Document-sharing through Use of the CSEAS Repository

"Compilation of Straits Settlements Statistical Data and Release on the CSEAS website"

R4-5 6-1 (R4 AY2022)

Project LeaderMotoko Kawano (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)
CollaboratorsYoshihiro Tsubouchi (Kyoto University)
Atsushi Kobayashi (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
Research ProjectCompilation of Straits Settlements Statistical Data and Release on the CSEAS website
Countries of StudySingpore, Malaysia

Outline of Research

The Straits Settlements (SS) were the administrative bases of British Malaya, whose main territories were Singapore, Penang, and Malacca. Our research group has collected and organized statistics from the annual reports of the Straits Settlements and aims to share data related to the social, economic, and administrative conditions of British Malaya to the public. With ongoing database development, this project aims to refine numerical values, creating new materials such as figures, tables, and guideline for users, and to publish the data online.

Purpose of Research, Its Significance and Expected Results, etc.

The CSEAS Library houses microfilms of reports from the colonial administration of British Malaya, including the annual reports of the Straits Settlements, the Federal Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States, Colonial Office Record 273, and so on. These records have been used in the fields of history, economics, politics, sociology, and anthropology. While various studies have accumulated rich outcomes in each field, the studies are differentiated and specialized. In contrast, this research will be undertaken jointly with historians, political economists, and sociologists familiar with both historical methods as well as statistical analysis. With this combination, this research aims to complete the database as a first step toward publishing the data online, paving the way for researchers to access new perspectives while using the Straits Settlements Statistical data.

Photo 1: Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements for the year of 1917, National Archives, London, UK
Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements for the year of 1917, National Archives, London, UK
Photo 3: Postcards of Singapore and Penang (c. 1910-1930)
Photo 4: Postcards of Singapore and Penang (c. 1910-1930)

Postcards of Singapore and Penang (c. 1910-1930)