The Anti-Catholic Riots were the culmination of a series of disputes between members of the Chinese immigrant community who had converted to Roman Catholicism, and those who had not. The disturbance began on 15 February 1851, when members of various Chinese secret societies, especially the Ghee Hin Hoe, attacked and burnt pepper and gambier plantations owned by Chinese Christians. During five days of rioting, an estimated 500 people were killed and 28 plantations burnt. Besides being the first instance of large-scale inter-religious conflict within the Chinese community, the 1851 riots are also considered one of the major secret society riots of the colonial period in Singapore.

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