HISTORY

Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. The main settlement up to that point was a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived around the coast, rivers and smaller islands. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route. Sighting its potential, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop Singapore as a trading post and settlement, marking the start of the island's modern era. It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The ill-prepared British were defeated in six days, and surrendered the supposedly impregnable "Bastion of the Empire" to General Tomoyuki Yamashita on 15 February 1942 in what is now known as the British Empire's greatest military defeat. Singapore reverted to British rule in 1945.

It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965..

The fledgling nation had to be self-sufficient, and faced problems like mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration attacked widespread unemployment, raised the standard of living, and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, the threat of racial tension was curbed, and an independent national defence system, centring around compulsory male military service, was created.

Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has increased progressively. A state-led industrialization drive, aided by foreign direct investment has created a modern economy based on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism, medical tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade.