Singapore’s Fort Canning hill was inhabited by members of the royal family till the 1400s. During that time, the hill was off limits to commoners which explain its prevalent name ‘Forbidden Hill’. The past rulers of Singapore were buried on that hill.
When Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore, he was marvelled by the beauty and history of Fort Canning hill so much that he built his house on it. He had also wished for his body to be buried amongst the ashes of kings if he were to die in Singapore. However, he left Singapore shortly after.
In 1859, the British demolished his house and excavated the burial grounds on the hill to level the ground for building of the fort. Objections from the locals regarding building of the fort were to no avail as the construction of the fort continued.
On the contrary, due to the distance from the beach, the guns were useless against sea attacks contradicting the foremost reason why the fortress was built.
Only one out of the many tombs that were demolished on Fort Canning hill was resurrected. It was built to commemorate Iskandar Shah, the last king to rule over Singapore.
Written by Thivyaa
Click on the video (below) to find out about Singapore’s last king.
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