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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Reimagining Singapore's History: Essays on Pre-Colonial Roots and Modern Identity

Reimagining Singapore's History: Essays on Pre-Colonial Roots and Modern Identity

Oey, Matthew

Paperback

General Political Science

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 981532375X
ISBN13: 9789815323757
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: Oct 28 2025
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.74
Height: 0.80 Width: 5.21 Depth: 8.44
Language: English
What is history? How is it made? And why does it matter?

Reimagining Singapore's History brings together leading historians to discuss these questions within the context of the decades-long project to rediscover pre-colonial Singapore. 2019 was a milestone in Singapore's history as it marked the 200th anniversary of Stamford Raffles' landing in 1819. However, in a powerful turn of events, government-sponsored celebrations used the occasion to highlight Singapore's longer pre-colonial story, in the process officially pushing back the modern country's origins to the 14th-century trading post of Temasek. Contrary to popular belief, Singapore was not a forgotten land between Temasek and Raffles; it remained a rich crossroads of trade, culture, religion, and merchant empires (both Asian and European). The discovery of this pre-1819 period has led to Singapore's 'new history', also known as its '700-year narrative'. While this narrative has long been common knowledge among academics, it was only in the past decade that it began to make its way into the public consciousness.

​Why and how did these changes come about? Where did they come from? Why did it take so long to bridge academic and public knowledge? And what is pre-colonial Singapore's relevance for us in the 21st century? Surveying topics from archaeology to post-colonial theory, this essay collection explores the above questions and introduces the sources, discoveries, and ideas that led to the literal re-writing of Singapore's official historical narratives over the past decades.

Contributors include renowned National University of Singapore professors and public historians:

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