The China History Podcast

Part 4 continues with the aftermath of the 1824 Treaty of London. John Crawfurd takes over from a disgraced William Farquhar as First Resident. Singapore commences its never-ending building and infrastructure process. The Straits Settlements are created in 1826. With a spike in labor demand and with slavery recently abolished, the East India Company comes up with a novel solution. Up in Johor, Daing Ibrahim takes over as the new Temenggong and becomes a ruler that the East India Company can work with. The majority Teochew and Hokkien communities start to organize around their own community leaders. Gutta-Percha is discovered and for the first time Singapore gets to surf a nice wave of prosperity as this raw material’s discovery coincides with a massive demand from a new technological innovation. Alongside all this growth in commerce emerges several secret societies who, like their overseas counterparts, provide a mixture of good and evil across Chinese society. Tin is discovered in 1848 in Perak State. Singapore gets a piece of this action as well. With the EIC’s fortunes sinking, Singapore’s leaders start to lobby Parliament in London for Crown Colony status and to scrape the despised East India Company management from the bottom of their shoe. Communal strife starts to break out with regularity. This will continue in various forms all the way into the 20th century. We close things out by presenting the life and career of William A. Pickering, an extraordinary person in his day.  I invite you to support me and my work by subscribing to my Patreon Page at https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast You’ll get all these episodes long before they’re released to the podcasting public. I also produce occasional bonus content. I don’t post too much to social media. But I am extremely active chit-chatting with Patreon members and CHP friends of the show all day and night on the Patreon site, on WeChat, WhatsApp, email, Signal, and a bunch of other platforms. Thanks for considering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Singapore formally established, we look at those first months and years. As soon as the document was signed, Raffles left the island and William Farquhar took over as First Resident. It would be hard to find a more capable person to manage what needed to get the new enterprise up and running. Taking advantage of his personal connections in Melaka and the political and technological dynamic of the time, Farquhar got the ball rolling in Singapore. The Dutch were outraged and plenty of fancy footwork and smooth talking needed to be done to avert a war. Singapore became an overnight sensation in the region. Many traders were attracted to Duty-Free trade. This was one reason the British East India Company wasn't willing to give in to the Dutch so fast. William Farquhar kept it all together and rose to the occasion at this most early period of Singapore's second incarnation. We'll look at the eyebrow-raising measures he took to turn on the government revenue taps and how this will all lead to his undoing. We also look at Farquhar's successor as First Resident, John Crawfurd. How he outfoxed The Temenggong Abdul Rahman and the Sultan Hussein Shah is also presented. We close with immigrants coming to Singapore in droves, soon outnumbering the local Malay populace. After peace with the Dutch was achieved in 1824, it was full speed ahead for Singapore. Four local entrepreneurs who also served as early community leaders are also introduced. These are Tan Tock Seng 陈笃生， Seah Eu Chin 佘有进, Naraina Pillai, and Syed Omar Al-Juneid. You can support my work by subscribing to my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast Thank you for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the arrival of the Portuguese and their 1511 victory, the history of this region began to move in s new direction. The Portuguese and the Dutch rather ignored Singapore and focused their trade and colonizing efforts on the Melaka Coast and in Indonesia. The Johor Sultanate begins its early rise to prominence. The conflict between Britain and the Netherlands ends up having a major effect on the Malay Peninsula and led to the founding of Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. We'll take a brief look at his bio and how he ended up having such a profound impact on the earliest years of Singapore's colonial history. The life of William Farquhar is also introduced and the brewing conflict he would have with Raffles. The story of how these two men, along with Lord Hastings, worked out an agreement with the two key figures of the time, Sultan Hussein Shah and the Temenggong Abdul Rahman will be introduced at the end of the episode. This episode has been available on Patreon since July. Please consider supporting me and get early access to everything: https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast My sixth book just came out on Earnshaw Books. This one covers Chinese Sayings from the Zhou and Han Dynasty. Check it out here: https://earnshawbooks.com/product/chinese-sayings-book-1/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Requests to present the history of Singapore go back to 2010 or 2011. At long last, here's an easy-to-consume and digest overview of The Lion City. In Part 1 we'll look at the watered world of Southeast Asia and the Monsoon Winds that led to the earliest intra-Asian sea trade. And of course, the legendary 14th century founding of Singapore will be told. Sri Vijaya, Sang Nila Utama, Temasek, and the five kings of Singapura. The visit of Yuan Dynasty explorer Wang Dayuan will also be introduced as well as his early observations. We'll get as far as the fall of Singapura and the founding of the Sultanates of Melaka and later Johor. When the early 16th century dawns, the arrival of the Portuguese will put the trajectory of Singapore and Malaysian history in a new direction. We'll pick up next time and see how the arrival of the Dutch and British East India Companies start shaking things up in Southeast Asia. Although a lot of what's covered in Part 1 is only legend, one can easily see the history of this small island at the tip of the Malaysian Peninsula goes back far beyond the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles. Patreon supporters are already on Part 6 of this series, not scheduled for release until November 24. Subscribe to my Patreon and earn my ever-lasting gratitude. And enjoy being the first ones to hear the latest episodes (and bonus material too). https://www.patreon.com/TeacupMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices