There are many reasons which led to Raffles founding Singapore. In your opinion, what is the most important reason? Explain your answer thoroughly with examples.
The early 19th century saw European superpowers rapidly expanding in their colonization and conquest of new land. Britain was no exception. In 1819, Singapore was founded by Raffles. The three main reasons which led to this founding is the failure of the British existing trade ports in Southeast Asia, the need for protection of the British’s important China-India trade, as well as the breaking of the Dutch monopoly. However, in my opinion, the most important reason was the rivalry between the British and the Dutch.
An important reason which led to the founding of Singapore was the failure of the British’s existing trade ports-Penang and Bencoolen. Both Penang and Bencoolen was founded as trading ports by the British such that it could have a share in the trade in Southeast Asia. However, both trading ports failed in their purpose. They were too far from the main trading area in the Malay Archipelago, in this case, Batavia. Furthermore, Penang was too far north of the Archipelago and Bencoolen was on the wrong side of Sumatra, facing the Indian Ocean instead of the Straits of Melaka. Thus, both ports had no significant use to the British since it did not present much trade benefits nor strengthen the British’s presence in Southeast Asia. As compared to the Dutch controlled Melaka nearby, the British were far lacking in terms of the trade presence they had in Southeast Asia. Thus, it was essential for the British to establish a new trading port. Singapore was a very good candidate due to its wonderful geographical location. Singapore had a deep harbor and was situated in the heart of the Archipelago. It could serve as a good British base as it could allow the British to repair their ships. Furthermore, Singapore possessed a large supply of drinking water and was a mere one week sail to China and especially close to Siam.
