Eurasians in Singapore
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (15,581 0.4% of the Singaporean population (2010)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Singapore
|
|
| Languages | |
|
Mainly English, Portuguese, Dutch, French |
|
| Religion | |
|
Mainly Christianity |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| British people, Portuguese people, Kristang people, Macanese people, Dutch people |
Mainly English, Portuguese, Dutch, French
Mainly Christianity
Eurasians in Singapore are individuals of mixed European and Asian descent. Eurasians have been viewed with mixed fascination and disdain by the European and Asian communities. Their European ancestry traces to emigrants of countries that span the length and breadth of Europe, although Eurasian migrants to Singapore in the 19th century came largely from other colonies in Asia, such as British Malaya in particular Malacca and Penang, India including Chittagong (today in Bangladesh) and Goa, the former Portuguese colony in India; the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina. When the European maritime powers colonised Asian countries, such as India, Ceylon, Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia and Indochina, from the 16th to 20th centuries, they brought into being a new race of people known historically and generally as the Eurasians. The early Western colonisers were not accompanied by their womenfolk on the perilous journey to Asia. Consequently, many married the local women of these lands, or formed liaisons with them. Initially the offspring of such a union were brought up as an appendage of the ruling class and enjoyed advantages not generally accorded the rest of the local Asian population. In time, as colonial attitudes hardened due to the 1915 Singapore Mutiny and growing independence movement, Eurasians were largely cast aside by the colonial masters and treated much like the rest of the local population. Eurasians or Kristang Eurasians who generally have some Kristang-speaking ancestry form a sub-group distinct from those who are the offspring of more recent immigrants and expatriates of European and Asian origin and who are also called "Eurasians" in Singapore. The same or similar distinction exists between on the one hand multi-generation Eurasians (who typically have some Kristang-speaking ancestry) and many of whom would associate with some Kristang or Portuguese-origin cultural practices (e.g. Kristang songs and Portuguese-origin dances like Jinkli Nona) and dine on Kristang Eurasian dishes like Devil's curry or curry debal in Kristang. However, first- or second-generation Eurasians typically do not have any Kristang-speaking ancestry, do not speak Kristang, generally do not adopt Kristang or Portuguese-origin cultural practices, and are less familiar with Kristang Eurasian cuisine. First-generation Eurasians are people whose parents are not Eurasians. Multi-generation Eurasians are people whose parents or forefathers are Eurasians.
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