The Orang Laut, or sea people, were alternately loyal subjects of Melaka and Johor, to where Singapore’s original inhabitants fled, and pirates who terrorised merchant ships.
Singapore before colonisation: from Temasek to Singapura, destruction, and flight to Melaka and Johor
- Pre-Raffles history involves the Srivijayan and Majapahit empires, Portuguese and Dutch colonists, Acehnese, Bugis and Orang Laut
- New book Studying Singapore Before 1800 gauges the impact of early globalisation and ponders whether a lion gave Singapore its nickname
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Singapore
The Orang Laut, or sea people, were alternately loyal subjects of Melaka and Johor, to where Singapore’s original inhabitants fled, and pirates who terrorised merchant ships.