Singapore, Chinese migration late 19th century to present

Abstract

Sir Stamford Raffles established a trading station for the East India Company on the island of Singapore in 1819. Singapore became a free port and the British colonial authorities adopted a laissez‐faire policy with regard to immigration. As a result large numbers of Chinese entered Singapore. By 1824, the Chinese comprised 31 percent of the island's population. By 1840, half of the island's population was Chinese, and the proportion of ethnic Chinese has remained in the majority until today. In 1867 the administration of the island was transferred to the Colonial Office in London but the practice of allowing Chinese to enter Singapore continued. By 1871, the proportion of Chinese in the island's population was 56.2 percent.