The history of Singapore may date back to the eighteenth century.

Evidence suggests that a

significant trading settlement existed in Singapore during the 14th century. In the late 14th
century, Singapore was under the rule of Parameswara, who killed the previous ruler and he was
expelled by the Majapahit or the Siamese. It then came under the Malacca Sultanate and then
the Johor Sultanate. In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles negotiated a treaty whereby Johor
allowed the British to locate a trading port on the island, leading to the establishment of the British
colony of Singapore in 1819.
During World War 2, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to
1945. When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-
government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to
form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's
Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia.
Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.
Facing severe unemployment and a housing crisis, Singapore embarked on a modernization
programme beginning in the late 1960s through the 1970s that focused on establishing a
manufacturing industry, developing large public housing estates and investing heavily on public
education.
By the 1990s, the country had become one of the world's most prosperous nations, with a
highly developed free market economy, strong international trading links, and the highest per capita
gross domestic product in Asia outside Japan.[1]

ncient Singapore[edit]
Main article: Early history of Singapore
See also: Timeline of Singaporean history and Kingdom of Singapura

An artist's impression of Parameswara, who ruled Singapore in the 1390s.

The Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy (90–168) identified a place called Sabana at the tip
of Golden Chersonese (believed to be the Malay Peninsula) in the second and third century.[2] The
earliest written record of Singapore may be in a Chinese account from the third century, describing
the island of Pu Luo Chung (蒲 羅 中). This is thought to be a transcription from
the Malay name "Pulau Ujong", or "island at the end" (of the Malay Peninsula).[3]
In 1025 CE, Rajendra Chola I of the Chola Empire led forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded
the Srivijayan empire, attacking several places in Malaysia and Indonesia.[4][5] The Chola forces were
said to have controlled Temasek (now Singapore) for a couple of decades.[6] The name Temasek
however did not appear in Chola records, but a tale involving a Raja Chulan (assumed to be
Rajendra Chola) and Temasek was mentioned in the semi-historical Malay Annals.[7]
The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, referred to a settlement on the island
called Tumasik (possibly meaning "Sea Town" or "Sea Port").[8] The name Temasek is also given
in Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), which contains a tale of the founding of Temasek by a prince
of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama) in the 13th century. Sri Tri Buana
landed on Temasek on a hunting trip, and saw a strange beast said to be a lion. The prince took this
as an auspicious sign and founded a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in
Sanskrit. The actual origin of the name Singapura however is unclear according to scholars.[9]

The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing
Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel.

In 1320, the Mongol Empire sent a trade mission to a place called Long Ya Men (or Dragon's Teeth
Gate), which is believed to be Keppel Harbour at the southern part of the island.[10] The Chinese
traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described Long Ya Men as one of the two
distinct settlements in Dan Ma Xi (from Malay Temasek), the other being Ban Zu (from
Malay pancur). Ban Zu is thought to be present day Fort Canning Hill, and recent excavations in Fort
Canning found evidence indicating that Singapore was an important settlement in the 14th
century.[11][12] Wang mentioned that the natives of Long Ya Men (thought to be the Orang Laut) and
Chinese residents lived together in Long Ya Men.[13][14] Singapore is one of the oldest locations where
a Chinese community is known to exist outside China, and the oldest corroborated by archaeological
evidence.[15]

A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century.

By the 14th century, the empire of Srivijaya had already declined, and Singapore was caught in the
struggle between Siam (now Thailand) and the Java-based Majapahit Empire for control over the
Malay Peninsula. According to the Malay Annals, Singapore was defeated in one Majapahit attack.
The last king, Sultan Iskandar Shah ruled the island for several years, before being forced
to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.[16] Portuguese sources however indicated that
Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler was killed by Parameswara (thought to be the same
person as Sultan Iskandar Shah) from Palembang, and Parameswara was then driven to Malacca,
either by the Siamese or the Majapahit, where he founded the Malacca Sultanate.[17] Modern
archaeological evidence suggests that the settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this
time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards.[9]
The Malacca Sultanate extended its authority over the island and Singapore became a part of the
Malacca Sultanate.[3] However, by the time the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century,
Singapura had already become "great ruins" according to Alfonso de Albuquerque.[18][19] In 1511, the
Portuguese seized Malacca; the sultan of Malacca escaped south and established the Johor
Sultanate, and Singapore then became part of the sultanate. The Portuguese however destroyed the
settlement in Singapore in 1613, and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries.[20][21]

1819: British colony of Singapore[edit]

Main article: Founding of modern Singapore

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Malay Archipelago was gradually taken over by the
European colonial powers, beginning with the arrival of the Portuguese at Malacca in 1509. The
early dominance of the Portuguese was challenged during the 17th century by the Dutch, who came
to control most of the ports in the region. The Dutch established a monopoly over trade within the
archipelago, particularly in spices, then the region's most important product. Other colonial powers,
including the British, were limited to a relatively minor presence.[22]
In 1818, Sir Stamford Raffles was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of the British colony
at Bencoolen. He was determined that Great Britain should replace the Netherlands as the dominant
power in the archipelago, since the trade route between China and British India, which had become
vitally important with the institution of the opium trade with China, passed through the archipelago.
The Dutch had been stifling British trade in the region by prohibiting the British from operating in
Dutch-controlled ports or by subjecting them to a high tariff. Raffles hoped to challenge the Dutch by
establishing a new port along the Straits of Malacca, the main ship passageway for the India-China
trade. He needed a third port since the British only had the ports of Penang and Bencoolen. The port
had to be strategically located along the main trade route between India and China and in the middle
of the Malay Archipelago. He convinced Lord Hastings, the Governor-General of India and his
superior at the British East India Company, to fund an expedition to seek a new British base in the
region.[22]
A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819.

Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819 and soon recognised the island as a natural choice
for the new port. It lay at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula, near the Straits of Malacca, and
possessed a natural deep harbor, fresh water supplies, and timber for repairing ships. It was also
located along the main trade route between India and China. Raffles found a
small Malay settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River, with an estimated population of about
150 that consisted of around 120 Malays and 30 Chinese.[23] headed by the Temenggong and
Tengku Abdu'r Rahman. Around 100 of these Malays had originally moved to Singapore
from Johor in 1811 led by the Temenggong.[23] The entire island may have a population of 1,000
including the various tribes and Orang Laut (sea gypsies).[24] The island was nominally ruled by
the Sultan of Johor, who was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis. However, the Sultanate was
weakened by factional division and Tengku Abdu'r Rahman and his officials were loyal to Tengku
Rahman's elder brother Tengku Long who was living in exile in Riau. With the Temenggong's help,
Raffles managed to smuggle Tengku Long back into Singapore. He offered to recognize Tengku
Long as the rightful Sultan of Johor, given the title of Sultan Hussein and provide him with a yearly
payment of $5000 and $3000 to the Temenggong; in return, Sultan Hussein would grant the British
the right to establish a trading post on Singapore.[22] A formal treaty was signed on 6 February 1819
and modern Singapore was born.[25][26]
When Raffles arrived, it was estimated that there were around 1,000 people living in the whole of the
island of Singapore, mostly local groups that would become assimilated into Malays and a few
dozen Chinese.[27][28] The population increased rapidly soon after Raffles' arrival; the first census of
1824 shows that 6,505 out of the 10,683 total were Malays and Bugis.[29] Large number of Chinese
migrants also started to enter Singapore just months after it became a British settlement, by the
census of 1826, there were already more Chinese than Malays excluding Bugis and
Javanese.[30] Due to continual migration from Malaya, China, India and other parts of Asia,
Singapore's population had reached nearly 100,000 by 1871, with over half of them
Chinese.[31] Many early Chinese and Indian immigrants came to Singapore to work in various
plantations and tin mines and they were predominantly male, and large number of them would return
to their home countries after they had earned enough money. However, an increasingly significant
number chose to stay permanently by the early to mid twentieth century, and their descendants
would form the bulk of Singapore's population.[32][33]

1819–1942: Colonial Singapore[edit]

1819–1826: Early growth[edit]
Main article: Early growth in colonial Singapore (1819–1826)
The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan.

Raffles returned to Bencoolen soon after the signing of the treaty and left Major William Farquhar in
charge of the new settlement, with some artillery and a small regiment of Indian soldiers.
Establishing a trading port from scratch was a daunting endeavor. Farquhar's administration was
fairly funded and was prohibited from collecting port duties to raise revenue as Raffles had decided
that Singapore would be a free port. Farquhar invited settlers to Singapore, and stationed a British
official on St. John's Island to invite passing ships to stop in Singapore. As news of the free port
spread across the archipelago, Bugis, Peranakan Chinese, and Arab traders flocked to the island,
seeking to circumvent the Dutch trade restrictions. During the starting year of operation in 1819,
$400,000 (Spanish dollars) worth of trade passed through Singapore. By 1821, the island's
population had gone up to around 5,000, and the trade volume was $8 million. The population
reached the 10,000 mark in 1824,[29] and with a trade volume of $22 million, Singapore surpassed the
long-established port of Penang.[22]
Raffles returned to Singapore in 1822 and became critical of many of Farquhar's decisions, despite
Farquhar's success in leading the settlement through its difficult early years. For instance, in order to
generate much-needed revenue, Farquhar had resorted to selling licenses for gambling and the sale
of opium, which Raffles saw as social evils. Shocked at the disarray of the colony as well as the
tolerance of slave trade by Farquhar, Raffles set about drafting a set of new policies for the
settlement, such as banning of slavery, closing of gambling dens, prohibition of carrying of weapons,
and heavy taxation to discourage what he considered to be social vices such as drunkenness and
opium-smoking.[34] He also organized Singapore into functional and ethnic subdivisions under
the Raffles Plan of Singapore.[22] Today, remnants of this organization can still be found in the ethnic
neighbourhoods. William Farquhar was also stripped off his post. Farquhar later died
in Perth, Scotland.
On 7 June 1823, John Crawfurd signed a second treaty with the Sultan and Temenggong, which
extended British possession to most of the island. The Sultan and Temenggong traded most of their
administrative rights of the island, including the collection of port taxes for lifelong monthly payments
of $1500 and $800 respectively. This agreement brought the island under the British Law, with the
provision that it would take into account Malay customs, traditions and religion.[22] Raffles replaced
Farquhar with John Crawfurd, an efficient and frugal administrator, as the new governor.[35] In
October 1823, Raffles departed for Britain and would never return to Singapore as he died in 1826,
at the age of 44.[36] In 1824, Singapore was ceded in perpetuity to the East India Company by the
Sultan.

1826–1867: The Straits Settlements[edit]

Main article: Singapore in the Straits Settlements
The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants.

Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings
built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies.

The status of a British outpost in Singapore seemed initially in doubt as the Dutch government soon
protested to Britain for violating the Netherlands' sphere of influence. But as Singapore rapidly
emerged as an important trading post, Britain consolidated its claim on the island. The Anglo-Dutch
Treaty of 1824 cemented the status of Singapore as a British possession, carving up the Malay
archipelago between the two colonial powers with the area north of the Straits of Malacca, including
Singapore, falling under Britain's sphere of influence. In 1826, Singapore was grouped by the British
East India Company[37] together with Penang and Malacca to form the Straits Settlements,
administered by the British East India Company. In 1830, the Straits Settlements became
a residency, or subdivision, of the Presidency of Bengal in British India.[38]
During the subsequent decades, Singapore grew to become an important port in the region. Its
success was due to several reasons including the opening of the Chinese market, the advent of
ocean-going steamships, the dramatic reduction in the time and cost of shipping goods to Europe
after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869,[39] and the production of rubber and tin in Malaya.[40] Its
status as a free port provided a crucial advantage over other colonial port cities in Batavia
(now Jakarta) and Manila where tariffs were levied, and it drew many Chinese, Malay, Indian, and
Arab traders operating in South-East Asia to Singapore. The later opening of the Suez Canal in 1869
would further boost trade in Singapore. By 1880, over 1.5 million tons of goods were passing
through Singapore each year, with around 80% of the cargo transported by steamships.[41] The main
commercial activity was entrepôt trade which flourished under no taxation and little restriction. Many
merchant houses were set up in Singapore mainly by European trading firms, but also by Jewish,
Chinese, Arab, Armenian, American and Indian merchants. There were also many Chinese
middlemen who handled most of the trade between the European and Asian merchants.[38]
By 1827, the Chinese had become the largest ethnic group in Singapore. They consisted
of Peranakans, who were descendants of early Chinese settlers, and Chinese coolies who flocked to
Singapore to escape economic hardship in southern China. Their numbers were swelled by those
fleeing the turmoil caused by the First Opium War (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–
1860). Many arrived in Singapore as impoverished indentured laborers. The Malays were the
second largest ethnic group until the 1860s and they worked as fishermen, craftsmen, or as wage
earners while continued to live mostly in kampungs. By 1860, the Indians had become the second
largest ethnic group. They consisted of unskilled labourers, traders, and convicts who were sent to
carry out public works projects such as clearing jungles and laying out roads. There were also
Indian Sepoy troops garrisoned at Singapore by the British.[38]
Despite Singapore's growing importance, the administration governing the island was understaffed,
ineffectual and unconcerned with the welfare of the populace. Administrators were usually posted
from India and were unfamiliar with local culture and languages. While the population had
quadrupled during 1830 to 1867, the size of the civil service in Singapore had remained unchanged.
Most people had no access to public health services and diseases such
as cholera and smallpox caused severe health problems, especially in overcrowded working-class
areas.[38] As a result of the administration's ineffectiveness and the predominantly male, transient,
and uneducated nature of the population, the society was lawless and chaotic. In 1850 there were
only twelve police officers in the city of nearly 60,000 people. Prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse
(particularly of opium) were widespread. Chinese criminal secret societies (analogous to modern-
day triads) were extremely powerful, and some had tens of thousands of members. Turf wars
between rival societies occasionally led to hundreds of deaths and attempts to suppress them had
limited success.[42]
The situation created deep concern in the European population of the island. In 1854 the Singapore
Free Press complained that Singapore was a "small island" full of the "very dregs of the population
of south eastern Asia".[43]