The history of the modern state of Singapore dates back to its founding in the early 19th century; however, evidence suggests that a significant trading settlement existed on the island in the 14th century. The last ruler of the Kingdom of Singapura, Parameswara, was expelled by the Majapahit of the Siamese before he founded Malacca. Singapore then came under the Malacca Sultanate and subsequently the Johor Sultanate. In 1819, British statesman Stamford Raffles negotiated a treaty whereby Johor would allow the British to locate a trading port on the island, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Crown Colony of Singapore in 1867. Important reasons for the rise of Singapore were its nodal position at the tip of the Malay Peninsula flanked by the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the presence of a natural sheltered harbour, as well as its status as a free port.
During World War II, Singapore was invaded and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. When the Japanese surrendered, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, resulting in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest, racial tensions, and political differences between Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.
By the 1990s, the country had established a highly developed free market economy and strong international trading links. It now has the highest per capita gross domestic product in Asia, which is 7th in the world, and it is ranked 9th on the UN Human Development Index.
Ancient Singapore
The Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy (90168) identified a place called Sabana at the tip of Golden Chersonese (believed to be the Malay Peninsula) in the second and third century. The earliest written record of Singapore may be in a Chinese book 《吳時外國傳》 from the third century, describing the island of Pu Luo Chung (蒲 羅 中). This has been proposed to be related to the Malay name "Pulau Ujong", or "island at the end" (of the Malay Peninsula).
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.Epigraphia Carnatica, Volume 10, Part 1, page 41 The Chola forces were said to have controlled Temasek (now Singapore) for a couple of decades. 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.
The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese eulogy written in 1365, referred to a settlement on the island called Tumasik (possibly meaning "Sea Town" or "Sea Port"). The name Temasek is also given in Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), which contains a tale of the founding of Temasek by a prince of Palembang, 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.
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. 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 at Fort Canning have found evidence indicating that Singapore was an important settlement in the 14th century. Wang mentioned that the natives of Long Ya Men (thought to be the Orang Laut) and Chinese residents lived together in Long Ya Men. Singapore is one of the oldest locations where a Chinese community is known to exist outside China, and the oldest confirmed by archaeological and historical research.
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. 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. 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 afterward.
The Malacca Sultanate extended its authority over the island and Singapore became a part of the Malacca Sultanate. However, by the time the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, Singapura had already become "great ruins" according to Alfonso de Albuquerque. 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. A settlement once existed on the Singapore River which formed an outpost of the Johor Sultanate whose capital lay along the Johor River. The settlement was occupied up until the early 17th century, an account by Eredia mentions government officials still being stationed there around 1600. In 1613, the Portuguese destroyed the settlement in Singapore, and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries, likely only occupied by Sea Peoples.
1819: British colony of Singapore
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.
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, 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 which were not suitable, as Penang was too far off to protect British traders from pirates and Bencoolen was not along the main trading road. 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.
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 harbour, freshwater 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, headed by the Temenggong and Tengku Abdul Rahman. Around 100 of these Malays had originally moved to Singapore from Johor in 1811 led by the Temenggong. The entire island may have had a population of 1,000 including the various tribes and Orang Laut (sea gypsies). 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 Abdul 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 recognise Tengku Long as the rightful Sultan of Johor, given the title of Sultan Hussein and provide him with a yearly payment of $5,000 and $3,000 to the Temenggong; in return, Sultan Hussein would grant the British the right to establish a trading post on Singapore. The Treaty of Singapore was signed on 6 February 1819 and modern Singapore was born.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
1819–1942: Colonial Singapore
1819–1826: Early growth
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, and with a trade volume of $22 million, Singapore surpassed the long-established port of Penang.