José d'Almeida, Portuguese pioneer of Singapore (part 2)
- Spencer Low
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
200 years ago, in 1825, José d'Almeida Carvalho e Silva arrived as a 41-year-old Portuguese physician in Singapore, then only into its sixth year as a new British trading port (click here for details on his life before that). With a clinic in the heart of the growing settlement and a large house not far away for his wife and many children, d’Almeida already seemed set up for success. But Fortune continued to smile. D'Almeida acted as consul for the Portuguese government, offering assistance to stranded seamen, and in the early days he was also consul for the Spanish government.
Two trading ships, one Portuguese and the other Spanish, had to extend their stay in Singapore (most likely in 1826) due to inclement weather, so d’Almeida agreed to help by becoming their agent, selling their perishable goods to raise money to cover the crews’ expenses. This was the start of a successful trading business, and in 1827 the company was renamed José d’Almeida & Sons when his son José (then 15 years old) joined his elder brother Joaquim (16) in the family business.
The trading company would grow to become one of the largest businesses in the British Straits Settlements that included Singapore, Malacca and Penang. D’Almeida & Sons acquired a private quay in the harbour, with branches across Asia including, of course, Macau. Today, D’Almeida Street still stands in the heart of Singapore’s financial and historical district, quite a distance from the sea due to extensive land reclamation over the years. Appropriately enough, D’Almeida Street is connected to Malacca Street, another name with a strong Portuguese connection.
José d’Almeida, now in his mid-forties, could dedicate his time to his passions. Beyond music and theatre, which featured in his famous parties, d’Almeida also had a great interest in botany, which extended to agriculture and horticulture. He was one of the earliest plantation farmers in Singapore, experimenting without great success with the cultivation and crossbreeding of cotton, vanilla, cloves, coffee, cochineal, gamboge, and various trees and fruits including coconuts. Many of the species d’Almeida tried growing and hybridizing were brought in from India, Egypt, North America, and even Brazil.
Although a man of science, d’Almeida also played a key role in the history of the Catholic Church in Singapore. Father Francisco da Silva Pinto e Maia, who like d’Almeida was arrested in Macau and later escaped from Goa, also moved to Singapore in 1825 to set up the Portuguese Mission. The British-ruled port then had no church or chapel, so d’Almeida allowed Father Pinto e Maia to celebrate the Holy Mass in his house until 1833. (Here’s an earlier post on The Portuguese Mission and the History of the Catholic Church in Singapore.)
Run by his sons, D’Almeida’s trading business had its ups and downs, and the family had their share of difficult times. D’Almeida’s first wife, the Macau-born Rosalia Vieira Ribeiro de Sousa, passed away in 1838 at the age of 48. Although he already had at least 10 children with Rosalia, d’Almeida remarried the same year; with Maria Isabel Nuno he would have at least another six more children. The First Opium War erupted in 1839 between Great Britain and Qing Dynasty China, and as the British gained the clear upper hand, regional trade started to pick up again in 1841, which helped the fortunes of D’Almeida & Sons.
In 1842, in poor health but with more money once again, d’Almeida decided to return to Portugal for a visit. After Dona Maria II became Queen in 1834, the country experienced significant political upheavals for several years, with a revolution, counter-revolution, revolt and massacre. In fact, D’Almeida returned to Portugal the year of a coup d’état by the Marquis of Tomar, Costa Cabral, with the support of Dona Maria II. The Queen, in recognition of d’Almeida’s service as Portuguese Consul in Singapore, made him a Knight of the Order of Christ (Cavaleiro da Ordem Militar de Cristo).
Freshly knighted, d’Almeida then made a trip to London. There, in 1843, he presented the remarkable qualities of the gutta-percha plant to the Royal Asiatic Society, having brought samples with him from Singapore. The gutta-percha plant produced a form of natural plastic when its sap was boiled. This would harden at room temperature but remained flexible, and could be reshaped again when heated.
Despite the similarities to natural rubber which came from Brazil, the members of the Society (founded in 1823) sadly did not pay too much attention. Another Singapore-based surgeon with an interest in botany, the Scottish William Montgomerie, would later create a craze for products made with gutta-percha: golf balls, root canal fillings, and most importantly, insulation for the thousands of miles of undersea telegraph cables that would be laid later in the century.
Prior to leaving Europe for home, d’Almeida would be elevated once again by the Queen Maria II to Commander of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (Comendador da Real Ordem Militar de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa), then appointed the Portuguese Consul General to the Straits Settlements. For his services to Spain, d’Almeida was also bestowed the Knighthood of the Order of Charles III (Caballero de la Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) by the Queen Isabella II of Spain. Upon his return to Singapore in 1844, the British started addressing d’Almeida as Sir José, an exceptional recognition of his Iberian titles.
When d’Almeida died on 17 October 1850 at the age of 65, there was an unprecedented level of mourning over his passing. He was considered one of modern Singapore’s earliest residents, and virtually every member of the European community attended his funeral, with the British Governor of the Straits Settlements, Major General William John Butterworth, being one of the pall-bearers.
Remarkably, merchants from the Chinese, Malay, and other ethnic groups also turned out in force to honour the Portuguese gentleman, who had touched their communities when he treated the sick for free.
José d'Almeida Carvalho e Silva was buried at the cemetery at Fort Canning Hill, where part of his gravestone can still be seen today.
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