrived, when the island was more than just a fishing village, but a major port and trade center for the immediate region. The earlier was from 10th to 14th centuries, and subsequently from 16th to 17th centuries, under the auspices of various regional powers at those times such as the Srivijayan empire and Johor sultanate. He theorizes that the economic fortunes of the island had followed cycles of trade in the region, which was in turn governed by long term climatic phenomenon. All fascinating but at the same time mere guesses and nothing very concrete unfortunately for those who seek firm answers.
  
  The European powers that came onto the scene since the 16th century had their own headquarters in Southeast Asia, Malacca for the Portuguese and Batavia for the Dutch. But it was the rise of the British and eclipsing of those former rivals that placed Singapore as the unrivaled regional center from 19th century till today.