• Singapore Poh Leung Kuk

      The Singapore Poh Leung Kuk (保良局), or “office to protect virtue”, was established by the Chinese Protectorate in 1888. It grew out of one aspect of the protectorate’s work: controlling prostitution through registration and inspection to prevent the spread of venereal ...

    • Gambling farms in the 19th century

      Gambling activities, also known as gaming, in colonial Singapore attracted different opinions from the British administrators. Stamford Raffles abhorred it and set out to ban gambling, while Residents William Farquhar and John Crawfurd saw gambling as critical ...

    • Two-child policy

      The two-child policy was a population control measure introduced by the Singapore government during the 1970s to encourage couples to have no more than two children. It was part of the second Five-Year National Family Planning Programme (1972–75) that was unveiled ...

    • 17th century Singapore Straits

      The Singapore Straits is among the most geographically strategic sites in the maritime world. Ships sailing between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean had to, and still have to, sail around the southern coast of Singapore. Over the centuries, control over ...

    • Guthrie & Co.

      Guthrie & Co.’s history began in 1823 when a partnership was established between Alexander Guthrie and Thomas Talbot Harrington, a family friend. First located in a rented godown on Hill Street, the company sold British goods to the European and Chinese communities ...

    • Yio Chu Kang Road

      Yio Chu Kang Road is a major road in the north of Singapore that connects Upper Thomson Road to Upper Serangoon Road. Asociated with gambier and pepper plantations and kampongs in the 19th century, the road today reflects the urban development of 20th-century Singapore. ...

    • New Education System

      In August 1978, then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee was tasked to lead a study team to identify problems in Singapore’s education system and propose solutions. The government had felt that a thorough review was crucial to align the education system with the ...

    • Royston Tan

      Royston Tan (b. 5 October 1976, Singapore–) is an award-winning Singaporean film-maker who is hailed as one of the most promising talents in the local film-making industry. Most of Tan’s works focus on social issues and seek to challenge the boundaries of societal ...

    • Born to Read, Read to Bond programme

      The Born to Read, Read to Bond programme aimed to promote reading from young and deepen family ties by increasing parent-child bonding. The programme, introduced by the National Library Board on 27 November 2001, was designed for newly born children to children ...

    • Whiteaway Laidlaw

      Founded in Calcutta, India by Robert Laidlaw in 1882, Whiteaway Laidlaw was a department store that opened a premier branch in Singapore in 1900. Offering products that appealed to the Europeans and wealthy locals, the outlet in Singapore was located on D’Almeida ...

    • Portuguese trade empire in Asia

      The arrival of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in India in 1498 meant that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover a direct sea route to Asia via the Cape of Good Hope and, subsequently, Southeast Asia. Their main motive in seeking out the maritime ...

    • Tuberculosis in Singapore

      Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium. It spreads from person to person via airborne respiratory droplets from an infected person, and primarily affects the lungs. In the 19th century, Singapore’s ...

    • St John’s Island quarantine station

      The influx of immigrants to Singapore in the 19th century brought various communicable diseases, such as smallpox, leprosy and cholera to the island. Health inspections and regulations became increasingly important in order to control the spread of such diseases ...

    • Technical and vocational education

      For much of the early 19th to mid-20th century, technical and vocational education in Singapore was underdeveloped due to the nature of the economy and the colonial government’s noninterference in education. Technical and vocational education gained importance ...

    • Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals)

      Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) is one of the most important Malay historical works, and one of the finest literary works written in Malay, that has been handed down in various versions. There were at least seven versions of this text. Sejarah Melayu is also one ...

    • Tan Teck Soon

      Tan Teck Soon (b. 1859, Singapore–d. 25 November 1922, Singapore) was a Chinese scholar and writer active in Singapore at the turn of the 20th century. He was a founding member of the influential gentlemen’s debating club known as the Straits Philosophical Society ...

    • Caledonian Hotel

      Caledonian Hotel, established in 1904, was one of the principal hotels in Singapore during the early 20th century. It was also said to be “the only British hotel in Singapore” at the time.

    • Marina Bay

      Marina Bay is a waterfront site located in Singapore’s central region. The bay area was created by reclaiming land around the body of water in front of Collyer Quay to form Marina Centre, Marina East and Marina South. The Marina Bay area has been developed over ...

    • Peranakan (Straits Chinese) community

      The term Peranakan generally refers to people of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage. Many Peranakans trace their origins to 15th-century Malacca where their ancestors were thought to be Chinese traders who married local women. Peranakan males are known ...

    • Tamil community

      The Tamils make up the largest segment of the South Indian community in Singapore. Originating from the present-day state of Tamil Nadu in South India as well as northern Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), many Tamils came to Singapore during the 19th century as labourers ...

       

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