Transcending boundaries, conjoining communities : Tan Kim Ching’s business career in colonial Singapore, the peninsular Malay states and Siam (1850 – 1892)

This study examines how Tan Kim Ching’s business transcended political frontiers and conjoined communities, networks, and polities in Southeast Asia during the nineteenth century. By looking at his business ventures in the peninsular Malay states and Siam, this essay illuminates the interconnectedness and interdependence of political, economic and social developments in the Straits Settlements, Malay states and Siam in the nineteenth century, as well as the multifaceted interplay between the local political elites, the British colonial administration, Chinese merchants and the Chinese labour in shaping the new colonial political economy of the region. As an effective intermediary between these key actors, Tan Kim Ching was able to gain special privileges in advancing his business interests. His success in building a trans-regional enterprise in this environment was largely due to his ability to transcend and mediate these categories and ambiguous frontiers. However, his business interests did not always coincide with the other actors’ interests which limited his business expansion and success in the region. Nevertheless, his career highlighted the fuzziness of ethnic and state boundaries, and of distinctions between politics and business, during a formative period in the history of colonial Southeast Asia.Bachelor of Arts in Histor