The Anti-Catholic Riots were the culmination of a series of disputes between members of the Chinese immigrant community who had converted to Roman Catholicism, and those who had not. The disturbance began on 15 February 1851, when members of various Chinese secret societies, especially the Ghee Hin Hoe, attacked and burnt pepper and gambier plantations owned by Chinese Christians. During five days of rioting, an estimated 500 people were killed and 28 plantations burnt. Besides being the first instance of large-scale inter-religious conflict within the Chinese community, the 1851 riots are also considered one of the major secret society riots of the colonial period in Singapore.
Background
There were multiple causes of conflict between Christian and non-Christian members of the Chinese immigrant community. One area of contention was the issue of declining membership in secret societies. Many Chinese who had previously been members of the secret society known as Tan Tae Hoe (Heaven and Earth Society, otherwise known as Ghee Hin Hoe) were attracted to the Catholic faith and converted to Catholicism. This eroded the membership of the Tan Tae Hoe and challenged their power base, arousing dissatisfaction towards the Catholics.
Control over gambier and pepper plantations was another area of disagreement. Because they did not belong to any secret society, Chinese Christian plantation owners were outside the plantation networks controlled by the secret societies, and they were perceived to be in competition with the interests of the secret societies. The Christians were also believed to have illicitly smuggled opium for use in their plantations, which violated the monopoly over the opium supply controlled by networks of Chinese merchants in connection with the secret societies. Motivated by these reasons, the Tan Tae Hoe and other secret societies resorted to violent means to disrupt the economic livelihood of the Christian planters.
Outburst of violence
As early as September 1849, assaults by secret society members on Chinese Christian plantation owners were reported. Throughout 1850, instances of intimidation and violence against Christians became increasingly frequent. These occurrences culminated in a large-scale attack against Christian Chinese plantations on 15 February 1851, when a series of clashes at plantations around the Kranji and Bukit Timah areas quickly spread into mass rioting at plantations throughout the island. In response to the assaults, groups of Chinese Christians armed themselves and fought back, while others fled to the city centre to seek refuge.
The chaos lasted for five days, after which it was reported that over 500 Chinese had been murdered, at least 28 plantations looted or burnt, and homes within the plantations pillaged. When the colonial police force attempted to restore order by arresting several perpetrators, secret society members who were trying to free their comrades attacked the police instead. Contemporary observers also noted that Indian convicts were mobilised to scatter the rioters, and attempted to chase them into nearby jungles. Eventually, military troops had to be called in to quell the riots.
Resolution
Through the mediation of Chinese community leader and businessman Seah Eu Chin, a settlement was negotiated in which the non-Christian Chinese merchant community agreed to pay the affected Christian plantation owners a sum of $1,500 to compensate for damages incurred during the riots. As reported in The Singapore Free Press, this was in exchange for the dropping of civil legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the riots. Meanwhile, several of the arrested rioters were sentenced in court, with jail terms ranging from 7 to 14 years. Nevertheless, disputes between both groups continued to persist on a small scale, and minor complaints of territorial infringements continued to be heard thereafter. Despite the severity of the riots, the colonial government, especially Governor William Butterworth, remained reluctant to introduce more stringent legislation to regulate the activities of secret societies.
Author
Yong Chun Yuan
References
Blythe, W. (1969). The Impact of Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya: A Historical Study (pp. 70-71). London: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSEA 366.09595 BLY)
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore (pp. 542-546). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)
A monthly summary of general and commercial intelligence from the Straits, Java, Manila, etc. (1851, March 5). The Singapore Free Press, p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Trocki, C. (1990). Opium and Empire: Chinese Society in Colonial Singapore, 1800-1910 (pp. 107-109). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 305.89510595 TRO)
Untitled. (1851, March 28). The Singapore Free Press, pp. 2-3. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Untitled. (1851, February 21). The Singapore Free Press, Local, p. 2. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
