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|
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| Early settlers also
grow cash crops besides trading. What are cash
crops? They are crops that are grown for sale. As
Singapore was covered with jungles in the early
days, the early settlers had to clear these
jungles to grow crops. They went through
hardships and dangers while clearing the jungles. |
|
Clearing Forest
|
Chinese
Planters
| As Europe and Malay
Archipelago demanded gambier, many of the
planters opened gambier plantations. |
|
Gambier Planters
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| The Chinese then
sold the gambier to other countries. Pepper was
also grown. |
|
Due to the infertile
soil, the planters had no choice but to close
down the plantations in the 1840s-1850s. Gambier
was grown in Johor (Malaya) instead. |
However, the planters still sold these gambiers to the
businessmen in Singapore. Soon, Singapore was the main
centre for the exporting and collecting of gambier.
European
Planters
| The European also
started different kinds of plantations. They
cultivated many types of crops but only the
cultivation of coconut was successful. They
became disappointed and stopped growing cash
crops. |
|
Coconut Plantation
|
Why They
Started Planting Rubber Trees?
| Demand for rubber
increased in the 1800s. British encouraged the
settlements in Asia to grow rubber trees. Some
rubber trees were grown in the Botanic Gardens in
Singapore, but the people in Singapore were not
keen on the idea.
Later, Henry Ridley promoted the growing of
rubber trees. The response was bad initially but
his hard work paid off.
The increasing need for rubber was due to the
invention of rubber pneumatic tyres for bicycles
by John Dunlop.
America’s production of motor cars also
affected the need of rubber.
|
|
Henry Ridley
John Dunlop
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How Did The
Rubber Industry Benefit The People In Singapore?
Businesses involving rubber brought benefits like job
opportunities to the people here. What were the other
benefits?
| Rubber factories
needed labourers. |
|
Agency houses were
setup to manage the rubber plantations, which
belonged to the companies in Britain.
|
| Some Chinese became
millionaires because of the profit they made in
selling rubber. Europeans also profit in the
rubber industry. |
|
Singapore became the
main centre for rubber collection. Trade also
increased due to the rubber industry. |
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