Singapore and its Straits, c.1500–1800

Sequent Occupance and Toponymy in Singapore: The Diachronic and Synchronic Development of Urban Place Names

“…A 1604 map by the Malay-Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia [13] displays the name xabandaria. Borschberg [14] (p. 383) says that this means the port of Singapore at that time was active enough to have a a shahbandar on the island (Shahbandar is Persian for "King of the Haven" and a more apt English equivalent is "Harbour Master") [15] (pp. 517-533).…”

“…Abshire [16] documents a variety of accounts of this prosperous period. While the settlement declined in influence through the 15th Century, it was still an important port well into the 17th Century [14]. Abshire [16] posits that the decline of Singapura in the 15th Century was due to the development of the stronger Kingdom of Melaka at that time.…”

“…The first toponym is Fort Canning Hill, which is perhaps the oldest recorded settlement in Singapore's history. The other five toponyms are found in the 1604 and 1615 maps by the Malay-Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia [13,14] (p. 374). On these maps are clearly marked the following names: Fort Canning Hill is a 156-foot high hill located at the junction of Canning Rise and Fort Canning Road, Singapore.…”

“…The earliest mention of Bedok is a hydronym sunebodo in Eredia's 1604 and 1615 maps [13,14,29]. Sunebodo is the altered form of the Malay Sungei Bedok "Bedok River" [10].…”

“…It appeared as Tanjon Rusa in 1604 on a map by the Malay-Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia [13]. Several years later, it appeared as Tanion Ruça in a (reconstructed) map dated 1615 attributed to Erédia [14] (p. 374).…”