Back in time : tracing the origins of Singapore's 1960s/1970s cholera story

Abstract

Cholera’s impact on Singapore’s population in the 1960s and 1970s was mild. Morbidity rates of cholera paled in comparison to diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria within the nation. Yet, cholera left a deep impression on Singapore’s national consciousness. This thesis seeks to explain the discrepancy by demonstrating that anxieties arising from cholera outbreaks in the 1960s and 1970s can be traced back to Singapore’s historical experiences under British rule (nineteenth and twentieth century) as well as the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945), the latter being a frequently overlooked historical event beyond the scope of nationalism and national history. By studying the process through which cholera evolved over three outbreaks (1963, 1968–1969 and 1972) - from a disease defined as one caused by poor environmental sanitation to one caused by poor personal hygiene, links between the contemporary and earlier developments can be identified. Overall, this thesis hopes to advocate for a more holistic treatment of Singapore’s history by giving the respective historical events due consideration - relying on but not being restricted by the historical lens of colonialism and national narratives of progress and advancement.