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Poverty And Poor Education During The Beginning Of Their Colonization

Good Essays

Alexis Miller
First Year Seminar
Dr. Pinter
October 20th, 2014
Singapore
Many countries go through periods of extreme poverty and poor education during the beginning of their colonization. These periods are most often brought about by outside countries trying to impose themselves and their cultures on these new found countries. The people of the new found countries are subdued under a mother country and have to live by the mother country’s rules. If the country becomes independent, often times, the extreme poverty and poor education are hard to overcome and the country is left with a battle to turn itself around. The country of Singapore found itself in this situation when founded by the British. Eventually, after becoming independent, …show more content…

5-6). Only perhaps a thousand people inhabited the island of Singapore by the colonial era. Because of the lack of people at the time, Britain was able to easily colonize Singapore in 1819. Singapore was founded by British colonial administrator Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. The country was then deeded to the English East India Company in 1824 and in 1826 the country was united with Melaka and Penang to form the Presidency of the Straits Settlements, ruled by British administrators. The colonizers came into Singapore looking to expand their trade with China and also to prevent the advancements of the Dutch. The port at Singapore flourished immensely directly after colonization by Britain.
The British turned Singapore into a major commercial center because of its location on the narrow passage between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia). The British port at Singapore became an important center for trade with the Chinese. The use of a free trade port in Singapore attracted many diverse immigrants, especially those attempting to escape war. Between 1880 and 1940 colonial Singapore attracted tens of thousands of Chinese immigrant laborers, brought to serve its rapidly growing economy. This caused an immense increase in the population and more tension in the country. Every group within Singapore wanted to be able to trade within the flourishing port. Each immigrant

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