Singapore
Singapore names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Singapore the capital of the dependency of the same name
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the capital of the dependency of the same name, is the only town on the island. It occupies a pleasant site on the S. E. coast, on the Strait of Singapore, the principal waterway for vessels trading between eastern Asia and India and Europe. This city was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 as an emporium for British trade in the East Indies, and it has since that time advanced and grown in prosperity till it has become the most important trading-place in the its only competitor being S. E. of Asia, its Batavia in Java, from which it is 600 miles distant. Singapore is a picturesque, well-built town, wn, with fine public buildings and all kinds of appliances in the nature of public works. It possesses a governor's residence, St. Andrew's Protestant cathedral (1861-1870), a Roman Catholic cathedral, Mohammedan mosques, Hindu temples, Chinese joss-houses, Raffles museum (1823), the supreme law-courts, post-office (1883), hospitals, jail, barracks, and fine botanical and zoological gardens. It is defended by numerous batteries and forts, and is a naval coaling station and depot. The docks, stores, and dwelling houses extend for 6 miles or more along the sea front. The harbor is spacious and safe and remarkably easy of access, and its dock accommodation embraces two graving docks, an admiralty dock, and several docks of the ordinary kind. The total annual trade of Singapore has increased at a remarkable rate since the city was founded. The imports in 1918 were valued at £67,219,285, and the exports at £57,940,969. The imports embrace nearly every kind of European manufacture, while the exports consist of the productions of the East Indies, China, Japan, and the islands of the Western Pacific. The tonnage of the vessels entering the port has been known to increase at the rate of 75 per cent. annually. The vessels of the P. and O. Company, and other large companies trading to China, Australia, and the East put in regularly at Singapore. The population has grown at the same rapid rate as the commerce: in 1824 the town had 10,603 inhabitants; in 1919 about 325,000. The death rate is high, yet the climate, in spite of Singapore being situated little more than 1° N. of the equator, is uniform and agreeable, the nights being particularly cool and refreshing. The thermometer ranges between 67° and 94° F. and has a mean of about 82°. The rainfall varies from 65.6 to 92.2 inches in the year. There was a former town on the site of the present city, which was founded by Malay converts to Hinduism from Java or Sumatra, apparently in the 12th century; but it had wholly disappeared when Sir S. Raffles laid the foundations of the existing Singapore (i. e., "Lion City"). It was made the capital of the STRAITS SETTLE- MENTS (q. v.) in 1830, superseding Penang.
Singapore an island at the southern end of the Malay peninsula
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an island at the southern end of the Malay peninsula, from which it is separated by a channel less than a mile in width, called the Old Strait. The island belongs to Great Britain . It has an area of 206,000 square miles. The city of Singapore near the southern extremity of the island is situated on a fine harbor. It is a free port of call, without even a custom house. All Malaysia markets here. Ships from England and India bring the goods of the western world is Singapore; ships from Japan and China bring the goods of the Pacific coast. Enormous quantities of merchandise are loaded and unloaded at the wharves six miles in length. Over fifty lines of steamers from the east and from the west meet here, like the caravans of old, to exchange cargoes of tin, sugar, pepper, nutmegs, mace, cubebs, sago, tapioca, rice, buffalo hides, rattan, gutta percha , india rubber , copra, tea, coffee, dyestuffs, tobacco, wine, spirits, cloth, opium, fish, coal, petroleum, hardware, cigars, preserved fruits, canned vegetables, and machinery. The export of Singapore is not less than $250,000,000 annually. It is called "The Liverpool of the East." Singapore is headquarters for the menagerie trade in pythons, tigers, pangolins, and other East Indian animals. Population, 250,000.
Singapore a British dependency in Asia
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a British dependency in Asia, the most i important of the Straits Settlements; consisting of the islands of Singapore (27 miles long, 14 broad; area, 217 square miles), separated from the S. extremity of the Malay Peninsula by a strait only half a mile wide at its narrowest, and of a great number of very small islands along its shores. The surface is undulating, the highest point reaching 520 feet only. The climate is hot and moist, but the soil is not particularly fertile; nevertheless the island is perpet ually clothed with verdure, and yields good crops of coffee, pineapples, cocoanuts, aloes, and every kind of fruit, especially East Indian fruit (e. g., mangosteen and durian). Gambier, pepper, and nutmegs used formerly to be the staple crops; but all three are cultivated to a much smaller extent than formerly. This island was purchased in 1824 from the Sultan of Johore for $62,500, and a life rent of $25,000. Pop. of island (1919) 369,777.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 that Singapore was "defended by numerous batteries and forts" as a British naval station, the fortress was thought secure; in February 1942 it surrendered to the Japanese army, which had come down the Malay peninsula, and the island was occupied until 1945. Britain's rule ended in stages: self-government in 1959 under Lee Kuan Yew, merger with Malaysia in 1963, and full independence on 9 August 1965 after being expelled from the federation. The island Collier's gives as 217 square miles has since grown by roughly a quarter through land reclamation, and the population of 369,777 in 1919 is now around 6 million. The one thing that has not changed is the trade: Singapore remains one of the world's busiest ports and a leading container and refuelling hub, though the gambier, pepper and nutmeg crops have gone entirely.
Written for this edition, 2026.