Choa Chong Long (; 1788-1838) was a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

prominent magnate, revenue farmer and pioneering colonist who served as the first Kapitan Cina of Singapore under the British colonial government. He was the son of Choa Su Cheong, who was the ''Kapitein der Chinezen'' of

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

in the Dutch colonial period. The younger Choa ventured out to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

when the British took over the island, but unlike most Chinese and Malay immigrants, Choa Chong Long was already a rich man. He was appointed Kapitan Cina of Singapore by

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles ...

, who took control of the island for the British. He held the

revenue farm Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contra ...

for the import and sale of opium. He was also thought to be one of the first Chinese to manage a plantation in Singapore. Choa celebrated his forty-fourth birthday by giving a grand dinner to which all influential residents of the island, including many Europeans, were invited. Choa's daughter married

Kiong Kong Tuan Kiong Kong Tuan (; 1790–1854) was a Chinese merchant from Penang. He was a merchant in Penang before establishing himself in Singapore. Kiong Kong Tuan held the revenue farms for opium in the 1830s, and also for spirits. He had a spirit facto ...

, who was also a revenue farmer and businessman Choa died in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

in 1838, leaving a will containing "a devise for ever of certain properties for sinchew (

ancestral worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

) purposes which was eventually declared void.A cycle of Chinese festivities by WONG Choon San, published by Malaysia Pub. House, 1967

References

*Holding the Fort: Melaka Under Two Flags, 1795-1845 by Brian Harrison - Malacca (Malacca) - 1985 - Page 145 #Chinese leadership and power in colonial Singapore by Ching Fatt Yong; Published by Times Academic Press, 1992, , #Physical adjustments in a changing landscape: the Singapore story By Avijit Gupta, John Pitts published by Singapore University Press, National University of Singapore, 1992 , #Stories of early Singapore By Harold Frank Pearson, University of London Press, 1954 #Singapore civil society and British power By E. Kay Gillis , #Entrepreneurs and institutions in Europe and Asia, 1500-2000 By Ferry de Goey, Jan Willem Veluwenkamp , #新社學報, Volumes 1-3 published by 新社, 1967 {{DEFAULTSORT:Choa, Chong Long 1788 births Year of death missing Singaporean people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Kapitan Cina

References

See also