Singapore Before the 1819's

Through our educational trip to the National museum's History Gallery and Fort Canning Park, our group has come to the following conclusion about what Singapore was like before the 1819's.

Key point 1 ( Economic Connections)

Source 1: Singapore was a very dangerous place for people who went there to trade before the 18^th century.
Source 2: Singapore's political connections involved many trades between countries.

Evidence from research

Source 1: From examining the account written by Wang Da Yuan, it says that,” …which was occupied by ferocious pirates who launched frequent attacks on passing merchant ships.” This source can tell us that it would be really dangerous as pirates would not go easy on people who have expensive goods on board or are rich.

Source 2: From examining the source, porcelain shards, I can see that they are decorated with Chinese carvings and these shards date back to the 13th century were unearthed from an excavation site in Fort Canning. It is thus inferable that trade between China and Singapore was often, as the shards were probably brought to Singapore by Chinese traders. Source Materials

Source 1: Daoyi Zhilue (A Brief Description of the Island Foreigners", or "Notes on the Barbarians of the Isles")

 Written by Wang Dayuan, 1349

Written in 1349, Wang Dayuan’s Daoyi Zhilue is the only Chinese first-hand account of 14th century Temasek. In the 1330s Wang Dayuan took advantage of the relaxed trade regulations under Mongol rule to travel extensively in South east Asia and the Indian Ocean. He describes Temasek or “Dan-ma-xi” as comprising two settlements – “Banzu” (after the Malay word “pancur” or fresh-water spring), a peaceful trading port city under the rule of a local chief. The second settlement he describes as “Longyamen” (an area which likely stretched from Keppel Bay south to north-western side of Sentosa and west to what is today Labrador Park), which was occupied by ferocious pirates who  launched frequent attacks on passing merchant ships. Strangely, he also notes that Chinese lived here, "side by side with the natives". Perhaps he meant that they lived in Banzu, not Longyamen. He also mentions some of the trade goods bartered in Temasek: red gold, cotton prints, blue satin, aromatic wood and fine horn bill casques.
Source 2:

Key Point 2 ( Political Connections)

Source 3: I can infer that Singapore had very skilled craftspeople who could create beautiful and useful objects inhabiting the island before 1819.

Evidence from research

Source 3: From examining the source, a stem cup, I can see that the cup is white with intricately carved blue engravings. It is evident that these markings have been laboriously hand-carved and thus I can infer that skilled craftspeople once inhabited the island of Singapore.

Source materials 
Source 3:

 

  

Key Point 3 ( Cultural Connections)

Source 4: I can infer that common herbs and spices were grown in early Singapore for use in those days when many condiments and ingredients were not available.
Source 5: I can infer that Singapore has a long history that stretches far back many centuries.

Evidence from Research

Source 4: From examining the source, Pandan leaves, and examining in great detail the background and origins of this plant, I find that the Pandan is a plant whose leaves are added as an ingredient in food to enhance the flavour and make a dish more appetizing and flavourful. People who had no money to afford ingredients for their food in the past relied on herbs and spices from different plants like the Pandan to make their food tastier. The Pandan is one of the most significant traditional flavours. Traditional folks used a mortar and pestle to crush the Pandan leaf where the crushed leaves were used to weave a fabric which is thoroughly squeezed to get the Pandan juice.
Source 5: From examining the source, a fragment of the Singapore Stone,I can see that it is a fragment of a large sandstone slab which originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The slab, which is believed to date back to at least the 13th century and possibly as early as the 10th or 11th century, bore an undeciphered inscription. Recent theories suggest that the inscription is either in Old Javanese or in Sanskrit. It is likely that the person who commissioned the inscription was Sumatran. The slab was blown up in 1843 to clear and widen the passageway at the river mouth to make space for a fort and the quarters of its commander.

The slab may be linked to the legendary story of the 14th-century strongman Badang, who is said to have thrown a massive stone to the mouth of the Singapore River. On Badang's death, the Rajah sent two stone pillars to be raised over his grave "at the point of the straits of Singapura".

The Stone, now displayed at the National Museum of Singapore, was designated by the museum as one of 11 "national treasures" in January 2006, and by the National Heritage Board as one of the top 12 artefacts held in the collections of its museums.

Source materials
Source 4:

Source 5:









Done by 1CR Group 7
Jerel
Wai Yan
Zi Yang
Lorraine