Post(-)Colonial Archives*
Introduction
Determining a colony to serve as a case study for a survey of the relationship
between colonialism and archives is extremely difficult. Choosing one colony
that can somehow be representative of the histories of all colonies is impossible.
The difference in the colonial management by the Spanish, French, British, and
other European powers is substantial, and each left its own mark on its numerous
colonies, through archives and other obvious means.
Even concentrating primarily on the British Empire - as I have attempted here
- has its difficulties. British Efonduras (Belize) has a history all its own due to
its proximity to the United States and the Spanish Empire of Latin America.
British Mandates of the former Ottoman Empire did not fall under their
control until after the First World War, giving them few similarities to older
colonies. Australia, New Zealand, and Canada were settler colonies with large
British populations and were governed unlike colonies where natives made up
the majority of the population. Hong Kong, one of many British colonies in
Asia, has a post-colonial history unlike most, as rather than gain independence
it was returned to China after decolonization. Singapore, where this chapter
intends to concentrate, still does not fit the mold of model colony, as its majority
demographic is neither British nor native, but a Chinese population that grew
after British settlement.
While no one colony can share the attributes of any other, it is still possible to
show the role of the archive in a post-colonial society as one that transcends
boundaries and histories. Using Singapore as the primary example is meant solely
to show the connection between colonialism and federal archives, and not as
a suggestion that Singapore somehow is representative of all colonies on non-
archival levels.
Furthermore, this chapter is not meant to be a history of the independence
of Singapore from the United Kingdom. Independence of colonies has been
well-documented by historians and further research on this area is easy to
find. A review of these histories shows a uniqueness in every one. Despite
this uniqueness, postcolonial studies show that there are certain overarching
elements that can be found in most, if not all, former colonies.1 The archive
is one such element found in all ex-colonial countries. A background on
European expansion will shed light on the role archives played in colonialism,
and a background on postcolonial theory will show how - though extremely
MICHAEL KARABINOS
This chapter was the first piece of research done on a project that has since turned into PhD reseach being
done at Leiden Unviersity, the Netherlands, studying in greater depth the archival role in the post-colonial
relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands and Singapore and the United Kingdom.
1 To give a sense of consistency, the time period after a country has gained its independence from a colonial
power will be written as 'post-colonial.For instance, 'Singapore in the post-colonial period.' The theoreti
cal school of thought will be written as 'postcolonial.'
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