Sec 2 Chap 7 British Rule after WWII.pdf

Chapter 7: British Rule after WWII Introduction/Background After the heavy casualties and damage from the atomic bombs, Japan officially surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945, marking the end of World War II (WWII). From 5 September 1945 to 31 March 1946, Sing...

Chapter 7: British Rule after WWII Introduction/Background After the heavy casualties and damage from the atomic bombs, Japan officially surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945, marking the end of World War II (WWII). From 5 September 1945 to 31 March 1946, Singapore and Malaya came under the rule of the British Military Administration (BMA). 1. How did the British address the problems that Singapore faced after WWII? Housing Shortages Problems People in Singapore experienced housing shortages after the Japanese surrendered Singapore’s population grew rapidly due to the post-war baby boom Singapore had one of the highest birth rates in 1940s and 1950s War had destroyed many housing spaces in Singapore People had to live in increasingly overcrowded spaces such as slums Solutions The British made efforts to manage the housing shortages Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) accelerated its building program to build low-cost housing for the locals SIT was established since 1927 to provide low-cost housing for the locals, but was disrupted by war SIT built 20907 houses and shop units between 1947 and 1959 Even though about 10,000 new units were required each year, SIT only managed to build about 1742 houses per year from 1947 to 1959 Many continued to live in cramped conditions Unsatisfactory Working Conditions + Industrial Unrest Problems People in Singapore had unsatisfactory working conditions and participated in industrial unrest in post-war Singapore Workers went on strikes to demand for immediate changes and improvement to their working conditions 1947 was known as “The Year of Strikes” as there were over 300 strikes in Singapore that year, involving almost 70,000 workers Many workers who participated in the strikes were members of the trade unions Participants of the strikes also included English-educated men such as Devan Nair, Jamit Singh and Sidney Woodhull who were concerned with improving worker’s conditions Many trade union members wanted immediate change to their working conditions, and went on strike to secure their demands Solutions Legend: yellow: describe, green: explain If notes are in black, explanation part to be added using main contextual/common knowledge The British made efforts to manage the industrial unrest and control the trade unions Laws were passed to control trade unions as the British suspected the communist were stirring up anti-colonial feelings and instigating the strikes From 1947, trade unions had to be registered with the government The government could monitor membership and clamp down on communist threats Trade unions were no longer allowed to use funds to organise strikes and protests against the government This did not work as trade unions continued to be active and strikes and industrial unrests continued in the 1950s Political Rights and Freedom Problems People in Singapore wanted more political rights in post-war Singapore Locals wanted to be in control of their own fate and felt that they should have more say in the country’s matters They were also influenced by the global wave of decolonisation and wanted independence from colonial rule Solutions The British made efforts to allow more local political control and win local support The British embarked on a process of political tutelage to prepare Singapore for self-government and independence In 1948, people were given rights to vote for local representatives into the government Under the Rendel Constitution, the number of local representatives in the government increased from 6 in 1948 to 25 in 1955 Aftermath Participation among the people was very low Many immigrants were not allowed to vote as they were not born in Britain or British colonies Of the 960000 people in Singapore only about 22000 people were registered to vote, and only 14000 voters turned up Only the Singapore Progressive Party (SPP) contested the election, making it the first political party to do so in Singapore, and won 3 out of the 6 seats. 2. What were the external developments that affected post-war Singapore? Weakening of Colonial Rule Around the world, people were increasingly dissatisfied with colonial rule and wanted to be in control of their own fate The defeat of European forces by an Asian power, the Japanese empire and the Japanese Occupation accelerated the growth of anti-colonial feelings After World War II (WWII) ended, many countries rose up against their colonial masters and fought for independence In 1947, India gained independence from British rule In 1949, Indonesia became free from the Dutch In 1954, Vietnam overthrew their French colonial masters Legend: yellow: describe, green: explain If notes are in black, explanation part to be added using main contextual/common knowledge  This affected Singapore as they felt betrayed and lost trust in the British after they surrendered Singapore to the Japanese during the war Locals believed that they should be in control of their own fate and wanted to be free from British rule. Growing Influence of Communism After World War II (WWII) ended, USA and USSR emerged as superpowers and fought in the Cold War Both had large populations, strong militares and rich resources. Their differences in ideologies made their cooperation after the war unstable despite being allies during WWII USA & USSR had opposing ideologies ➔ USA practiced democracy/capitalism where people could exercise their freedom, which was valued, of choice to vote for their government and can own private properties and businesses ➔ The USSR practiced communism where people had to give up their freedom of choice to be governed under a dictatorship that did not allow people to own private properties and businesses as goods should be allocated to people according to their needs. This would allow the government to control all resources needed to produce all the necessary goods. One’s freedom was less important than the benefit of society. USA & USSR believed that their ideology was better and wanted to spread their ideology to the world while preventing the other from spreading The Malayan Communist Party (MCP) had a lot of support from the people in Singapore and Malaya tried to kick the British out This affected Singapore as the British were more hesitant to grant independence to Singapore and Malaya This is because the British were strong allies of the US and were afraid that Singapore would turn communist 3. Why were there riots in the early 1950s? Maria Hertogh Riots Maria Hertogh (from Dutch family) got adopted/taken care of temporarily by Che Aminah, a local family friend, during the Japanese Occupation. Maria’s name was changed by her foster parents to Nadra binte Ma'arof Afterwards, Nadra’s family sought to claim her back by making a case to the court of Singapore. British judge ordered that Maria be returned to her birth parents, Che appealed against the decision The case was also portrayed in the newspapers a religious conflict between Islam and Christianity Riots occurred when the judge rejected Che’s appeal Che’s supporters not only overturned cars on the streets and set them on fire but attacked Europeans and Eurasians as well A curfew was imposed to put a stop to the riots. In the end, 18 people were killed and 173 were injured. Che’s supporters felt that the British had unfairly sided with the Dutch in the appeal Muslims also felt upset that Islam (their religion) and their traditons were being discriminated against Legend: yellow: describe, green: explain If notes are in black, explanation part to be added using main contextual/common knowledge Anti-National Service Riots About 500 students protested against National service on 13 May 1954, causing the British to deploy riot police equipped with batons and shields The clash between the students and police left 26 injured Thousands of students locked themselves in classrooms in Chung Cheng High School in protest on 22 May 1954 when the British ordered the closure of all Chinese-medium schools across Singapore British government eventually gave in and postponed registration for National Service Students protested as they felt that not only would their studies be disrupted again, after the Japanese occupation, but that the British discriminated against Chinese education while favouring English-medium schools Students were thus unwilling to register for National Service to defend a foreign government that did not seem to give them anything in return Legend: yellow: describe, green: explain If notes are in black, explanation part to be added using main contextual/common knowledge