Travellers' Singapore: An Anthology

by John Bastin (Compiler and Introduction)

From the earliest days of its foundation by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, Singapore has attracted travellers in great numbers. Most of them in the nineteenth century were on their way to other parts of Asia, notably China, and they spent only a few days in Singapore. This pattern has continued, and most of today's visitors stop over briefly before flying on to other countries in South-East Asia, the Far East, or Australia and New Zealand. A number of travellers wrote of their impressions of the island, often a chapter in a book describing their travels around the world. John Bastin has made a selection of these writings to produce a vivid account of Singapore as it has gradually changed over the years to become the world's leading port. He ends his selection in 1942 with the Japanese conquest of the island. This is a convenient date as the Second World War ended the golden age of travel, when relatively few people could afford the cost, to give way in the 1950s to the era of mass travel, when it seems at times that most of the world is on the move.

Genres: History

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

John Sturgus Bastin

Reviews

[Imran Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travellers' Singapore is an excellent collection of short essays on colonial Singapore. The anthology is a must read for any person interested in the colonial period of this fascinating city.

Sure, colonial biases about 'natives,' etc spew from the essays in abundance but to form an accurate picture of 1800-1900s Singapore these works are invaluable.

Many insights into modern, cosmopolitan and developed Singapore are available to discerning readers. Moreover, the writings shatter the myth of Singapore being a fishing village in the 1960s. It's clear Singapore was a globally connected maritime hub even by the late 1800s and it has never looked back since.

Travellers' Singapore is a well selected anthology of essays which takes the reader from the introduction of colonialism to Singapore in 1819 to its end with the Japanese military occupation during World War Two in 1942.

[Rahmawati Sa'diyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku narasi sejarah dari Komunitas Bambu ini sangat meningkatkan minat bacaku. Seandainya sejarah bisa diceritakan semenarik ini sejak di Sekolah Dasar😢

Aku tertarik membacanya setelah melancong sekitar 1 minggu di Singapura. Namun fokus pikiran lebih banyak di dalam ruangan, yang penuh tekanan😂 Sehingga sepulang dari sana, masih bertanya-tanya mengapa Singapura bisa "seperti itu"? Meski saat ngobrol aku mengiyakan pendapat teman-teman, "Orang Singapura sedikit, luasannya kecil, lebih gampang diatur". Haha sepakat sih!

Buku Singapura Tempoe Doeloe 1819 - 1942 menghimpun tulisan-tulisan dari storyteller pada jaman itu. Artinya, kita diajak membaca banyak kisah dari berbagai gaya bercerita. Tak heran jika menarik. Jawaban dari beberapa pertanyaan tentang Singapura juga aku dapatkan🌸

Sayangnya kumpulan kisah ini hanya dari satu sudut pandang saja, yaitu pelancong dari barat. Aku masih penasaran dengan kisah-kisah dari sudut pandang pelancong lain dan warga Singapura kala itu, kaum Melayu, Cina, India, Bugis, dan Jawa🤔

[Diah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jadi tahu bagaimana Singapura dari awal. Menarik sekali penggambaran yang dibuat oleh penulis yang mampir ke Singapura. Seandainya ada mesin waktu hmmm pengen juga berkelana ke jaman itu.