Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam – Early Roman Catholics & Peranakans Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Historian Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam relates how he uncovered an unknown history of intermarriages in colonial Singapore in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These took place among the Roman Catholics, who were made up of an eclectic group of Peranakan, Teochew and Eurasian converts. Many of the Chinese had revolted against the powerful kongsi (clan/brotherhood) system in the 19th century. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/ssEaCj88qnk Part 2 | https://youtu.be/k0PDhV-Ivik 00:00 Introduction 05:14 Roman Catholics in Singapore 12:07 Peranakans, Teochews, Eurasians 20:31 Rebels Against Kongsis 30:38 The Gambier Industry 34:56 Traditional Culture 39:45 Intermarriages 48:04 Racial Ideologies Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam, A History of Immigrant Roman Catholics and Converts in Early Singapore 1832-1945 (2012). https://www.amazon.sg/Immigrant-Catholics-Converts-Singapore-1832-1945/dp/0645236403 I’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com if you have any of these stories to share: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles of Old Singapore is also the name of my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore