Singapore History Tour

Singapore's city centre has an amazing amount of history sites to visit. Here's a suggested route (click to enlarge):




This tour should take around two hours at a comfortable walking pace.

Start: City Hall MRT

#1: Fort Canning

Before the 1500s, those who stayed in Singapore did not want to climb this hill as it was the site of palaces built by their ancestral kings. Indeed, archaeologist John Miskic has dug out artefacts that shown that a Malay kingdom could have been based on the hill.

Visit the Keramat Iskandar Shah at the foot of the hill. It is believed to be the resting place of Singapore's last Malay king (who ruled over 600 years ago).

Raffles also stayed on Fort Canning for a while. Check out Raffles terrace, the house where he lived in.

Fort Canning also has several cannons, built by the British to defend against attack. However, the cannons were never used for this purpose. They were only used to tell the time.



Also check out Battle Box, where British General Percival established his command post. The Japanese also used the fort for its military until 1945.

#2: Civic District

Visit:
- The Treasury: where Singapore's money is kept.
- The Supreme Court: Singapore's highest court.
- Parliament House: where Singapore's laws are made.

More importantly:
- City Hall. This was where the British accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945.
- Old Parliament House: the oldest existing government building in Singapore (built in 1827). It has a bronze elephant statue donated by the King of Thailand. The King of Thailand donated the statue to Singapore, as Singapore was the first foreign land to be visited by a Thai King.

#3: Singapore River

- Raffles' Landing Site: This is the spot where Raffles landed in Singapore on 28 January 1819. Look out for the white statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles



- various sculptures: several local artists have placed sculptures, to show how life in early Singapore was like. Look out for these.

#4: War memorials

- Lim Bo Seng memorial: remembers an anti-Japanese freedom fighter
- Cenotaph: remembers those who fought in World War I and World War II
- War Memorial Park: remembers the civilians that died during World War II under Japanese rule. The memorial is also known as "four chopsticks" due to its shape.

End: City Hall MRT station.

A Broken World

Some Grade 9 (Sec 2, 14 year olds) students in Clay Burell's world history class at Korea International School created this multimedia wiki textbook covering world history from World War I to World War II and the beginnings of the Cold War. It was created in June 2007.

http://brokenworld.wikispaces.com/A+Broken+World

Bold look at Singapore's origins

There is a new book "A 700-Year History: From Early Emporium To World City" about Singapore" history. It debunks the notion that Singapore's history truly began only when Sir Stamford Raffles docked at the banks of the Singapore River in 1819.

There is a bold attempt by the authors to pull back another 500 years of Singapore's history. The authors say Singapore did not merely take a back seat to history between its heyday as a trading emporium in the 14th century, and the time Raffles set up a trading post at the Singapore River.

Take a look at the full article on the Straits Times.


Questions:
1. What was Singapore's history before 1819 like?
(you can refer to your textbook)

2. What is the purpose of knowing Singapore's history before 1819?

3. Lets say there is no evidence of Singapore's history before 1819. History is the record of past events. Can we say that because there is no record of anything, Singapore does not have a history before 1819?

Invest in history to secure the future

HISTORY is boring. Dead boring.
That's the refrain of about half a dozen secondary school students I've talked to in the course of my work.
History is just about a bunch of facts and dates we have to cram for exams, they say. And what's the significance of these facts and dates? They shrug; they aren't sure.
Never mind that part of their O-level history examination is 'source-based', that is, testing their ability to assess the purpose, arguments and credibility of a historical source, such as a text excerpt, speech or interview...

See the full article.

Discussion Questions
1. What is history?
2. Is history all about facts?
3. If not, what else does history involve besides facts?
4. Do you think history is boring or interesting? Explain why.

Election pledges mean very little in Germany

This article appeared on page 2 of the Straits Times (Sept 7) and also on a few other newspapers.

"...German politicians are able to make such “truth-deficient” promises because of a complicated electoral system designed to ensure that no single party can ever rule on its own.

For decades, only three political formations dominated the scene: Chancellor Merkel's right-of-centre Christian Democrats, the Socialists and the minority, pro-business Liberals. So, coalitions were straightforward: Depending on how the votes were cast, the Liberals either joined the left or the right of the political spectrum.

But now, two additional parties - the Greens and a far-left movement - have gained a foothold in Parliament. Creating a government has therefore become a much more complicated task. Political enemies have had to work together.

Coalitions have been made out of strange bedfellows. Germany is currently run by a 'grand coalition' of both Socialists and Christian Democrats.

The unintended consequence of the system is that no party is held to account for promises made during the electoral campaign. Pledges are made in the full knowledge that most of them would be discarded when a coalition is formed...."

Click here for the full article on the Malaysian Insider.


Questions:

1. What is a coalition?
2. What is a system of proportional representation?
3. How does/did this system of proportional representation affect Germany (i) during the Weimar years, (ii) now?
4. How far is Germany's political situation similar to the situation during the Weimar years?

Maria Hertogh dies

Friday, July 10 (The Straits Times)

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The young Dutch girl at the centre of a highly publicised custody battle that sparked the 1950 Maria Hertogh riots has died, Bernama reported yesterday.

Ms Hertogh died of leukaemia in Huijbergen, the Netherlands, on Wednesday. She was 72.

In 1950, when the High Court in Singapore awarded custody of the 13-year-old girl back to her biological Catholic Dutch parents, the ruling ignited three days of riots.

Talking Cock on the Founding of Singapore

Here is a short comedy on the founding of Singapore:



Note: Not all the events are real.

This is from TalkingCock the Movie

Sang Nila Utama

Here is the story of Sang Nila Utama:

Nuremberg Rally

The Nuremberg rally was a yearly event organized by Hitler's Nazi Party.



In 1937, Hitler made all German soldiers swear an oath of loyalty directly to him. This meant that they would be loyal to Hitler directly, and not the German state.

What other methods did Hitler use to control Germany?

What is proportional representation?

In Chapter 4 (Nazi Germany), we learnt that a system of proportional representation caused Weimar government in Germany to be weak. What is proportional representation?

In most countries, there is an organization called Parliament. This organization decides all the major policies of the country. Each country's parliament will have a certain number of people (e.g. 200). The people vote at elections to decide who will make up Parliament.

In proportional representation, the number of people each party send to Parliament is decided by the percentage of vote each party has in elections.

For example if:
Party A gets 70% of the votes from the people, it gets 70% of the power in Parliament.
Party B gets 20% of the votes from the people, it gets 20% of the power in Parliament.
Party C gets 10% of the votes from the people, it gets 10% of the power in Parliament.

Party A gets the most power in Parliament and it can decide the country's policies.

However in Weimar Germany this is what would happen:

Party A gets 30% of the votes from the people, it gets 30% of the power in Parliament.
Party B gets 40% of the votes from the people, it gets 40% of the power in Parliament.
Party C gets 30% of the votes from the people, it gets 30% of the power in Parliament.

No party gets over 50% of the power, so no party can decide the country's policies. As a result, there is a lot of fighting to decide the the country's policies. This fighting was not good for the country.

Proportional representation is not bad in itself, but in the case of Weimar Germany it led to weak governments.

I Live in Singapura

For a humorous summary on what Sec 2 History is all about:



Enjoy!

How did WW2 affect Singapore?

1. Why did the Japanese invade Singapore?
2. How was Japanese rule compared to British rule?

Discovery Channel on Singapore's History

Here's a 2005 Discovery Channel documentary on the History of Singapore:



Somewhere in the videos, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew says:

"Unless you know where you came from, unless you know what your ancestors had been through, you have no reference point. What makes us different from the Thais, Filipinos, or the Sri Lankans? The difference is how we came here, how we developed, and that requires a sense of History."

1. What does Lee Kuan Yew mean?
2. Do you agree with what Lee Kuan Yew says? Why?

Also,
3. What was Raffles' role in the founding of Singapore?
4. Whose role do you think was more important, Raffles or Farquhar?


Part 2 of the video:

Maria Hertogh Riots: Sec 2 Chapter 7

Here's a video on the Maria Hertogh riots:



1. What caused the Maria Hertogh riots?
2. What can we learn from this episode?


For some fun, laughter, peace and joy, watch some Sec 2's re-enact the riots:

Was Hitler's rise to power supernatural?

Could Hitler's rise to power have been connected with occult practices? According to the National Geographic Channel, maybe:



Do note that this is NOT in the syllabus. It is for your enrichment and entertainment, so enjoy.

A good video on Hitler's rise to power.



After watching this, try answering this question.

"Hitler rose to power mainly because of his abilities." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [13 marks]

Collectivisation

Remember that the impact of Stalin's rule on the USSR was positive and negative.

Collectivisation is one policy that both benefitted and harmed Russians. On the one hand, farm production was increased. On the other hand, many peasants such as the Kulaks suffered when their farmland was taken away.

Here is a video highlighting the negatives of collectivisation:



Do an internet search for some of the benefits of collectivisation. Do you think the human cost of collectivisation was worth it?

Cold War & Lessons from it

Above is an video summarising the origins of the Cold War. It also covers some of the cultural aspects of the Cold War.

When watching the video, think about the following issues:
1. What were the causes of the Cold War?
2. Which cause do you think was most responsible for the Cold War?
3. Who do you think was more at fault, the USA or the USSR? Or was it just a misinterpretation?
4. What was the Cold War all about - an arms race, an ideological battle, a cultural war? Or perhaps everything at once?
5. Was it good that the Cold War ended?

Very often we think that History is all about learning facts. At O level we study a list of causes and impacts. Once in a while we must ask ourselves, "What can we learn from this?"

Melvyn Leffler, a professor at the University of Virginia, shares his views of what can be learnt from the Cold War below.



What have you learnt from the Cold War? What have you learnt from your study of History?

Caste System of India

Below is a Youtube video in the caste system of India.



Do you think the caste system was all bad? Were there any good points?

Chapter 7 - War in the Asia Pacific (Pearl Harbour)

This video covers some of the reasons for Japan's aggressive foreign policy.



When watching this video, besides thinking of the reasons for Japan's aggressive policy, also think about how this links back to Chapter 5.

After watching this video, here's a treat from the movie Pearl Harbour:

Movie Trailer



Scene from the movie covering the actual attack

Treaty of Versailles cartoons

Click here for a series of cartoons that depict what happened at the Treaty of Versailles.

When you read through the cartoons, think about what each cartoon tells you about the Treaty of Versailles. Remember to support each inference with an observation.

Chapter 3 - Communist Russia

Click here for an excellent interactive video summary of all the key issues.

Chapter 3: Stalin's Rise to Power

He ruled with an iron fist, treating his people like grist for the mill of power and threatening the world with his expansionist fantasies. One of the most influential and notorious leaders of the 20th century, he was likely also the greatest murderer of history, sending an estimated 20 million people to their deaths. STALIN: MAN OF STEEL is a multi-faceted portrait of the man who succeeded Lenin as the head of the Soviet Union. With a captivating blend of period documents, newly-released information, newsreel and archival footage and interviews with experts, the program examines his rise to power, deconstructs the cult of personality that helped him maintain an iron grip over his vast empire, and analyzes the policies he introduced, including the deadly expansion of the notorious gulags where he banished so many of his countrymen to certain death.



This video documentary is interesting, but it is 1.5 HOURS long. Make sure you have a lot of spare time to watch it before you start playing! The Youtube link is here.

Chapter 3: Russian Revolution

This Youtube video is a photo montage of the October Revolution. The song that plays during the video is called "Farewell of Slavianka", a Russian patriotic march. There are Red Army choir versions of it on YouTube that are extraordinary.

When watching the video, think about the following:
Why did revolution in Russia break out in 1917?

Usefulness (SBQ Skills)

How useful is Source A for finding out about farming in the USSR in the 1930s?

Source A: Soviet government photograph of 1933 showing tractors on a collective farm

Click here to find out.

BBC Bitesize Revision Guide

The BBC has a useful revision guide on History. Do take note their revision guide is based on the British syllabus, which has some differences with Singapore. Most of the material is relevant but at a later date, what is not in the Singapore syllabus will not be pointed out. If in any doubt, check with the syllabus, your textbook, or your History teacher.

This site covers most of Chapter 1, 2, and 6. Do note that Chapter 1 is included in the Singapore syllabus but is non-examinable.
This site covers most of Chapter 8 & 9. (This is covered in Sec 4 Express/Sec 5 Normal)

End of Shang Dynasty

Here is a Youtube video on the end of the Shang Dynasty



Now, turn to page 39 of your textbook and think about the following questions:
- When was the last Shang king killed?
- What was the name of the dynasty that ruled next?
- What do you think were the reasons for the collapse of the Shang Dynasty?

Chapter 6 - Hitler's Actions & Foreign Policy (Part 2)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, click here for Part I.

Hitler's actions and foreign policy were a major cause of the collapse of peace in Europe. If you read your textbook, the following are the main points:

- to make the German military stronger (rearmament; this has been covered in a previous post)
- to gain lebensraum (extra land for Germany) by being aggressive to her neighbours
- to fight Communism (this is actually linked to the second point)



The first part of the video deals with rearmament, then it gradually moves on to Hitler's aggressive foreign policy and then appeasement.

Try answering the questions below after watching the video:

Basic Questions (For weaker students)
- What were some of the ways Germany rearmed?
- What were some important dates and places in Hitler's aggressive foreign policy?
- What is appeasement? How did the Allies appease Hitler?

Standard Questions (For stronger students)
- Below are two factors which contributed to the collapse of peace:
1) Hitler's actions and foreign policy (rearmament, Hitler's foreign policy)
2) Appeasement

What were the roles of each factor in contributing to the collapse of peace? Which factor do you think was more important and why?

O Level History Format

20th Century World History, 1910s–1991

This paper will comprise the following two sections:

Section A: Source-based Question
Section B: Structured-essay Questions

Candidates are required to answer one compulsory source-based question from Section A and one structured-essay question from Section B. The source-based question in Section A will be set on one of the topics indicated by the symbol (*) in the syllabus outline. Structured-essay questions will be set on all topics in the syllabus including the subject matter covered by a sourcebased topic. All questions carry equal weighting (25% each).

Structure of Paper
Section A: 1 compulsory source-based question worth a total of 25 marks.
Section B: candidates must choose 1 out of 3 structured-essay questions. This section is worth a total of 25 marks.

Source-based Questions
Source-based questions will be based on sources. Candidates are expected to have a sound knowledge of the prescribed topics and an acquaintance with the kinds of sources available and their uses. Candidates are also expected to have an understanding of the ways in which sources may be evaluated.
Various types of sources such as textual, statistical/numerical, and graphical/pictorial, may be used. Candidates are expected to use their knowledge, skills and conceptual understanding developed during the course to help them use the given sources to answer the questions.

Question construction
No more than six sources may be set for the source-based question. One or more differing accounts of the same situation might be set, showing different views as time progresses or in communicating to different audiences, or one or more accounts on the same topic.
No individual source will exceed 150 words. Sources may be simplified where necessary.
Obscure terms (other than those which should be known to those who have studied the syllabus) will be annotated.
Each source-based question will have four sub-questions testing Objectives 1 and 3.
The weighting for each sub-question will be indicated in brackets. Sub-questions will involve higher-order thinking skills as defined in the Assessment Objectives. Answers to the subquestions will be graded according to the coherence and consistency of the argument. Credit will be given to points offered by candidates that are not on the suggested marking schemes as long as the points are logical and sufficiently substantiated. A ‘Levels of Response Mark scheme (LORMs)’ will be used to assess candidates’ answers.

Structured-essay Questions
A structured-essay question is an essay question which consists of two clearly separate subquestions.
The weighting for each sub-question will be indicated within brackets, as an indication of the length of the answer expected.

Question construction
Three structured-essay questions will be set. Candidates have to answer one structured-essay question which tests Objectives 1 and 2. Each structured-essay question comprises two subquestions.
The two sub-questions will test candidates’ ability to explain, analyse and make
judgements on events and/or issues. Both sub-questions will be marked using the ‘Levels of Response Mark scheme (LORMs)’. Structured-essay questions will be set on all topics in the syllabus outline including the subject matter covered by the source-based topic.

N Level History Format

Candidates will sit for one paper of which the duration is 1 hour 30 minutes.

20th Century World History, 1910s–1991

This paper will comprise the following two sections:
Section A: Source-based Question
Section B: Structured-essay Questions

Candidates are required to answer one compulsory source-based question from Section A
and one structured-essay question from Section B. The source-based question in
Section A will be set on one of the topics indicated by the symbol (*) in the syllabus outline. Structured essay questions will be set on all topics in the syllabus including the subject matter covered by a source-based topic. All questions carry equal weighting (25 % each).

Structure of Paper
Section A: 1 compulsory source-based question worth a total of 25 marks.
Section B: candidates must choose 1 out of 3 structured-essay questions. This section is worth a total of 25 marks.

Source-based Questions
Source-based questions will be based on sources. Candidates are expected to have a sound knowledge of the prescribed topics and an acquaintance with the kinds of sources available and their uses. Candidates are also expected to have an understanding of the ways in which sources may be evaluated.
Various types of sources such as textual, statistical/numerical, and graphical/pictorial, may be used. Candidates are expected to use their knowledge, skills and conceptual understanding developed during the course to help them use the given sources to answer the questions.

Question construction
No more than five sources may be set for the source-based question. One or more differing accounts of the same situation might be set, showing different views as time progresses or in communicating to different audiences, or one or more accounts on the same topic.
No individual source will exceed 120 words. Sources may be simplified where necessary.
Obscure terms (other than those which should be known to those who have studied the
syllabus) will be annotated.
Each source-based question will have four sub-questions testing Objectives 1 and 3.
The weighting for each sub-question will be indicated in brackets. Sub-questions will involve higher-order thinking skills as defined in the Assessment Objectives. Answers to the subquestions will be graded according to the coherence and consistency of the argument. Credit will be given to points offered by candidates that are not on the suggested marking schemes as long as the points are logical and sufficiently substantiated. A ‘Levels of Response Mark scheme (LORMs)’ will be used to assess candidates’ answers.

Structured-essay Questions
A structured-essay question is an essay question which consists of two clearly separate subquestions.
The weighting for each sub-question will be indicated within brackets, as an
indication of the length of the answer expected.

Question construction
Three structured-essay questions will be set. Candidates have to answer one structured essay question which tests Objectives 1 and 2. Each structured-essay question comprises two sub-questions. The two sub-questions will test candidates’ ability to explain, analyse and make judgements on events and/or issues. Both sub-questions will be marked using the ‘Levels of Response Mark scheme (LORMs)’. Structured-essay questions will be set on all topics in the syllabus outline including the subject matter covered by the source-based topic.

Indus Valley Civilization

This video is about the Indus Valley Civilization.

Some of the text in the video may be hard to read. If you have difficulty reading it, you can pause the video.



Think about the following when watching:
Why did people of the Indus Valley value sanitation so much?
What caused the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization?


Hexolabs in India has produced a 3D animation of an ancient city in the Indus Valley:



What can you tell about life in the Indus Valley from this video?

Chapter 6: Hitler's actions & foreign policy (Part 1)

Hitler's actions and foreign policy:

Shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933, he rearmed Germany. (Rearmament is the building up of a country's military force.) He also pursued an aggressive foreign policy in order to gain "Lebensraum" (land for Germany).

Video on rearmament



During the video, think about the following:
- In what ways did Hitler rearm Germany?
- How would this lead to the collapse of peace in Europe?

After the video, read the textbook for specific facts and figures on the above. For example, the textbook says that Hitler built up the German army from 100,000 in 1933 to 550,000 in 1935.

---------------

Another of Hitler's actions was the remilitarization (some books call it "reoccupation") of the Rhineland. The Rhineland is in the west of Germany, close to France. You can see the map here.
Germany was not allowed to station troops there due to the Treaty of Versailles. By stationing his troops there, Hitler was sending a bold message that he was prepared to violate the Treaty of Versailles, and perhaps even invade France some day.



This is a rather long video. When watching it, besides thinking about how it led to the collapse of peace, can you think of reasons why the remilitarization of the Rhineland was so popular with the Germans?


Try this worksheet on Hitler's actions & foreign policy

Now, go on to Part 2 of this series.

Chapter 1 - Causes of WW1

World War I started in 1914. However, the causes of World War I stretch back way back into the 1800s.



As you watch this video:
- Identify the causes of World War One
- Notice that the causes are all related to one another, and they occur during the same time period
- Notice that some causes seem to be more prominent than others

Chapter 6: Failure of the League of Nations

This video shows how the League of Nations failed to respond to aggression. In 1935, Italy invaded Abyssinia, but the League could not respond effectively.



The video stops after 2 plus minutes but the soundtrack continues playing. You can either stop the video or just continue listening to the music.

When watching the video, think of the following points:
1. Why could the League not respond to aggressive countries such as Italy?
2. How did this lead to the failure of the League?
3. There are three reasons for the League of Nation's failure in the 1930s. Besides the failure to control aggressive countries, its member nations cared more for themselves and the League, and it could not get countries to disarm. Which do you think was the most important reason for the League's failure and why?

History SBQ Guide

In my opinion, this is an excellent guidebook. You can find it at most Popular bookstores or order it online. Your school library may also have a copy.

Chapter 2, Treaty of Versailles; Chapter 4, Rise of Hitler; Chapter 6, Appeasement

This video is about:
1) the terms and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. (0:01 to 1:00) Chapter 2
2) the rise of Hitler (1:01 to 2:00) Chapter 4
3) the causes of the collapse of peace and start of war in Europe (2:00 onwards) Chapter 6



When watching the video, think about the following issues:

Treaty of Versailles
- What were the main terms?
- Do you think the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh?

Rise of Hitler
- Which reason do you think was the most important for Hitler's rise?

Causes of War
- What is appeasement?
- Do you think appeasement was a sensible policy?

Chapter 2, Paris Peace Conference

This video is about the Paris Peace Conference.



When watching the video, think about the following:
1. What did the various leaders (Lloyd George, Wilson, and Clemenceau) want in the Treaty of Versailles?
2. Why did the various leaders behave the way they did? Was it due to their experience during the First World War?


For those that prefer words rather than pictures, here is a video showing roughly the same content but in a different manner:

The History Tutor

Welcome to the History Tutor. This site will contain a lot of Youtube videos relevant to the GCE 'O' and 'N' level syllabus, as well as other handy information.