The DNA of Temasek
Contemporaneous records in the 14th century told of an ancient Temasek with historical links to Java, China and Vietnam.
Perhaps rooted in the Javanese word, tasik, for lake, Tumasik was listed as a vassal of the Majapahit empire in a 1365 Javanese court poem, Nagarakretagama. Wang Dayuan of China described two trading settlements in 淡马锡, or Tan-Ma-Si, in a 1349 account of his travels. Vietnamese records noted Malay envoys arriving at their court from Sach-ma-tich in 1330.
These ancient names of Temasek evoke the image of an active sea town, whose fortunes have ebbed and flowed in the centuries since. It re-emerged as a thriving free port and modern Singapore with the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. It achieved local self-government in 1959, and became independent in 1965.
Discover More
