Cold, dim room sheds light on Singapore history FEATURE 09/20/2011

Cold, dim room sheds light on Singapore history

FEATURE

09/20/2011
SINGAPORE — A nearly illegible letter from almost two centuries ago is kept in a dim, cold room in downtown Singapore accessible only to a privileged few via an electronic swipe card.

In flowing script dated June 9, 1819, Singapore’s colonial founder Stamford Raffles described the island’s formative days as a regional trading port in the Malay archipelago, and it turned out to be prophetic.

“The Settlement I had the satisfaction to form in this very centrical and commanding station has had every success ... our Port is already crowded with shipping from all the native Ports in the Archipelago,” he wrote.

The letter, as well as some 7,000 other items in the room, form the Rare Materials Collection (RMC) of Singapore’s National Library, offering a more intimate look into the past of what is now one of the world’s busiest ports..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110920com6.html