Taking a look at Three Colonial Cities
This piece will explore the history
of three colonial cities that were touched on in recent Urban History lectures
and readings; Zeelandia (Dutch), Sydney (British) and Dalny (Russian and later
Japanese). Commonalities as well as differences
were observed in the plans, urban forms and development cycles of these cities.
In each case, these colonial
cities were established as maritime ports. Their primary function was to
facilitate trade, funnel goods from the outposts to the home colonial powers
and to transport people to these new settlements. Also in each case, an
opportunity existed to build these cities as they offered tabula rasa (a “blank slate”).
Important differences were also
observed. Key factors which are thought to have influenced the development of
colonial cities include:
· The size of the indigenous population relative
to the population of the colonial settlers and also whether the colonial power
needed to harness the local population as a workforce
· Whether the colonial power instituted a policy
of segregation of ethnicities (settlers, indigenous people, immigrants)
· The development of the cities’ hinterland for
primary industry (sometimes in order to fulfil the needs of the home colonial
power). This required a workforce (either indigenous or through immigration)
· The creation of infrastructure for the good of
the city and all of its inhabitants
The three studied cities are
reviewed in this context.
Zeelandia was established by the Dutch in Formosa (the
modern day island of Taiwan) in 1624. As a port, it was well situated between
China, Japan and the Philippines and became an important trading link for the
Dutch East India Company. Zeelandia offers unique insights in the study of
colonial cities as the entire cycle of its development was condensed to just
four decades. Zeelandia reverted to Chinese rule in 1662.
When the Dutch arrived, the
population of Formosa consisted mainly of indigenous inhabitants. The native
Formosans did not participate in the development of Zeelandia. However the
Dutch soon expanded their activities from purely trading to the opening of the
hinterland for the cultivation of sugar and rice. This required a workforce.
For this reason the Dutch encouraged Chinese immigration to Zeelandia. The
Chinese not only provided workers to the colony, but also acted as financiers,
tax-collectors and administrators on behalf of the Dutch. The collaboration of
the Dutch and the Chinese in finance and administration was instrumental in the
success of Zeelandia.
Zeelandia was a town built ex nihilio (from “scratch”) and was built to a plan. The plan was a
mixture of the Dutch principles of the ‘ideal city’ and the Chinese ideas for
walled cities. Both plans were essentially rectangular (grid) based
layouts. Zeelandia comprised of two
parts: A fortified walled city (Castle Zeelandia) where the Dutch lived and a
city outside of the walls where the Chinese lived (segregation).
The success of Zeelandia also led
to its demise. The integration of large numbers of Chinese brought success to
Zeelandia but they continued to maintain family ties with the mainland. For
this reason the Chinese felt they had a moral claim on the colony. Zeelandia was conquered by the Chinese
war-lord Zheng in 1662.
Sydney was established by the British in 1788, when the
first fleet landed in Sydney cove. The site was chosen because of its water
supply (The Tank Stream, which still runs underground today) and the
unsuitability of nearby Botany Bay as a harbour.
During the first years of
settlement, Sydney was a penal colony. Of
the original first fleet settlers, 788 were convicts. Early attempts at
agriculture were met with mixed success and the young colony had to endure
isolation and near starvation. The situation however steadily improved with
subsequent fleet arrivals and more convict labour.
Farming and the private sector
economy started to improve when free settlers began to arrive from Britain.
Their numbers were augmented by retired soldiers whose service had ended and
freed convicts. These groups were granted land for farming.
Indigenous people did not
participate significantly in the affairs of the colonial city. Colonisation had
a disastrous effect on the indigenous population of Sydney. Within a few years
a smallpox epidemic reduced their numbers by 90%
Sydney was not built to a plan
and has been dubbed the ‘accidental city’. It is characterised by twisting
narrow streets which do not afford free flow of air and good drainage. Figure 1
below is an early map of Sydney that demonstrates the somewhat haphazard
approach to planning of the city. Successive governors of NSW tried to correct
the situation by setting down plans for streets but they were resisted by
powerful land-owners. As a result, Sydney became an example of town planning to
be avoided and subsequent colonial settlements in Australia (Orange, Yass,
Mildura, Melbourne) were built to more traditional Roman grids.
[ Figure 1: Smith & Gardiner’s Map of Sydney and suburbs 1855]
The Chinese city of Dalian experienced two colonial
masters before it reverted to China in 1945. It was established as the colonial
city of Dalny by the Russian empire in 1898. Dalny was a port which connected
Russia’s Trans-Siberian railway to the trading routes of the Pacific.
The indigenous population of the
area were Chinese. The construction work on the port and railway undertaken by
the Russians brought economic opportunity to the area and thousands of Chinese
settled there. The Russians, however, generally mistreated the Chinese and
atrocities against the Chinese were not uncommon (including a massacre of 4,000
Chinese inhabitants)
The ‘European City’ of Dalny was
built to a radial plan which was inspired by the ‘Garden City’ movement. The
Russians spared no expense in establishing the ‘European City’. The same could
not be said of the ‘Chinese Town’. It was shabbily built and segregated from
the European town; this separation of the ‘European’ and ‘Chinese’ cities is
displayed in Figure 2 below. The Chinese, who had been originally uprooted to
make way for the ‘European City’, had no right to acquire property or live there.
[Figure 2: Dalny; The European City (formed to a radial plan) and the (segregated) Chinese City]
In 1905, the Japanese defeated
Russia in war and succeeded the Russians as the Colonial masters of Dalny,
which was renamed Dalian. Dalian was later absorbed into the newly established
Japanese mainland colony of Machuoko, a puppet state whose 10 million Chinese
inhabitants were essentially treated as slaves by the Japanese.
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