Suez Canal was opened in 1869 to give an alternative route to the ships which were travelling from Europe to Asia.
It was Ferdinand Le Lesseps, a French engineer, was the person who thought of the idea. After the opening of Suez Canal, Singapore’s merchants would be able to get their goods from Europe cheaper and faster.
Due to the opening of the Suez canal, more ships which visited Singapore due to reduced traveling cost would also need to call at the port to refuel and buy food.
Adapted from http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/trades.htm
The opening of the Suez canal had positive impacts on Singapore. "Alternative route" suggests that there was a better and more efficient way of traveling upon the opening of the Suez canal. This is indeed true as "get their goods from Europe cheaper and faster" shows an improved efficiency is the delivery of goods. "Need to call at the port to refuel and buy food" shows that more ships visited Singapore and therefore encouraging trade, therefore, Singapore had the role of a port of call and important trading center. As more trades ships would encourage the trade, the quantity of trade rose. The cost price of the product is also reduced as goods were delivered at a lower rate due to the reduced amount of time it requires to reach Singapore, the quality of trade rose as well. Overall, the Suez canal caused a positive impact on Singapore.
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Source B:
In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution took place. New machines were invented. New sources of energy were also founded to drive these machines. Lots of goods were manufactured and the Europeans had to come to Asia to sell their goods. Due to Singapore’s geographical position, it was a suitable place to sell their goods.
Adapted from http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/trades.htm
Source C:
Because the Industrial Revolution increased the scale of production, the factory system came about. Capitalists, people who have their own materials, money and space, bought many machines and stored them in a factory, where hired people worked the whole day manufacturing goods.
Adapted from http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/40192.html
I can infer from source B that the quality in the products traded increased as "new machines were invented. New sources of energy were also founded to drive these machines". New products, being the latest released ones, have an improvement when compared to previous technology. Quantity of trade also increased as "lots of goods were manufactured" and "Europeans had come to Asia to sell their goods", this was especially important as "Due to Singapore’s geographical position, it was a suitable place to sell their goods.", this shows that Singapore commanded the highest increase in the quantity of trade.
Source C supports that there was indeed an increase in trade, this can be seen from "Industrial revolution increased the scale of production". As a result, "the factory system came about". Factories symbolize a growing economy, there are factories because that particular market is profitable. A factory must have workers in it, and it created job opportunities for the people and created a stable economy and working class. The capitalist made factories so that they could do business in larger quantities, they did this to accommodate the demand for the new products made during the industrial revolution. As goods were produced and bought in bulk, the cost was reduced, allowing for greater profits. With the above, one can see that the industrial revolution allowed for trading in a larger scale and for more profit to be earned as well as more job opportunities for a stable economy.
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Source D:
This Great depression happened in America in the early 1930s. It was a time where many companies closed down. Many people thus became jobless. Slowly, it started to affect other countries like Singapore. The businesses in Singapore were bad, so many of the companies had to close down. Those who were jobless had no choice but to return to their homeland. The Great Depression ended in 1934 and Singapore’s trade started to rise again.
Adapted from http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/trades.htm
Source E:
In the 1920s was a period of boom marked by overproduction of consumer goods such as automobiles and radios which lifted Singapore’s economy. However, the wall street crash in late October 1929 precipitated the depression, led to a heavy decrease of demand for raw materials ad severe, protracted falls in their prices. Worst affected was rubber which was badly hit by the downsizing of the American automobile industry. Despite these, rubber plantations continued to tap rubber to make up for dwindling incomes and to keep unit cost down. This further decreased rubber prices and caused a massive plunge in Singapore’s trade between late 1929 and 1933.
Adapted from, Loh Kah Seng , record and voices of social history Internet source
The fact that many companies folded during the great depression, as seen from "It was a time when many companies closed down," shows that there was unfriendly situations in which the business is no longer profitable due to a drop in demand. When companies close down, its workers are left with no job and become unemployed. "Those who were jobless had no choice but to return to their homeland," shows the severity of the great depression. The great depression caused widespread unemployment and had a negative impact on Singapore.
Source E shows the effects of the great depression in more detail. "worst affected was rubber which was badly hit by the downsizing of the automobile industry" shows the dependance of Singapore's economy on foreign industries. Singapore is bound to be affected by the great depression. If foreign events cause economic drops, then Singapore will suffer economic plunges as well. This is evident in "led to a heavy decrease of demand for raw materials ad severe, protracted falls in their prices". Most of the demand for local products come from foreigners, therefore if foreigners are unable to buy our product, our economy will suffer there was a drop in demand for rubber due to the reduction in scale of the automobile industry. From "rubber plantations continued to tap rubber to make up for dwindling incomes and to keep unit cost down. This further decreased rubber prices and caused a massive plunge in Singapore’s trade between late 1929 and 1933." we can see that the great depression caused a decrease in jobs, decrease in prices, quality of trade as there was a decrease in demand for goods. Therefore the great depression had a negative impact on Singapore.
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In conclusion, Singapore is heavily dependent on trade with other countries in order to survive economically. The opening of the suez canal and the industrial revolution caused a positive impact on Singapore, while the great depression had a negative impact on Singapore. From examining these sources, i have realised that an external event can also impact Singapore on a large scale due to globalisation and also mainly because Singapore is a trading hub and in the case where demand drops, it will affect all aspects of the economy. In conclusion, Singapore economy is very fragile and will be related to and affected by the global economy.
