To what extent did the religion, ethnicities, and languages of the Singaporean region change because of its exposure to other cultures
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Thousands of years ago in the Singaporean region, there were nomadic sea people who spoke the same language and believed in a system of religious practice. It was the homeland of the *Orang Laut Tribes and still is today. The Orang Laut Tribes consist of *Malay people living on coastal islands. Back then they majorly spoke *Austronesian and before believing in god(s) believed in the religion *Shamanism. Their practices are to seek *ilmu (heals and cures your body) by offering to spirits. -
In 1025CE, the Indian Chola empire invaded Singapore and its neighboring countries and impacted its ethnicities and religion. The Cholas, led by Rajendra Chola I, was motivated to take over Singapore and the surrounding islands for its accessibility to trade with the east. The Cholas were made up of Hindus and spread Hinduism throughout Singapore. Aswell the people of the Chola empire lived in Singapore and the islands of Maldives to enforce taxes and share their art and architecture. -
In 1819 a trading colony from Britain was initiated that impacted Singapore’s ethnicities and languages. It was founded by Stamford Raffles, who, in order to *develop(make) the colony, signed a treaty with local rulers. This colony attracted immigrants from China, the Malay Archipelago, India, and more. Along with these immigrants came languages that dispersed throughout Singapore like wildfire for Raffles and established schools to educate the country on its languages and ethnicities. -
After 1819, a British trading colony in Singapore became established, immigrants came and spread their religions and ethnicities. In 3 years, many ethnic groups settled, Singapore's population grew to more than 11,000. These groups came to Singapore looking for a better life. With time they spread religions such as Islam and Taoism. The largest ethnic groups are the Chinese (who spread Hinduism) and Indians (who spread Islam), whose combined religions take 36.1% of Singapore's population. -
Today in Singapore, there are many ethnicities, languages, and religions. Singaporeans came from China, Indonesia, the Middle East, and other regions. These ethnicities were brought by the trading colony set by the British so they could trade and steal. The main four languages are Chinese-Mandarin, English, Tamil, and Malay. The population consists of 31.1% *Buddhists, 8.8%*Taoists,18.9% *Christians, and more.