Sunday, 29 June 2008

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Founding of Singapore

In December 1818, Raffles left Calcutta in search of a new British settlement to replace Malacca.
Raffles arrived in Singapore on board a ship called Indiana on 29 January 1819, together with William Farquhar and a sepoy, meeting 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.

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.

The Singapore Institution

Upon establishing a British settlement in Singapore, one of Raffles's concerns was establishing an institution for higher learning.
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.

< old Raffles Institution

< new Raffles 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.

His Last Breath

He died on 5 Jul 1826, at the age of 45 years old, Highwood, Middlesex.

Adapted information from http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_715_2004-12-15.html

Done by : Chan Jun Jie
Class : 2E1