Firstly, we found out that a large proportion of the Chinese population were coolies whom went through hard labour. The man is lying down on the hard surface without any mattresses or cushion” which can be found in Pastimes inference 3. This shows that many of the coolies worked so hard that they had worn out their pants while working. Also, the Living Conditions Source 2 stated that “Chinese coolies formed the early backbone of Singapore's labour force, engaged mainly in hard physical labour”, showing that the coolies were one of the most hardworking group of people in colonial Singapore before WWll.
Secondly, we found out that majority of the Chinese were rather poor. Source 3 of Chinese Occupations stated that ‘“The coolies suffered much hardship, they were very poor and lived in cramped dwellings with no windows and light”. This shows that the coolies did not have enough money to buy sufficient facilities to live comfortably. We can also infer from Source 3 of Pastimes that the many of the Chinese “seemed to be working class people and do not look very rich”. This shows that the many of the Chinese probably did not have a lot of money to spend, showing that they had little money for themselves and that they were poor.
Thirdly, we also found that many of the in colonial Singapore were Buddhists. This can be seen from “Buddhism was the major religion among the Chinese in Colonial Singapore”, according to Source 1 of Religious Life. Also, many of the Chinese cultures in colonial Singapore were brought over from South China. This can be seen from Source 2 of Religious Life which states that “When they arrived, they brought along their cultures and religions and reproduced them in a colonial environment,”. This shows that many of the Chinese traditions were carried over to colonial Singapore by the Chinese from South China.
Our findings show that many of the Chinese in colonial Singapore before WWll were poor coolies. Moreover, many of the Chinese who migrated from South China to Singapore were mainly Buddhists. The Chinese population was dominated by coolies who had poor wages which was barely enough to sustain a comfortable life. Due to their poor wages, their homes were often cluttered and many of them had hygiene issues. They also could not spend excessively on their pastimes and hence had to adjust without many luxuries. They had to work really hard to get enough money to sustain their life. Moreover, their occupations were also very hectic and tiring. In conclusion, many of the Chinese in colonial Singapore had to suffer and endure hardships and poverty; only have the necessities and go without the luxuries, but still had faith in their respective religions, mostly Buddhism. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________