Bibliography

Bibliography


http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impact

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/external

The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


http://www.slideshare.net/daryl_tanyl/chapter-5-impact-of-external-events-on-singapore

Posted on Slideshare by Daryl Tanyl


Singapore: From Settlement to Nation Pre-1819 to 1971

Published by EPB Pan Pacific, Ministry of Education Singapore


A History of Singapore, 1819-1988

Written by Constance Mary Turnbull

Conclusion

Conclusion


As you can see, all three sources have influenced and affected our lives to a great extent. More specifically, they have impacted Singapore’s economy, either in a bad way or a good way.


Therefore, I am able to conclude that The Industrial Revolution and the Opening of the Suez Canal have caused Singapore to increase greatly in trade, have improvements in port facilities and communications; thus resulting in a rapid growth in Singapore’s economy. On the other hand, The Great Depression has resulted in a huge decrease in trade and business, unemployment and hardship, restriction on immigration, and also arrangements for the unemployed to return to their homeland; hence, Singapore’s economy decreased steeply.

The Great Depression (1930s)

A poster put up by a company during The Great Depression


Homeless people on the streets

The Great Depression (1930s)


A depression is a time when there is a great decrease in business activities with widespread unemployment. In the early 1920s companies in America made huge profits and their share prices rose. Buying shares seemed to be one way of making quick money. By 1929, many companies were losing money as they were not able to sell their goods. As a result, some people decided to sell their shares. This caused share prices to fall and more people also decided to sell off the shares. In 24 October 1929, the rapid plunge of share prices led to the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange. Some people who bought shares on credit had to sell their possessions to pay the banks what they owed. Many tried to withdraw their savings but some banks did not have the money to pay them and were forced to close down. With the increase in the number of poor people, the demand for goods fell because the unfortunate could not afford the goods. As a result, many people lost their life savings. As America companies were no longer making huge profits, they had to cut wages of workers. Many were also laid off and unemployment rose. While this event occurred in America, it affected many of her trading partners, including Singapore. Singapore was badly affected by this worldwide event as she depended on trade to survive.


Firstly, The Great Depression caused decrease in Singapore’s trade and business. Singapore, which was closely involved in the trading of tin and rubber, was affected as the demand for certain commodities including tin and rubber dropped. Because Singapore’s economy depended largely on overseas trade, the depression caused companies in Singapore to suffer losses. Second, it also resulted in high rates of unemployment in Singapore. Business sentiments were so poor that many businessmen, particularly those who depended on overseas trade, lost their wealth or became bankrupt. Others cut expenses by retrenching workers. Hence, there was a widespread of unemployment and hardship. In addition, it was extremely difficult for the unemployed to find new jobs as there were limited ones available. Due to this, many Indians and Chinese returned to their homeland when their family and friends could no longer support them financially. In 1931, about a third of the working population was unemployed. Thirdly, the Depression also caused the British to have restrictions on immigration. To alleviate the economic situation, the government passed a law in 1930 to reduce and restrict the number of immigrants entering Singapore so large numbers of unemployed Chinese and Indians were sent back to their homeland.

Read the source below to find out the impact of immigration law on the number of immigrants coming into Singapore:

Quotas were imposed on Chinese immigrants, and these were reduced in 1931 and further in 1932. The effect was dramatic. Chinese immigrants dropped from from 242,000 in 1930 to less than 28,000 in 1933.

Adapted from A History of Singapore, 1819-1988 by Constance Mary Turnbull

With many of America’s important businessmen and companies suffering from financial difficulties, Singapore’s economic decreased immensely. By 1934, as business conditions in America and other countries improved, exports from Singapore began to increase again.

The Suez Canal (1869)

The Suez Canal


Map of the route taken by the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal (1869)

The need for raw materials and new markets for the goods prompted merchants to seek a shorter route to the East. Prior to the opening of the Suez Canal, ships travelling between Europe and Asia had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. This journey was often a perilous one, spanning the duration of 120 days. Ships could not sail during certain periods of the year as winds were not always favourable. Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French engineer, drew plans to shorten the sea route around Africa by cutting a long canal to link the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. With the opening of the Suez route, the trade route was shortened significantly.


Even thought the Suez Canal was thousands of kilometres away, Singapore benefited greatly from its opening as people, cargo and mail now took a shorter time to travel from Europe to Singapore. Due to the savings in distance and time, the cost of shipping goods was reduced. Traders now found it faster and cheaper to get their goods from overseas. Secondly, Singapore’s role was enhanced and a great expansion in trade occurred. This was due to the increased volume of ships passing through the area to refuel and collect food supplies, and therefore Singapore maintained its role as a port-of-call and as an important trading centre. Thirdly, there were new developments in port facilities as the Old Harbour in Singapore had become overcrowded. The New Harbour was then built. Due to the deep waters, steamships and sailing ships could sail right up to the harbour. Next, the Singapore Harbour Board was set up to make improvements to the port. This resulted in new buildings such as wharves, docks, storehouses and machine shops to be built; and modern machinery like forklifts, cranes and tractors were used. A railway system was also set up to link the port to other parts of Malaya. This implies that the improvements provided better and faster services in handling goods brought in by ships. Singapore became one of the busiest ports in Asia, and of course, caused a rapid growth in Singapore’s economy.

The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850)

An important invention of The Industrial Revolution, the steam-engine.


At the same time, railway trains and steamships were also invented.

The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850)


A revolution is a time of great change. The Industrial Revolution took place largely as a result of the setting up of factories and the invention of steam-power machines. In the steam engine, coal was burnt to change water into steam. The pressure from the steam provided energy for machines to produce goods in great quantities. The new inventions produced more cloth easily and at a faster rate in great quantities, as raw materials for the factories and new markets for the manufactured goods were needed. Therefore, the invention of steam-powered ships meant that ships could travel faster, at any time of the year, and over longer distances. These changes transformed the way people lived and worked.


The Industrial Revolution resulted in an increase in trade in Singapore. With the invention of the steamship, more Europeans could sail to the East to obtain raw materials and find markets for their goods. Therefore, more ships visited Singapore, and consequently there was growth in the volume of trade. The Revolution also enhanced Singapore’s role since the 1880s, as the Western steamships made Singapore their port-of-call, where their ships stopped to refuel, get new food supplies, sell their good and buy raw materials. Many Asian traders also used steamships to transport their goods between Singapore and other neighbouring ports. Thus, Singapore gained importance as a port for the collection of goods from the East and the distribution of manufactured goods from the West. In addition, Singapore came into closer contact with the world. Communications improved with the arrival of steamships. With a speedier delivery time for letters and documents, instead of taking months to arrive, now took just weeks.

Topic: External Events That Affected Singapore’s Economy

Topic: External Events That Affected Singapore’s Economy


In this assignment, I will be looking into the some external events that have impacted Singapore’s economy, whether it is a decrease or an increase change. By ‘impact’, I mean to have an effect on; to influence, or to alter. By ‘external events’, I am referring to those issues or matters relating to foreign affairs or foreign nations. In detail, I will be explaining three external events and how they have impacted and influenced Singapore’s economy. They are: The Industrial Revolution from 1750 to 1850, The Suez Canal in 1869, and The Great Depression in the 1930s.