Reimagining Singapore’s History: Essays on Pre-Colonial Roots and Modern Identity

What is history? How is it made? And why does it matter? Reimagining Singapore’s History brings together leading historians to discuss these questions within the context of the decades-long project to rediscover pre-colonial Singapore.

2019 was a milestone in Singapore’s history as it marked the 200th anniversary of Stamford Raffles’ landing in 1819. However, in a powerful turn of events, government-sponsored celebrations used the occasion to highlight Singapore’s longer pre-colonial story, in the process officially pushing back the modern country’s origins to the 14th-century trading post of Temasek.

Contrary to popular belief, Singapore was not a forgotten land between Temasek and Raffles; it remained a rich crossroads of trade, culture, religion, and merchant empires (both Asian and European). The discovery of this pre-1819 period has led to Singapore’s ‘new history’, also known as its ‘700-year narrative’.

While this narrative has long been common knowledge among academics, it was only in the past decade that it began to make its way into the public consciousness. Why and how did these changes come about? Where did they come from? Why did it take so long to bridge academic and public knowledge? And what is pre-colonial Singapore’s relevance for us in the 21st century?

Surveying topics from archaeology to post-colonial theory, this essay collection explores the above questions and introduces the sources, discoveries, and ideas that led to the literal re-writing of Singapore’s official historical narratives over the past decades.

Contributors include renowned National University of Singapore professors and public historians:

• Professor Wang Gungwu – recognized as ‘one of Asia’s most important public intellectuals’.
• Professor Peter Borschberg – pioneer of using non-English European archives to study pre-colonial Singapore.
• Professor Kwa Chong Guan – leading proponent of the long-cycles, 700-year approach to Singapore’s history.
• Professor Syed Farid Alatas – sociologist and among Singapore’s top postcolonial theorists.
• Chris Hale – documentary filmmaker and non-fiction writer, author of A Brief History of Singapore and Malaysia.
• Tim Hannigan – travel writer and author of numerous books on Southeast Asia, including Raffles and the British Invasion of Java.