min lor💥

So I think England’s present-day relationship with former colonies is very much shaped by their history as metropole-colony relationship. In relation to Singapore in particular, he consistently understood their relationship as being more transactional than fraternal. Ie., he saw himself more as an employer of a sort of agent to conduct business, rather than just an "older brother." This was generally the case for many small colonies whose primary roles were as entrepots for trade. Since modern Singapore was established as a british crown colony in 1819, England always encouraged an "entrepreneurial" spirit in the younger. Imagine England being one of those parents you can see today trying to inculcate capitalism into their children and having them start up their own businesses from a young age. They both shared the sense that since Singapore was so small and reliant on trade, he would need to rely on his charisma and tact to hold himself up, particularly given the strategic significance of his position.

Of course, the "fraternal" aspect of the relationship between him and England was important, I think this is what’s significant about being a crown colony. Singapore had to be explictly a British subject, particularly since a major, initial raison d'etre was to challenge Dutch hegemony in the region. In England's mind, the young, small, diligent Singapore was something to be very proud of. But England also taught Singapore how to fight as a soldier. So, as an "older brother," England might have been especially doting and paternalistic towards Singapore, which the latter would have undoubtedly been embarrassed and offended about, the way you could probably imagine Hong Kong (who was in a somewhat similar position) would have been. However, the kind of draconian, authoritarian, and condescending attitude England was known for showing towards his subordinates came through strongly when showing Singapore the ropes of what it meant to represent a port that on a crucial artery for British imperial strategy. England spent a lot of the 19th century in port cities at home and abroad; the scrappy attitude he picked up from these experiences was passed down to Singapore.

After formal inauguration as a colony, Singapore's relationship to England grew to be a major influence on how he would conduct relationships with others. It was while he knew England that he believed he "matured." While England would tend to profess he loved Singapore like a little brother, the reasons seemed to be mostly superficial. Asides from being sometimes violently strict when it came to discipline, England was more often distant. England often couldn't afford the time when it came to matters that didn't have to do with business or security. Singapore saw that he was also often very strict and condescending towards other colonies, while also professing to care for them. The others also had more luck provoking England's ire over his pride. Singapore did want an older brother and was close to Malaya (who would later be known as Malaysia). But England did convince Singapore of his own importance -- that fact became essential to Singapore's ego. A sense of vulnerability and pressure to do well came to define Singapore’s motivations. As a colony he really believed he was a pillar of empire, that his fortune depended on doing well in this capacity. The yearning for close, trusting kin wouldn't go away, yet Singapore had grown a bit of a counterdependent personality, tending to be slightly too careful when it came to friendships.

Engalnd really did feel affection towards Singapore. He thought that being nice to his younger siblings was important, he wanted to be openminded towards their differences. Though theoretically he could sympathize with the struggles of some of his colonies, he was clumsy when it came to communicating this. England behaved more callously and formal towards Singapore in the early 20th century, when there were suspicions that Singapore would be a major confluence point for communists and anti-colonialists.

He would barely ever visit Singapore for the sake of visiting. Moments for bonding as friends were often fleeting. Singapore ultimately would become a luxurious refuge while travelling through Asia, it was simultaneously a source of anxiety. Though he knew Singapore had worked hard to fulfill, even surpass, England's expectations, England always knew that Singapore was already too valuable, and therefore never invulnerable from the invasion of others. He commended Singapore's Anglicized elite, believing that a social hierarchy there was necessary for internal order and external security -- of course, upholding a social hierarchy was very important to him throughout the 19th century, and he only saw it natural that it would need to apply to Singapore as well.

The greatest test came in WW2. Singapore had high expectations for himself, so the port's capitulation to the Japanese was sudden and traumatic. England was devastated, angry with Singapore but ultimately seeing it as a personal failure. His commanders' understanding of the failure was that it was a result of mismanaged oversight, but England knew this illuminated the problem he’d been worried about in the preceding few decades. His power couldn’t be as omniscient as he held himself to be, because it was a world where competitors would inevitably rise up and crush him. Winston Churchill called it the "worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history," and it felt that way to England by that time. But it was hubris to think that his power could manage in what was a distant part of the world against such a fierce enemy. In the aftermath of the war, Singapore came to an important conclusion: that Britain was not to be relied on after all. The assumption up to that point was that Singapore would be able to fend itself off until British reinforcements came -- but it was not enough. So he eventually found himself joining Malaya as a "brother" to become an independent state from Britain, while Britain brexited out of the "east of the Suez." England's gradual drift away from the centre of Singapore's concerns thus began.

After his sudden expulsion from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore decided that he had to focus on what he had to get himself back on his feet. Policy reforms in the coming decade brought him success -- and so began the inflation of Singapore's ego. In 1971, England attended the first full meeting of heads of government of the Commonwealth members outside of London -- Singapore was chosen as the venue. He shone amongst the other post-colonial states. Singapore might have been nominally "non-aligned" during the Cold War, but certainly in this era he couldn't see himself paying any favours to any supporters of communist ideology —the way he saw it, communism would be toxic for his independence. Under the impression that he lived in a world where only those who could adapt could survive and progress through the best of their individual capabilities, he felt precarious. This kind of world view and feeling of insecurity is similar to that England had been feeling since his rise and fall as an Empire (which I’ve mentioned it several times in previous hcs i wrote about him!) -- so for England to continue to show support for Singapore during this time was as much as a matter of personal sympathy as it was ideological and strategical. England told Singapore that it was a state of mind particular to ambitious island nations. Though England was no longer his formal superior, his influence still shaped Singapore’s thinking.

In the mid 20th century, many of his neighbours used comparisons of themselves to Europe in order to define what they wanted to be, what they wanted not to be. Singapore considered himself special -- he'd be loathe to admit it but England's constant reminders to him of that had influence on him unconsciously. And after the 70s, much of the Western nations saw Singapore as a wunderkind, and to his neighbours, as a paragon of so-called Asian values. And to Singapore himself, with his economy becoming strictly service based, he believed he was mainly the brains of the “miracle” of late 20th - 21st century Asian prosperity. Even a fellow Asian who might as well be his polar opposite in size and age, China, seriously looked to this kid for inspiration on how to develop and adapt to a world where it was becoming more evident that globalist capitalism would triumph over all other economic doctrines. Meanwhile, Margaret Thatcher admired Lee Kuan Yew's strong leadership style -- "There is no other world leader I have met in my time in office whom I have admired more for the strength of his convictions, the clarity of his views, the directness of his speech and for his vision of the way ahead." To Lee, Thatcher was one of the best leaders a decaying nation like Britain could hope for. (ominous synthpop playing in the distance)

Singapore did not share the same degree of eagerness to disavow the psychic and material remnants of his colonial past with other former British colonies in Asia. But being "non-aligned" during the Cold War also was significant, for he remained critical of the West. Because Singaporean political, intellectual, and military elites typically received their training in England, for Singapore to visit England was more common than England visiting Singapore. But as Singapore grew as an independent state, he had no scruples in criticising England during his visits there. Knowing better than to characterize himself as a "son" of England, in the 80s-90s, Singapore as well as other prosperous "Asian Tigers" sought to make it clear that their success was largely thanks to cultural differences. Still, Singapore knew that important relationships with western nations such as the United States and Australia were owed to being "anglicised" in some aspects. He may not have ever been one of England’s sons, but he might have been an inheritor of certain attributes.

As a minor side, I think an interesting aspect of Singapore as a (former) British colony is his demographics. A lot of British colonies have either white elites, or are majority native -- this seems to be the case with those represented in Hetalia, at least. Modern Singapore's population is neither mostly native, nor is there a significant white population. It is defined by the immigration of people from China, Malaysia, and South Asia. White countries like America, Canada and Australia might be more like "natural" allies to Britian, while those like India or Hong Kong might be more expressly adversarial towards Britain. It could be interesting to explore this possible commonality Singapore has with former British colonies not currently in the Hetalia canon, such as Guyana or certain Carribbean countries. Something could be said about these countries' relationships to Britain when looking at how imperialism shaped these countries' demographic makeup.

For Singapore, with so much of his population originating exogenously, he borrowed standards from England to help come up with a unifying idea of what it meant to be Singaporean. Hence, a Social Darwinist, realist understanding of international relations was projected inwards as a sort of meritocratic ideology. Perhaps another thing Singapore might have “inherited” from England was unfettered ambition. From his experience as being a station between the enterprises of the British and the Dutch throughout the 19th century, he didn't consider himself naive about the violent avarice that characterized European ambition to be a leader. But after being a colony, he knew what he wanted, and part of that was to be better off than England, morally as well as materially. Still, it seemed that the standards of "good behaviour" were still largely influenced by those from the modern West, for nations the quality of one's personal character seemed to have a lot to do with level of economic development and wealth.

In the 21st century, Singapore and England share a love of indulging bougie tastes. Another way they relate to each other is how their cultures have been heavily shaped by immigration (albeit in different ways) -- so they both consider themselves very cosmopolitan. The way they hang out is... I guess like yuppies. Eating at various upscale Asian restaurants, watching English football, partying, behaving like real young adults (although to Singapore, England will never not be an embarassing parent). Asides from that, England finds that he can talk about "intellectual" things with Singapore, not just business or security. This is because of the continued tradition of Singaporeans coming to the UK to study. In fact, apparently more Singaporean researchers conduct bilateral collaborations with researchers in the UK than elsewhere.