The Industrial Revolution:

The invention of new machines and the discovery of new sources of power to drive these machines led changes which brought about the industrial revolution.

One such invention was the steam engine, When the steamship came about,Europeans could travel to the eash to obtain raw materials such as tin,and find new markets to sell thir goods.European and American steamships also made singapore their port-of-call,where their ships could stop to refuel and obtain fuel supplies. Thus,more ships visited Singapore and there was a growth in Singapore's trade. Communication also improved as a result of steamships,and letters could be delivered faster. This enabled Singaproe to come into closer contact with the rest of the world.

Opening of the Suez Canal:

The need for raw materials and new markets caused many merchants to seek a shorter route to the east. The journey on the Cape of Good Hope was long and often dangerous journey from Londen to Singapore was 120 days long.Ferdinand de Lesseps was the designer of the Suez Canal,which linked the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. The work on the canal began in 1859,and the cost was nearly double the amount originally intended. The canal was opened in 1869 and it became one of the busiest waterways in the world. The journey from London to Singapore using the Suez Canal only took 50 days.

Singapore's trade expanded as mail and cargo took a shorter time to travel from europe to Singapore. The cost of shipping good was also reduced. A new harbour was also built in 1852 as the old harbour was overcrowded. New wharves,docks,storehouses and machine ships were built as well.

World War 1:

World War 1 began with the assasination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary,Franz Ferdinand. This added to the already tense situation in europe,as the countries in it had divided themselves into two opposing groups. Germany,Austria-Hungary,and the Ottoman Empire in a group called the "Central Powers" and Britain,France and Russia in the "Allied Powers" in which Italy later joined. World War 1 eventually involved 30 countries,and there wer 10 million casualties.

Prices of food in Singapore became higher as people ruched to buy food when they heard news of the war. The government forbade any export of food from singapore,and imported large quantities of it from Siam and Vietnam so as to ensure there was enough food for everyone. Singapore's shipping and trade were threathened by the prescence of a german warship the "Emden",which attacked British trading ships in the Indian Ocean.The Sepoy Mutiny was a rebellion in whichthe sepoys rose up against the British in 1915 as they had heard rumours about being sent to Europe of Turkey to fight against muslims. It was put down after 10 days.

The Great Deppression:

In 1926,many countries were unable to sell their good and thus were losing money. This caused some people to sell their shares,which in turn made share prices fall. The rapid plunge of share prices in 1929 when more people decided to sell their shares led to the collapse of the New York Street Exchange. This became known as the Wall Street Crash.

People could not withdraw their savings as banks did not have the money to pay them and were forced to close down,thus,many lost their life savings. There was in increase in poor people and the demand for goods fell. American companies were no longer making huge profits,and has to cut the wages of workers. Unemployment also rose as many were laid off. Companies in Singapore also experianced losses as it's economy depended largely on overseas trade. Workers were retrenced and many businessmen who depended largely on overseas trade became bankrupt of lost their wealth.

Done with History chapter 5
I love history,it's relaxing:)

:)