An Excerpt from Selling Sex: A History of Prostitution in the United States.

One can not look at the history of prostitution and its place in the modern-day without looking at Singapore. At the time in 1812 it was a small port city that was recently absorbed into the American overseas empire (that included Greenland, Iceland, and South Africa) that was quickly becoming the nexus for not just American trade, but trade from all across the East Indies (Indonesia), India, and China. This was due to its relatively low tariffs and political distance from Britain, who were well known for being much more aggressive in their Asian dealings than America.

It was well known by traders that there was a regiment of soldiers that were far and away from their home across the world, and one enterprising slave trader, seeing all those lonely, and wealthy, men, brought “virgin female Chinese slaves from Guangxi” to sell, being unaware of the American perception of slavery. Had he been turned away, or his stock confiscated from him, it might have ended there. However, due to the 1804 Compensation Act, which dictated that all slaves be negotiated for at a “reasonable price" and the American policy of freeing every slave that steps on American soil, he made a tidy profit. Strangely, that slaver never returned to China as he and his ship were sunk by Vietnamese pirates during his journey back to the Qing Empire...

Despite this, rumors began to abound that the Americans were willing to pay a hefty profit for slaves in Singapore, and thus, a number of slave ships would journey to the isolated American outpost to trade their "goods." Indeed, this practice only ended ten years later, as the American government pleaded with the Qing Emperor to abolish the trade, which was formally accepted and enforced in 1822...

Even so, there were thousands of slaves (some men, but mostly women) that landed in Singapore and were subsequently freed by the garrison force there (in accordance with American laws that dictated that all slaves were to be freed should they step foot on American soil). The men usually carried out labor for the Singaporean government (which was ruled by a military governor) with pay and settled into Singapore itself, which allowed the population to grow from five hundred individuals in 1812 to nearly ten thousand inhabitants by 1850. The women were built homes or given paid passage to the American mainland, and most put their near lives as sex slaves behind them: some marrying local Singaporeans, others to the Marines stationed there.

However, some of the more “experienced” women saw an opportunity.

Gathering together a group of like-minded women, Yin Ying-Yeun (likely not her birth name) convinced them to pool together their stipends given to them by their liberators and buy a decent parcel of land in Singapore and built the now famous Free Flower Theater. Madame Yin, as she came to be known, was a veteran courtesan that was kidnapped from Guangzhou, a talented playwright, musician, and actress, she taught her new charges the necessary skills and mannerisms needed to become successful courtesans.

Madame Yin was fascinated by American culture, the confluence of events that lead to the formation of America, and the strange European notion of a national spirit behind a country. This led to the formation of a unique art form of play known as the “National Drama.” They are performed exclusively by women dressed in costumes symbolic of the country they represent and tell Historical events and world happenings from the perspective of the “Nation” herself. This style of comedy spread quickly outwards from Singapore, as more and more of the slaves that were freed there banded together and bought land elsewhere in the US, founding “Theaters” all across America.

By 1845 one could find a Singaporean Theater from New York to Timstown. Madame Yin’s first hit Drama was about the American Revolutionary War. The Drama portrayed America, as an idealistic and rebellious daughter wanting to strike out and live on her own, and Britain, as a mother jealous of her daughter’s youth wanting to keep her in the house, having a domestic dispute. The style of play quickly became popular as a vessel for political satire and propaganda. This form of theater grew especially popular in the aftermath of the Anglo-American War, which saw the death of over four hundred and fifty thousand Americans and created a sense of national unity and nationalism...

A secondary effect of the Dramas was that they legitimized, in the eyes of Americans, the “oldest profession,” as it was euphemistically known. They saw the courtesans as legitimate artisans and studiously ignored the actions going on “behind the stage” in favor of praising the artwork itself, and many wealthy bachelors made a pilgrimage to Singapore to experience the originals for themself.

Paula Bonapart (sister of the 8th President of the United States), who went to Singapore in 1825 for a business trip, remarked on the original Revolutionary Drama. “These women’s reputation as wonderful actresses is well deserved, they very much… embody their roles and are very passionate about the work they do. Madame Yin, the owner of the theater, most especially.” She made friends with Madame Yin and they exchanged letters for the rest of their lives.

The public perception of prostitutes shifting from slatternly and amoral women to talented, if indecent, artists brought a loosening of the tight Puritan morals that had gripped the country since the Second Great Awakening and was a key factor in the feminist movement throughout the mid to late nineteenth century. It even led to the Liberal Party placing legalized and regulated prostitution as a part of their party agenda...