Authors

This blog is a group effort by the following students from class 103.

• Tan Hong Min (37), Group leader
• Gabriel Phoon (36), Blog I/C
• Tan Jie Ming (38), Research I/C
• Vernon Chan Yong Wei (25)
• Fu Kai (27)

Acknowledgement

We do not claim ownership over the pictures and source texts used in this blog. All pictures and source texts are reproduced for educational purpose only. We thank the organisations and websites listed below for providing us with the pictures and source texts. We acknowledge that all inferences and conclusions made are our own and the organisations and websites are not responsible for them.

Our sincere appreciation for:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_87_2004-12-15.html
National Museum of Singapore

Final Conculsion

From the evidence gathered, I can conclude that Chinese people living in colonial Singapore are quite poor even though they are forced to work very hard.this can be seen from the river as they did not have enough money to install a tap at home. Secondly, they are forced to work which can be seen from the evidence of the coolies. They did not have much freedom over their lives and had to work for long hours every day just to earn enough money to survive.

Employment of Chinese in Singapore during colonial times

Source A: A picture of Chinese jobs in Singapore during colonial times.

From source A, I can tell that the Chinese in Singapore during colonial times worked as builders. This can be seen from how they gather stones by digging the ground and then slowly build up the wall in the picture.

Source B: An artifact of a trishaw, used by the Chinese to transport people around.

 

 From source B, I can tell that the Chinese in Singapore during colonial times worked as trishaw riders. Trishaws were used to transport people around and the Chinese made a living out of this job.

Source C: Extracted from a website (http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_87_2004-12-15.html)

" Coolies worked as rickshaw pullers, trishaw riders and farmers. They were employed in mines, ports, in rubber and other plantations, in clearing jungles and on construction sites. They did back-breaking tasks such as loading and unloading cargo and dulang washing or tin ore mining under the scorching sun."

From source C, I can tell that the Chinese in Singapore during colonial times did many different jobs. They worked as farmers, they worked in mines, and they even loaded and unloaded cargo under the sun. This meant that they did a lot of tough work just to earn a living.

Data collection: Living Conditions of Chinese in Singapore during colonial times

Source A: An artifact of a bowl used to store drinking water.

From Source A, I can tell that Chinese people living in colonial Singapore were poor. This can be seen as they could only afford this rusty metal bowl to store their drinking water instead of a jug.

Source B:  A picture of a small village with a river flowing through it.

From Source B, I can tell that the living condition of the Chinese people in colonial Singapore is very poor. This can be seen from the fact that they do not have any water taps in their houses as they need to rely on the river to collect water for daily purposes.

Source C: Extracted from a website (http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_87_2004-12-15.html)

"The coolies suffered much hardship, they were very poor and lived in cramped dwellings with no windows and light."

From Source C, I can tell that Chinese people in colonial Singapore were treated badly and harshly. This can be seen as they "lived in cramped dwellings with no windows and light". This shows that they were forced to live in those kinds of conditions.

Introdution

What was life like for Chinese immigrant in colonial Singapore before World War 2? For our History project, our group has decided to focus on the living conditions and employment of chinese during colonial times.