English speaking countries - SINGAPORE

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo g, mavo
• Leerjaar 2

 SINGAPORE

Intro

Singapore, or the Republic of Singapore as it is officially known, is a highly developed island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It borders Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south.

1) History

Early recorded history

The island that is now Singapore started out as a trading port called Temasek. It was a fortified city and trading centre in the 14th century, where merchants from Vietnam, India, China, Sri Lanka and Indonesia passed through on the so called Silk Road.

Stamford Raffles

He was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies (VOC) between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He secured control over the strategically located Singapore from local rulers in 1819 to secure British access along the Strait of Singapore.

Treaty of Singapore

Sir Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819. He immediately arranged to meet with the Temenggong, Abdul Rahman. They signed a provisional agreement two days later to allow the UK to establish a trading post there, and the Union Jack was hoisted.

Independence

After gaining its independence from the British Empire in 1963, Singapore briefly joined the Federation of Malaysia.

But because there were too many differences between the Singaporeans and the Malaysians they became an independent sovereign nation in 1965.

The five stars stand for the nation's ideals: 1) democracy,
2) peace, 3) progress,  4) justice and 5) equality. The crescent moon represents a "young nation on the ascendant".

Majulah Singapura is also the title of the national anthem; it means "Onward Singapore" in Malay.

In the 1950s and 1960s Singaporeans suffered from 

poor living conditions, overcrowding and traffic congestion.

Lee Kuan Yew

LKY as he was known was the first prime minister of Singapore. He was responsible for the start of Singapore's enormous economic growth. He also introduced anti-corruption laws and created a multicultural identity where all ethnicities and religions are treated as equals.

2) Architecture

Marina Bay Sands 

Hotel and Casino

The famous Sky Park
with the infinity pool.

Gardens by the Bay

At night

Green city

Singapore has a law that requires buildings to have greenery!

Kampung Admiralty

Park Royal Hotel

Old and new

A height restriction imposed on Singapore's central business district (CBD) limits buildings to a maximum height of 280 meters. It is in place due to air traffic.
The futuristic skyscrapers dwarf the traditional Chinese shophouse that were built between the 1840s and 1960s

Chinatown with skyscrapers 

in the background

The iconic Dong Ya Building

3) People

Languages

Because Singapore is a multicultural society, it has 4 official languages:

• English 
• Mandarin
• Malaysian 
• Tamil (from India)

Racial Harmony Day

For Singaporeans it is very important that all ethnicities get along. Therefore they celebrate Racial Harmony Day on 21 July to teach students the importance of maintaining racial and religious harmony.

Little India

China Town

Kampong Glam

Multicultural society

4) Culture

No litter

Singaporeans like tidiness and so littering is not done. If you litter or if you smoke in an undesignated area, then you can expect some heavy fines.
The durian fruit you see in this picture is not banned, but because of its smell (rotting corpse) you are not allowed to eat it in certain places.

Chewing gum

Chewing gum was officially banned in 1992, because of littering and vandalism related incidents.
Nowadays you are allowed to have some for 'medicinal' purposes, however if you sell it in large quantities or chew gum and spit it out on the street, you can be fined at least SGD 500, which is about €350.

Corporal punishment - caning

Capital punishment - hanging

Durian

Durian is a large spiky fruit native to Southeast Asia. Some people compare its smell of a sewage and rotting fruit which is why you're not allowed to take it on public transport.
The taste is described as a mixture of vanilla, melon, whipped cream, blue cheese, caramel, pepper and garlic. So not to everyone's taste.😀 

Food hawkers

At lunch time Singaporeans head out to so called hawker centres - places with dedicated food stalls. There are 100 + of these centres and some offer Michelin starred dishes for less than $5!

Food hawkers then

 Food hawkers nowadays

National Day

Because Singapore has several ethnicities with their own specific holidays, they all come together on 

9 August to celebrate National Day 

as a unified nation.
It features a parade, a message from the prime minister and ends with fire works.

Task for your grade

Create a poster with 4 sections:

1. History;
2. Architecture;
3. People;
4. Culture.

In each section I want to see some relevant facts about and pictures of Singapore. 

You can draw, paint or print images and text.

You are free to use other facts that you find on the internet: the less information you use from this LessonUp, the better your grade. 

Everything needs to be in English of course.

Be creative and make sure it looks nice!

Things you can use

Here are some SUGGESTIONS:

• A Map of the country
• Foods
• Traditional clothing
• Entertainment (Art and/or Music from the country)
• Famous people from Singapore
• What languages/dialect do they speak? What is the word for “hello” or "goodby"?
• Climate/Weather
• The Country’s Flag
• Popular sports or games
• What kind of money/currency do they use?
• Holidays celebrated in Singapore
• The country’s capitol and/or most famous areas

GOOD LUCK!