Knowing Singapore: The Evolution Of Published Information In Europe C.1500-1819

Accounts of Singapore’s past often begin with the establishment of a British trading station on the island in 1819, but what took place there in the early modern period, and what did Europeans know about the island and its surroundings?

To answer these questions, Benjamin Khoo and Peter Borschberg examined more than 400 European travel accounts written in Latin and various vernacular languages between 1500 and the early 1800s, and published in encyclopaedias, dictionaries, and compendia. At the start of this period, Information on the region was surprisingly abundant but often unreliable; by 1800 European publications contained accurate accounts of Singapore and the Straits region based on detailed first-hand accounts.

Their findings reveal much about knowledge production in Europe and show Singapore’s early role in regional trade in a fresh light.