Chapter 3: Push Factors / Reasons for Coming to Singapore - Overpopulation in Java

Question 1

What was the impact of the Cultivation System imposed by the Dutch in 1830 on the Javanese?

Answer 1

The Javanese people were unable to produce enough food to cope with the rapidly / quickly growing population.

Question 2

Define ‘famine’.

Answer 2

A widespread lack of food that results in extreme starvation and malnutrition.

Question 3

Define ‘epidemic’.

Answer 3

A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease that spreads quickly within a community.

Question 4

What was the land in Java used for under the Cultivation System imposed by the Dutch in 1830?

Answer 4

Land was used to grow export crops such as sugarcane, tobacco and indigo instead of rice.

Question 5

What did the Cultivation System imposed by the Dutch in 1830 cause / result in?

Answer 5

A shortage of rice which led to subsequent outbreaks of famines and epidemics in Java during the 1840s and 1850s.

Question 6

What was the cause of the rice shortage in 1840s and 1850s in Java?

Answer 6

The use of land to grow export crops such as sugarcane and indigo instead of rice.

Question 7

Why did the Javanese come to Singapore in the 19th and early 20th centuries?

Answer 7

To escape from the harsh conditions caused by overpopulation back home.

Question 8

Describe the Cultivation System imposed by the Dutch.

Answer 8

1. Villagers had produce enough crops for the Dutch to export for trade.
2. All villagers had to set aside 20 percent of their fields to grow crops for the Dutch and work in government plantations.
3. The Dutch profited enormously from this policy but it led to famines and epidemics in the 1840s and 1850s. This was because the Javanese were made to grow crops such as sugarcane, tobacco and indigo for the Dutch to trade instead of growing rice to feed themselves.