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Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2017). Singapore Chronicle. National Library Board Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_513_2005-01-06.html

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National Library Board, Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register, 22 December 1831, Page 3

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National Library Board, Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register, 22 December 1831, Page 3

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https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singchronicle18311222-1.2.15?ST=1&AT=advanced&K=tiger&KA=tiger&DF=01%2F01%2F1830&DT=31%2F12%2F1860&Display=0&NPT=&L=English&CTA=Article%7CIllustration&QT=tiger&oref=article

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Chua, K. (2007). The Tiger and the Theodolite: George Coleman's Dream of Extinction. FOCAS: Forum on Contemporary Art and Society,

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In colonial Singapore, to what extent were the Europeans responsible for the interaction between poor groups and the environment?

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Lim, T. S. (2015, October 1). Triads, Coolies and Pimps: Chinatown in Former Times. Biblioasia. Retrieved from https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-11/issue-3/oct-dec-2015/coolies

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Having published its first issue in 1824, the Singapore Chronicle in the first newspaper in Singapore.

In the initial years of Singapore under British colonial rule, there used to be censorship imposed on the press. The Gagging Act (1823) mandated newspapers to be approved, and each issue had to be checked through by the authorities before they could be published. Critique of the East-India Company, the local authorities and their administration were banned under the Gagging Act.

Initially, the Singapore Chronicle was under the control of the government, but was loosened from their grip from 1826 onwards; resulting in increased critical pieces aimed at the local government. Soon, though, this led to the reestablishment of censorship laws.

The paper evolved to focus on local happenings and important developments in India and Europe, until it folded in 1837 due to intense competition with The Singapore Free Press.

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Certain groups in colonial Singapore were in indefensible positions, rendering their interaction with nature in harmful ways inevitable, to a large extent. This can attributed to the sentiments held by Europeans very early on—which can be sieved out from the source—and provide part of the explanation as to why the situation escalated over the years.

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Powell, M. (2016). People in Peril, Environments at Risk: Coolies, Tigers, and Colonial Singapore's Ecology of Poverty. Environment and History, 22, 455-482. doi: 10.3197/096734016X14661540219393

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This is an opinion piece by someone from the public named Gilpin, found in the correspondence section of the Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register, and includes a response by the paper's editor. Not everything written should be taken as facts. However, it is reasonable to assume that the sentiments expressed in this piece is representative of the group that Gilpin was from, which is likely the Europeans. Such attitudes did indeed have an impact on the other groups in society. For the analysis of this particular source, focus will be placed on the Chinese in colonial Singapore.

The source highlights the sentiments that ordinary Europeans had towards the Chinese, which can be drawn from the last paragraph: "In the choice of hunting their prey, it is to be hoped that they will be content to live upon the Chinese banditti in the woods, and leave others alone, for between them there is some assimilation, since they can eat each others' flesh." This seems as though Gilpin was of the opinion that it was fine for the tigers to prey on the Chinese gangs, and that they should keep to feasting on them; reflecting the Europeans' prejudice of Chinese gangs and a perception of their lives having less worth.

Before delving deeper, it is worth mentioning that Chinese secret societies existed in Singapore since the 1820s (Lim, 2015). Ghee Hin was Singapore's first secret society, and it gave Chinese immigrants work, safety, and a place to stay. In the 1830s, Ghee Hin began supervising the pepper and gambier plantations, along with other agricultural and vice trades. According to Miles Powell, the Chinese were a main target for tigers because most gambier and pepper plantation workers were the Chinese. Additionally, tiger attacks bordered the jungle at the brink of these plantations (Chua, 2007). These plantations were favorable habitats for tigers, so they started living amongst gambier and pepper plantations (Powell, 2016). However, this also meant they could not continue living in seclusion from humans, resulting in them instead integrating humans into their choice of prey and rendering many Chinese susceptible to death by tiger attacks. This could help to explain why Gilpin fundamentally cited the Chinese gangs having their flesh eaten by tigers.

Secondly, an attitude Europeans held towards tiger killing can be surfaced from Gilpin's piece. “Their carcasses publicly exhibited in the town" seems to suggest that tiger killing was esteemed, and tiger hunting was also referred to as a "sport" and an "amusement". While it is no doubt that prevailing over tigers is laudable—as hunting them is dangerous—Gilpin seemed to be subtly glorifying the act of doing so. Actual lives were at risk and it is arguable that protection by the local government should be a given. For people who did not face the direct threat of being attacked by tigers, the way they viewed the tiger situation were different from those who faced high risks of coming in contact with tigers a daily basis. Thus, the hint of superiority from being part of a group that did not directly interact with the tigers reflects the stark contrast of realities between the Europeans and the Chinese in colonial Singapore.

Having the advantage of looking into this situation on hindsight, evidence and research in later years point to how these sentiments held by Europeans in the beginning era of tiger attacks did actually play out in ways that left poor groups in colonial Singapore no choice, but to interact with the environment in ways that resulted in its deterioration. For example, in tandem with their superior mindset, many Europeans thought the Chinese were perfect for toiling in the fields (Powell, 2016). As a result, the Chinese worked the grounds of agricultural land throughout the 1800s and was the ethnicity most killed by tigers. Furthermore, when the Chinese appealed to the local government for help, nothing was done. Thus, they could only take matters into their own hands and bring greater harm to the environment—on top of their rapid land-clearing for agriculture—by killing the tigers themselves.

However, it is not fair to put complete blame on the Europeans. The Chinese themselves did want to benefit from the gambier and pepper profits (Powell, 2016), as these crops yielded considerable earnings (Chua, 2007). Even though the Europeans and the resulting structure of the hierarchical society did contribute greatly to the impotent negative interaction between the Chinese and the environment, it was not completely their fault.

It may be that Gilpin had written this piece to warn people of tiger attacks and maybe even appeal to the authorities to do something about it. Nevertheless, it does reflect the entrenched mindset of Europeans in colonial Singapore, that resulted in the Chinese interacting with the environment in ways that contributed to its deterioration.