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Dynamics of Chinese economic life in Singapore, 1819-1880
Author
Mok, Chok Sun
Supervisor
Fernando, Radin
Abstract
Singapore's first sixty years as a British settlement was relatively free from government control in terms of the way it was governed and its economy development. During this period, Singapore's economy took off and the settlement became a land of opportunity for immigrants from the Malay Archipelago. China and India. This study suggests that Singapore's early economic development was intimately connected with the growth of the Chinese community, the participation of Chinese merchants in the financing and operation of revenue farms and the operation of the kongsi institution in maintaining social and economic order in the Chinese community.
The influx of Chinese immigrants provided Singapore with the labour to develop its agriculture, commerce and infrastructures and at the same time formed a lucrative consumer market. The revenue farms introduced by the British as a taxation system gave enterprising Chinese merchants an avenue to gather funds and mobilise manpower to form large syndicates to operate the farms. This development paved the way for the Chinese population to be incorporated into the local economy and for Chinese merchants to adopt modern business practices and to diversify into new businesses lided to the expanding global economy. During Singapore's first sixty years, the Chinese community largely governed itself through its kongsis and provided protection, welfare services and socio-economic control for the community. This mechanism together with the availability of cheap Chinese labour, capital accumulated from the revenue farms and the entrepreneurial skills of the Chinese merchants facilitated the Chinese community to develop its economy.
The influx of Chinese immigrants provided Singapore with the labour to develop its agriculture, commerce and infrastructures and at the same time formed a lucrative consumer market. The revenue farms introduced by the British as a taxation system gave enterprising Chinese merchants an avenue to gather funds and mobilise manpower to form large syndicates to operate the farms. This development paved the way for the Chinese population to be incorporated into the local economy and for Chinese merchants to adopt modern business practices and to diversify into new businesses lided to the expanding global economy. During Singapore's first sixty years, the Chinese community largely governed itself through its kongsis and provided protection, welfare services and socio-economic control for the community. This mechanism together with the availability of cheap Chinese labour, capital accumulated from the revenue farms and the entrepreneurial skills of the Chinese merchants facilitated the Chinese community to develop its economy.
Date Issued
2003
Call Number
DS610.5 Mok
Date Submitted
2003