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This paper examines the role of diaspora in the history of colonial Singapore, the creation of the intellectual culture that embodies both the demands of globalism and the desire for authenticity. It traces the emergence of a polyglot migrant world where communities not only had to find ways to relate to distant homelands, but had to learn to speak to each other for the first time. Through a study of the systems of communication and knowledge that transected Singapore, the paper argues that the predicaments of ‘globalism’ have a much deeper history than much of the discursive work on the concept suggests. It emphasizes the multiple layers of sociability within colonial society. This, it is argued, might tell us more about being a diaspora in a society where others have cultural primacy. In the light of these it assessed the role of the colonial state: its capacity to set the boundaries of participation and impose its constructions of community and law upon Singapore's diasporic public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]