ABSTRACT
By 1867 the Straits Settlements, with Singapore as capital, became a Crown Colony, and Singapore, a flourishing trading port, was home to over 80,000 people. The majority of the colony’s population were either Chinese migrants themselves or the children of Chinese migrants. As Singapore underwent rapid transformation in the early colonial period, British rule was dependent on collaboration with Chinese mediators. One such example is the Chinese businessman and community leader Seah Eu Chin (1805–1883). For the historian, Seah provides an insight into Singapore’s wider significance as a migrant colony. He is one of the few Chinese voices recorded as an English-language source on the Chinese migrant community in this period.
As one of the most famous Chinese figures of the early colonial period, Seah’s legacy is visible in various charitable organisations and place names. In recent years, Seah’s celebrity has also led several descendants to write biographies, set up websites and create YouTube videos about their famous ancestor. The internet and popularisation of family history has facilitated this recent interest, but these accounts of Seah Eu Chin’s life are also shaped by contemporary discussions about ethnicity and economic prosperity in modern Singapore. Discussions of Seah’s life raise questions about the intersection between collective memory, family history and narratives of national progress.
